Thermal Pictures
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
Forum Discription: Ask maintenance questions, share your podmods (modifications) and helpful tips
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=12295
Printed Date: 24 Apr 2024 at 2:37pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Thermal Pictures
Posted By: Kevinscamps
Subject: Thermal Pictures
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 12:45pm
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I have access to a thermal camera from work, so I figured I would take some shots of the camper being heated on a cool evening. The results are startling. The thermal imager is going to be my stud finder of choice from now on. It was probably 50 out at night with 70 degrees or so in the camper and I was seeing 8 degrees or more surface temperature difference on the inside wherever there was a "stud." The camper is going to need some more insulation. Unfortunately some of parts I have already insulated a bunch didn't show much improvement over other ones. What is really noticable is how much the reflectix in the windows helped. The front windows have reflectix under the shade and the slide out and dinette windows do not. The difference is night and day. https://postimg.cc/gallery/e14ix2fa/3bd9f882 |
Replies:
Posted By: Ben Herman
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 12:47pm
| This is totally cool - I want one! What model is your trailer? |
Posted By: Kevinscamps
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 12:58pm
| Its the 180. |
Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 6:37pm
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Very interesting. Thanks for posting the pics! As for more insulation, Pods are so small and generally tight that heating or cooling them is quick and easy. And you need some air exchange to avoid humidity issues, as well as maintaining a breathable environment inside. If you camp with shore power you can use a little cube heater or the air conditioner at no additional expense beyond your campground fee. Point being there's no economic advantage to more insulation. Even without hookups, heating with propane isn't that big a deal in most cases. TT ------------- 2010 176 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 6:47pm
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+1 to TT. The only thing I insulated on my 178 was the rear window. Never removed it. It was cold in winter and hot in summer. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: SteveA
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 9:26pm
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I insulated in between the framing under the bed in our 179 with hard foam. It made a difference, not my imagination. ------------- 2017 179 1/2 |
Posted By: Kevinscamps
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2018 at 11:46pm
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I have a one year old that likes it very warm when she sleeps and has a havit of waking up all night long if she is chilly. Also I married coldilocks. In addition I live in colorado so the warmest nights in the mountains will be 50 and often much colder especially spring and fall. Almost nowhere we camp has hook ups, so not so easy to heat. We also use the camper as our ski lodge when we cross country ski in the winter. I already have some insulation under the bed and in the wall of the slide out. I will finish insulating the cupboards soon. I borrowed the camera just to see if I could attack the largest heat loss areas first. I have some lexan to turn the screen door into a storm door which should help with heat loss from the door, though from the picture most of the door heatloss is through the metal frame since there is no thermal break. After that I am not sure how far I will take it. |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2018 at 10:36am
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I know that aluminum is considered a "heat conductor"; kind of the opposite of insulation. I'd thought about that, but did not realize that the difference would be that stark with a thermal imager. Thanks for that! Now I need to see where I can find one of those things!
------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: DavMar
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2018 at 1:42pm
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Very cool pics, now if you just have a way of transferring the photo to the pod with pin pointing the exact stud locations but it does give you a ball park area. I do see how it would be very much help with you upgrade your insulation.
------------- Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the wonder dog. 2017 Rpod 180 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 Lexington, NC |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2018 at 5:05pm
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Yes for sure the aluminum will be a thermal short circuit. Not sure there’s anything practical that can be done about it. To find the structural members you can just slide something cold or shiny along the outside of the pod until it is visually aligned with the Al structure under IR. It’s 1 inch square tubing btw. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 11 Oct 2018 at 5:14pm
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Funny, I'm with you. ------------- Mike Carter 2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 14 Oct 2018 at 6:38am
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One thing I've noticed from using thermal imaging cameras over the years is that they tend to exaggerate the temp differences. I don't know what device was used for these photos but most of them now autorange the false colors based the highest and lowest temps seen in the image. So if the temp range is relatively narrow this can create the illusion that there is more heat leakage in some areas than there really is. Also, heat loss is calculated as surface area multiplied by temp delta divided by r value. So, a small element like a 1 inch aluminum tube in a wall might be a significant heat leaker but because its a small surface area it really doesn't matter much overall. This is not to say that rPods are well insulated, they're not, and won't be no matter what you do. Just consider the actual temp differences and surface areas and the effects of that before making decisions where to try to add insulation or otherwise change things. Go for the big hits first, like the reflectix in the windows. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 14 Oct 2018 at 10:33am
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Up until recently, the name of the game in thermal imaging cameras has been FLIR. Their lowest-cost cameras start at around $700 and go up from there. A lot. It's not hard to spend $2000 on a FLIR thermal camera. Way more than what I would be interested in for what would be a curiosity for the most part. However, a couple years ago, a company called SEEK Thermal came up with a https://www.ebay.com/itm/Seek-Thermal-Compact-XR-BLACK-Infrared-Imaging-Camera-For-Android-Smartphone/231920284435?hash=item35ff86b313:g:oY8AAOSwI0RZf2W~:rk:2:pf:0 - thermal sensor that can plug directly into a smart phone (Android or iOS). They market this for around $200, and it seems like direct threat to FLIR, who has also come up with something they call the https://www.flir.com/browse/professional-tools/thermography-cameras/?f3128=FLIR+ONE - FLIR One . It is around the same price as the SEEK unit, but has much lower resolution. Software may be another issue. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: Kevinscamps
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2018 at 11:59am
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The camera I used probably costs around $300-$5000 bucks. We got it convince customers we know what we are doing.... Ha Ha Ha! |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2018 at 12:16pm
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Yep, I've bought elaborate equipment for that purpose too. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance then baffle them with.... you know the rest. I'll send you a PM. I have a 179 but the construction is the same and I'm trying to do some thermal calcs on it to estimate cooling load for an air conditioner conversion I'm planning. Thanks! ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: Kevinscamps
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2018 at 11:19am
The door was a major weak point for insultion, particularly the door frame which has no thermal break. I added I made the existing screen door into a storm door by adding a piece of 1/8" lexan to each screen section. The cuts didn't have to be too accurate because the lexan goes almost 1/4" into the metal frame. It works to contain my child and prevent her from ruining the screen door. I will keep the bottom section in permanently and leave the top in just for the winter and spring for insulation. I also added 1/2" foam stuck directly to the door frame. It makes a huge diffence. When it gets cold again I will take some more thermal pictures. |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2018 at 11:52am
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Great idea. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: rawest50
Date Posted: 28 Oct 2018 at 9:34pm
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Was the thermal camera a high dollar camera? Looking at purchasing one for my iPhone. ------------- 2017.5 RPod 179 2017 Jeep Unlimited Wrangler 2017 Chevy Colorado Z71 Off Road Crew Cab 2 Weiner dogs Great wife puts up with my BS ❤️ Thoroughbred Racing. 
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Posted By: WinterSummerBliss
Date Posted: 06 Nov 2018 at 3:16pm
| Awesome thermal camera pictures and analysis. Can you do this again on a cold evening? I'm curious what it shows. |