Fluke VT02 Service Guide

Tools & Equipment

PICTURE
PERFECT

Every picture tells a story, so Norman
Bradshaw gets to grips with the new
Fluke VT02 Visual Thermal Infra-Red

thermometer to see what it can reveal.

hat is the difference between being an Electrical
Contractor, and being a Successful Electrical

W

or not owning Fluke’s new VT02 Visual Thermal IR thermometer. Let

me expand on that.

Growing up in our fast changing industry has brought us many

challenges. For me, one of the greatest challenges and rewards

has been learning to conduct meaningful electrical PIR’s, now

known as EICR’s. To be good at conducting Electrical Installation

Condition Reports-(EICR’s) you need skill, confidence, sound

technical knowledge and tools that inspire confidence.

seems to want a report done for as little as possible. You know as
well as I do that you cannot skimp on quality - so how are you

going to juggle providing a service while at the same time not

working for free? From my experience you need to know what

you are worth and have the tools to back you up. A step in the

right direction is being able to show your client what would be

included in your summary – a thermal IR report – your competitor does

not possess one. What a shame!

Contractor? The difference could simply be owning

This skill is further compounded by the fact that everyone

Back to basics

What is thermal imaging? It is the non-contact detection and measurement of

temperature differences shown pictorially by using different colours, or to put

it in a vernacular - it allows you to see what your eyes can’t. Fluke’s VT02 Visual

IR thermometer blends infrared heat map technology with digital thermal

imagery. Up until now thermal imaging cameras have been wishful thinking for
most electricians, but Fluke have developed the VT02 which falls into a new

category; it fits in between IR spot thermometers and IR thermal imaging

Fluke IR Thermometer

cameras, giving you the chance to put that
technology right into the palm of your hand. For
the price of a top spec multifunctional tester
you can now purchase Fluke’s latest addition to
the IR family.

The spec

I was very excited to put this tool through its
paces as I already have an IR spot thermometer
and I wanted to see how this one compared. As
I go through the features see if you could think
of some jobs you have done or going to do
where this technology will make a difference.

Fluke’s new IR thermometer stands a little
over 200mm tall yet it is jam packed with all you
need to do a good job. You can enter the date,
time and hour for starters, which is excellent for
keeping a log of your pictures and jobs. There is
also a slot on the thermometer where the 4 GB
micro SD card is to be inserted so that you can
store all the pictures you have taken.

Later you can then transfer them to your
computer using Fluke’s SmatView software, and
if that is not all you can blend then and add
notes to your photographs – your client is going
to be very impressed! To record any details you
want, it is simply a matter of just pressing the
green trigger on the front of the thermometer­job done!

The menu button also acts as the power off
and on button. There are six buttons in all and
to find out what they do simply requires
pressing the arrows and when you see what you

Images can be transferred to your computer using Fluke’s SmartView software

want then press select. You have for example the
option of having the temperature displayed in
Degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.

There is a button for taking pictures close up
of further away, depending on what you are
testing. You can get as close as six inches by
selecting the near mode. You can also adjust or
record emissivity (the ability of a material to
radiate heat energy) colour palette, back-ground
temperatures and temperature markers.

Ease of use

The real beauty of this camera is that it is so
easy to use. This machine does not just give you
an average reading like many IR thermometers,
but the exact temperature of the object you are
looking at – so fellow electricians – you can
measure with confidence!

By just pressing one button you can capture
in real time what is going on at the point under
test. You can take several images and later
compare your readings.

Even without reading through the entire
manual you get a very good idea of what it can
do. Thermal Imaging is a growing field as
insurance companies have started to request
these types of surveys particularly where access
to carry out insulation resistance or continuity
tests is virtually impossible. While Thermal
imaging should never replace traditional testing,
it does give you a measure of flexibility and
another string to your bow, so… point & shoot!

The camera can be used as

close as six inches effectively

READE RLINK

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PROFESSIONAL ELECTRICIAN APRIL 2013 81