# Thermal Imaging Camera



## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

Has anyone bought the Seek camera for using in locating cutouts? I've tried the stethoscope route but wasn't impressed at all. Perhaps I needed a more expensive scope. This camera looks like it would do the trick and I could also use it in my remodeling business. An affordable price at $250.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

If you get that please let us know how it works. I could use a thermal imaging camera in our shop but I would never use one enough to justify the expense of a FLIR unit. If that thing works like the pictures show, has a decent resolution and has any working distance far enough to be useful then I will want one.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

I use a 30.00 laser thermometer. 9 out of 10 removals, I am able to located the brood nest without opening anything.
I heard that there is an app that allows your phone's camera to become a thermal imaging camera.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

I've played around with a laser thermometer and I could see where that would work. A little more guess work to zero in on the full heat source if the nest isn't right against the surface you're aiming at. I was able to locate the last hive cutout simply by putting the side of my face against the drywall. Heard the hum and felt the heat.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Sometimes if you are right on the brood, the temp will rise 6-7 degrees from ambiant. If the brood is not laying right on the surface most often the temp will rise 2-3 degrees from ambiant.
You can seriously locate the brood nest within seconds. Repairs are less costly as well.


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## ThumbsChoicehoney (Jun 15, 2015)

We were lucky and had accesses to the thermal imaging camera from the local fire dept. If you can get one of the firemen to scan, show you or let you see thru it you will see the hive and studs.


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## Jeffro (May 26, 2012)

I do not have this camera, but Flir is the leader in this technology.
http://flir.com/flirone/buy-us.cfm?_ga=1.120795016.1485195269.1434388636
Jeffro


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## texanbelchers (Aug 4, 2014)

I've tried the Seek unit. It works fairly well in general, but it is hard to see a colony inside a wall or ceiling with similar surrounding temps. I guess is would be referred to as resolution. Here is a reference to my entry on another site: http://www.beemaster.com/forum/index.php?topic=46215.0


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## Cub (Feb 14, 2013)

Mr.Beeman said:


> I use a 30.00 laser thermometer. 9 out of 10 removals, I am able to located the brood nest without opening anything.
> I heard that there is an app that allows your phone's camera to become a thermal imaging camera.


I just purchased one of these, and it worked like a charm. It's already located the center of two hives, and kept me from doing any extra damage than necessary.


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## Metropropolis (Feb 15, 2012)

Barry said:


> Has anyone bought the Seek camera for using in locating cutouts? I've tried the stethoscope route but wasn't impressed at all. Perhaps I needed a more expensive scope. This camera looks like it would do the trick and I could also use it in my remodeling business. An affordable price at $250.


I've done residential cutouts with thermal imaging. Wouldn't consider doing without, really.


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## wgstarks (Mar 3, 2015)

Mr.Beeman said:


> I heard that there is an app that allows your phone's camera to become a thermal imaging camera.


This isn't an app, it's an attachment, but I think it's what you're reffering to- http://flir.com/flirone/buy-us.cfm.


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## EvanS (Feb 27, 2015)

I think you are right. Cell phones are not equipped with the proper hardware for thermal imaging. All the apps I looked at say that you need some type of camera or attachment. Maybe someday.


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

I was just looking at this. A reviewer on Amazon said the Flir for Iphone worked and the Seek didn't. It seems to be interesting technology that has uses that we haven't thought of yet - beyond "is the hive dead or alive?"


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

The guy who took me along on cutouts this spring uses an Ipad. There is an app that he had to download but the technology is in the Ipad to do flir imagery. I'm sure there are better cameras but the Ipad is something you might already have or think you want.
We found two colonies inside a large house. Without the Ipad it would have been messy. The entrance was 8 feet away on one colony. The second was pretty straight forward but we used the Ipad to make sure before we tore into the plaster and lathe walls.


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

Betty. Thanks. I will look into that, we do have an Ipad.


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## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

aunt betty said:


> The guy who took me along on cutouts this spring uses an Ipad. There is an app that he had to download but the technology is in the Ipad to do flir imagery. I'm sure there are better cameras but the Ipad is something you might already have or think you want.
> We found two colonies inside a large house. Without the Ipad it would have been messy. The entrance was 8 feet away on one colony. The second was pretty straight forward but we used the Ipad to make sure before we tore into the plaster and lathe walls.


