Lowest Price IR Cameras & Training in USA

Having taken Johns class around 2 years ago, I believe it’s “ideal” for home inspectors. For those starting out in imaging during home inspections, his class is perfect.

Nice find, there is only one manufacture out of Germany and that camera makes its competitor, the FLIR I7, look like a toy.

Jason Kaylor – JJ
VP of Specialty Products
877/207-1244
AC Tool Supply](http://www.aikencolon.com/)
Energy Audits
Energy Auditing Software

You are correct. They seem to be very nice cameras.

Really?? Someone here holds a Cert from ASNT?? So they would be on the ASNT log as an Inspector then, correct??

Or did they qualify under a Vendors SNT-TC-1A policy?? :smiley:

ASNT, SNT, CMI… same thing, no?

The camera price is good, but a 160 x 120 resolution in my opinion isn’t.

You are on to a little known secret. ASNT does not certify
anyone except their own personal people and those who
claim to be ASNT certified are really not.

There is a lot of misunderstanding regarding these IR terms.
Some educational vendors use the term ASNT to attract
students, when in reality it only the vendor who certifies
the student, not ASNT.

To be certified simply means an educator has certified
that you passed their training. It does not carry the same
legal implications as licensed (by state or fed govt).

I was certified by FLIR-ITC, considered to be the finest
training provider of IR in the world. That and a dollar
will buy you a cup of coffee.

It is your skills in the field, along with your certification,
that qualify you or not…IMHO

I have never had a client ask me where I was trained.
Never.

Another interesting fact is this… the overwhelming
majority of Level III thermographers in north America
cannot do an IR home inspection. Just ask them. They
were raised in another field.

It can be said that more is better. Thousands of home inspectors
and energy auditors use 120x120. If you can afford more, then
by all means go for it. If you need to stay within a budget, there
is no shame in that, especially during these hard times. Even
RESNET recognizes 120x120.

Not exactly correct John, but CMI close… :wink:

NOTE: for you inspectors in Texas, we will be teaching a one day IR
class at the upcoming TAREI conventions. See you there. Times and
dates to be posted. TAREI and InterNACHI have formed an alliance.
JD Fuller, president of TAREI, lives down the road from me here in
the piney woods of east Texas.

Small world.

I would think from everything I have read, that your course would be a good place to start in Home Inspection IR Training…

So far, we get about 99.9 positive feed back from our students.
We shoot the others… :mrgreen:

I took John’s IR class last November and got a very nice camera through him. I am a HERS Rater and do energy ratings and audits for a living. John’s class and the camera manual is the only training I’ve had at this point. Some may think that is not enough training, some may. I do not consider myself to be an IR expert, but I have learned much in the homes I have done recently. A friend of mine also had John’s class last summer, along with Level I training later in the year. He said, hands down, John’s class was more informative. I would love to have Level I training, but the finances do not allow for that right now. I’ll just go with John’s training. It’s good enough for me. Thanks for a great class, John, and a great deal on a great camera!

Thanks Randy

The fact is that most of the training commercially available is not specifically geared to inspections of single family residences. Fact is no matter how in depth the training may be aside from calibration of the equipment the next step needs to be the understanding of what you are likely to be seeing. I hear all the time that the camera showed a water leak or lack of insulation in an area when in fact it turned out to be a duct leak. If you can’t eyeball it personally it requires further evaluation. I think these courses are pretty expensive considering all they don’t cover. It’s about time they got some competition from someone on our side.

John-
Is this 160X120 a Testo camera? Assuming it is I have some comments as my company has experience with this camera. True, the price is very good for a 160X120; however it has some problems: 1)image quality is not very good for a 160X120 2) It lacks a laser pointer 3) It is less intuitive to operate than other TI cameras

I tested the Testo 160X120 against the IRISYS 4010 using calibrated targets from +5C to 100C and I found the 4010 more accurate.

The performance of any TI camera has a lot to do with the camera engineering and factory calibration process and algorithims, which is mostly proprietary information.

We had several Testo 160X120’s at our last sponsored Level I and the consensus opinion from the students is the camera was not very good for the reasons given above.

If Testo ever improves the camera I would carry it, but right now, too many gaps against the IRI-4010.

I don’t sell IR cameras like you do, so I have no reason to
promote a certain camera over another. I have seen various
debates between FLUKE and FLIR opinions go on forever.
When in fact, most IR cameras at this level of resolution
(160x120) will work fine for the home inspector.

Testo is a usable camera IMHO and from those I know who
have done field test with it. It makes the FLIR i7 look like a
toy.

I like the fact that it is making you dealers compete and
lower your prices. Most of the bang for your buck needs
to be spent on resolution. Considering the price, as you
say, the Testo IR camera is very good.

You’re right. There are some gaps between the 4010 and the base model Testo 875…

Thermal sensitivity:
4010 100mK
875-1 100mK

Temperature Range:
4010 -10ºC to +250ºC
875-1 -20ºC to +280ºC

Refresh Rate:
4010 ??? - I’m assuming 9Hz
875-1 9Hz

Country of Origin:
4010 UK??
875-1 Germany

There’s also a gap in price, but that laser pointer is pretty nice though. Ultimately, if you want real “fusion”, the best reporting software, a camera that can take a 6ft drop, the most reliable name in test & measurement… oh and a camera made here in the USA – I recommend the Fluke TiR.

Considering the savings of hundreds of dollars on the Testo, let each person decide.

http://brandtinst.com/testo/IR%20Thermal%20Imaging/875-881%20Images/Testo_875-881_Thermal_Imagers_BuildingApplications.pdf

http://texas-inspection.com/flirfluke.pdf

Sorry John, Testo needs to recall some old data sheets. The original stats weren’t correct. I’ve updated the post. The refresh rate on the 875-1 is 9Hz and the sensitivity is 100mK. They’re essentially the same camera. I’ve tried to find the refresh rate and country of origin for the 4010, but it’s not posted anywhere… maybe Leslie can tell us.