Thermal imaging camera

[Superlativesoul]

Happy New year to one and all ,hope we all have a good beekeeping season .
I'm thinking of getting a reasonable priced handheld thermal camera for my beehives ,and was wondering if other members had one and the pros and cons.
Ive seen ones that can be used with a smart phone ,but have no experience of this type of technology
Thanks in advance
John .

 

[Sutty]

From my looking at this in the past "reasonably priced" and "thermal camera" don't go together!

 

[enrico]

Happy New year to one and all ,hope we all have a good beekeeping season .
I'm thinking of getting a reasonable priced handheld thermal camera for my beehives ,and was wondering if other members had one and the pros and cons.
Ive seen ones that can be used with a smart phone ,but have no experience of this type of technology
Thanks in advance
John .

Join Octopus Energy. They will lend you one for two weeks. At least it lets you try it out. I used it and wasn't particularly good for the house as different materials give very different heat colours but it should work ok on a hive. You just attach it to your phone and it shows on the screen. You can save it as a screen shot.

 

[Superlativesoul]

Join Octopus Energy. They will lend you one for two weeks. At least it lets you try it out. I used it and wasn't particularly good for the house as different materials give very different heat colours but it should work ok on a hive. You just attach it to your phone and it shows on the screen. You can save it as a screen shot.

Thanks ,I've been with them for yrs never knew that ,was it open to old customers as well as new ones .Will need to make enquiries. That is all I want it for anyway just to check the hives .
John

 

[Sutty]

A much cheaper alternative might be a non-contact infra-red thermometer which you could scan over the hives.
I might try that as I have one!

 

[Superlativesoul]

A much cheaper alternative might be a non-contact infra-red thermometer which you could scan over the hives.
I might try that as I have one!

Let us know how it goes .I have a thermometer too,i used if for work to check the preheat temp of metal before welding.Would need to find it in my cluttered workshop if indeed I still have it .thanks for the idea
John

 

[Sutty]

Let us know how it goes .I have a thermometer too,i used if for work to check the preheat temp of metal before welding.Would need to find it in my cluttered workshop if indeed I still have it .thanks for the idea
John

Just tried it, about 1C difference between top and bottom boxes of wooden double brood hives, but no difference on poly hives, no detectable hotspots. I checked the clear crown board of 1 poly nuc - about 8C higher than the outside of the poly.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have a FLiR which plugs into my iPhone. It was £200 a few years ago

View attachment temp.mov

 

[ericbeaumont]

FLiR which plugs into my iPhone. It was £200 a few years ago

Neil recommended the FLIR for locating nests in buildings; works well, though the plug-in to the phone is a little insecure unless the locking wheel is set correctly. Currently about £150.

 

[enrico]

Thanks ,I've been with them for yrs never knew that ,was it open to old customers as well as new ones .Will need to make enquiries. That is all I want it for anyway just to check the hives .
John

Yes, open to anyone with them, https://octopus.energy/thermal-camera-terms-conditions/

 

[biglongdarren]

I have a pulsar hand held thermal imager, handy piece of kit for protecting my ducks against the rest of the world.It does show up heat in the hives but can't see the point in buying one just for this purpose. Darren

 

[WoodenBeam]

I find a glass quilt & a torch work pretty well. Roof off, light between the frames & hey presto.
A quick heft & jobs a good’un

 

[Jules59]

Yes, open to anyone with them, https://octopus.energy/thermal-camera-terms-conditions/

Unfortunaterly the loan scheme is now closed and not yet open for winter 2025/26 bookings. Such is the popularity apparently.

 

[Grant R]

I have had mixed success. Much eaiser to see the cluster on wood material hives over my Abelo poly hives. I was semi happy with this as it provided me the evidence of their insulation quilities. I have attached some photos and a bonus pipes leading to a radiator under the floor image.

 

[Superlativesoul]

Neil recommended the FLIR for locating nests in buildings; works well, though the plug-in to the phone is a little insecure unless the locking wheel is set correctly. Currently about £150.

Thanks for the link ,I looked at the requirements regarding the software ,I have a Samsung A13 mobile using Android version 14,so I tried to download the app off Google play it said my phone not compatible, further searching found a newer version off the Web again the same result not compatible. Further searches then recommended the Flir edge pro wireless version .
So before buying check to see if your phone is compatible with the app .
Thanks to everyone for posting replies to my question .still musing over it .
John.

 

[Brodie]

I do a lot of shooting and have used a lot of thermals at a £1000 the best cheap thermal is a t2pro can get for under £300 the camera clips on the bottom of your phone and it’s as good as most thousand pound thermals have a look on YouTube