Aunt Betty - Would you mind chasing your buddy down and posting the name of the app? We would all owe you one.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

I have the $2k Flir i7, but I've been wondering if this inexpensive new generation would work as well. I have not tried a cutout with mine yet, but it can spot heat from a wooden hive body. One local pro beekeeper uses an IR thermometer for winter inspections to make sure the cluster is healthy (he gave a talk at our fall management refresher a week ago). I do the same thing with the thermal imager and it gives an instantaneous picture of just where the cluster is and what the temperature is.

Handy tool. At the price they're going for now, every techie should have one. Even if you don't absolutely need one, you can certainly get $250 worth of fun just playing with it. But you will find really valuable uses for it.

I can easily spot studs in my home walls in cool weather. It can also spot water leaks and air leaks. You can see propane levels in a tank at a glance. Also handy for finding where the cat just threw up. Time of day will affect how well you can see something warm in the walls. Cool evening well after the sun is off the wall should make the broodnest heat show up better.

FLIR has asked if I could do a short writeup on beekeeping applications. PM me if you would like to put in your $.02 on the cutout applications. I'd love to have a thermal image of a warm spot on a wall to include in the writeup.


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

I am still thinking about this. I saw another moderately priced camera on the FLir website - Flir TG165. http://www.flir.com/instruments/content/?id=64755 I was reading some reviews of the one that attaches to an Iphone and saw that some folks had problems with it when there were updates. That got me thinking that a stand-alone unit might be better, and I wouldn't have to mess around getting my camera out of it's case.
I think it would be interesting to scan the hives and assess the relative sizes of the clusters over the winter. Whether that information would give data that would go beyond interesting to be helpful is another matter. 
Does anyone have experience of the Flir TG165? I found this two minute youtube video comparing the Iphone Flir 1 to the TG165.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7URETAl75A


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

I don't have a thermal camera, and my gut would say it will work about as well as the stethoscope. Yes I have used one, worthless. I did get an inspection camera last year http://www.extech.com/instruments/product.asp?catid=55&prodid=762. all you need is about a 1/4 inch space to push the probe through. With it's second use it saved me from a huge headache. bees where making there way it the foundation of the house. I thought crawl space. but within 2 minutes I realized I was wrong and tearing into that space would have been a lot of work for nothing. The bees where actually under the floor of a renovated garage. living in the space above the concrete slab and under the floor sheathing. removal would have required removal of carpet and subfloor. Owner opted to leave them bee (pun intended). I have found this scope to be extremely effective in finding the exact location of the bees even in difficult situations. It produces a clear image and I have not failed to find the exact location of a colony yet.


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## Tigger19687 (Dec 27, 2014)

Phoebee said:


> . Also handy for finding where the cat just threw up. .



Ok, I SO WOULD buy this just for that !!! Darn cat !

too bad it isn't an app for the phone, that would be cool and be able to be used all over.
Kinda like the phones camera light is used as a flashlight.... anyone carry a flashlight anymore ??


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## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

I find my ear pressed against the hive to be reliable as a "hive-alive?" check, but not sensitive enough to measure strength. I am really reluctant to poke in the hives until late March/April, and so i wonder if the thermal image would be a quantifiable reliable measure of the relative size/strength of the clusters? If it works, it would allow me to know which colonies should be watched more closely for food stores, and to grow and split.


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## cheryl1 (Mar 7, 2015)

I'm lobbying hard for a thermal camera for Christmas. Maybe I'll get one and report back on how well it works


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

Adrian Quiney WI said:


> I find my ear pressed against the hive to be reliable as a "hive-alive?" check, but not sensitive enough to measure strength. I am really reluctant to poke in the hives until late March/April, and so i wonder if the thermal image would be a quantifiable reliable measure of the relative size/strength of the clusters? If it works, it would allow me to know which colonies should be watched more closely for food stores, and to grow and split.


I tried this on two hives last winter. Pulling the entrance reducer let me shoot up into the general direction of the cluster. On one hive I could make out heat pretty well, and that was the survivor. On the other one I thought I could see a warmer area where the cluster should be, but at a lower temperature. And that one died.

But weight records gave a clearer picture. The hive that died used 2 pounds of stores in December, with no apparent use thereafter. The healthy hive showed a weight loss every month.

So as much as I like my i7, the electronic game scale costs a lot less and gave more useful information.

The game scale is, however, useless at finding kitty throw-up, whereas I used the Flir just yesterday to find some of that.


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