Temperature Monitors Identify Potential Equipment Issues

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This is Chris Matt, Associate Editor of Maintenance Solutions magazine. Today’s tip is using temperature monitors to identify hot spots.

Maintenance and engineering managers always have devoted time and energy to ensuring the proper performance of key pieces of technology. However, these days, managers are paying even closer attention to diagnostic and monitoring technology.

A non-contact temperature monitor is one of the most valuable monitoring tools in a technician’s arsenal. They can use these units to identify temperature variations in equipment, electrical systems, heat-transfer surfaces, and structures. Some units also can produce a digital readout or thermal image.

Technicians can use both the temperature monitor and the thermal-imaging unit to detect developing problems. They can identify corroded connections as hot spots, either in the image or the temperature reading. Dirty or plugged areas in heat-transfer surfaces show up as unusually hot or cold areas. By identifying these developing problems, technicians can take corrective action before the problems result in costly failures.

Many of today’s thermal-imaging cameras weigh less than 5 pounds and enable users to transfer high-resolution, color images to computers for later review. They also are more portable than their predecessors, so if technicians need to use the system in relatively confined spaces, the smaller, lighter-weight cameras are more effective.