Zenmuse XT Thermal

Southern Style · Jul 21, 2017

I am very interested in seeing the results of the Zenmuse XT when working outside and seeing changing temperatures. I am wanting (hoping) to use this on gas pipelines to possibly view any leaks. Here are the facts as I have them:

Pipes are max 3 feet underground
No obstructions to throw "irrelevant" heat signatures on topside
Gasses in underground pipeline are radically colder than outside ambient temperatures

I understand that this will not pinpoint a leak within inches, but considering the alternative of walking a 580 mile pipeline on FOOT sticking a pole in the ground every step, seems a bit smarter. If I can view a temperature difference by the gasses leaking thru to the top soil, this will give us a HUGE advantage and get us close enough where we can pinpoint it on foot. If wanting to view temperature differences on the ground surface, which of the Zenmuse products will be the best. I see that several members have multiple thermal imaging cameras and a lot more experience with these than I do. Already have contracts to perform other tasks on these pipelines which is way beyond a single pilots ability, I am wanting to add another service and employ multiple pilots should this be a possibility.

Thank you for any advise/experience that anyone might provide. Be Safe

Outta Control · Jan 25, 2018

I guess I will chime in on this. So there are 2 things to understand.

#1 Thermal IR will not read gases (period). You will need a FLIR Optical Gas Imager.
#2 If you could afford one and strap on a sUAS such as a G300, finding a client to help pay for that $80K (camera only mind you) that you just purchased.

The best advice to give you is setting expectation on what you can find. That could mean thermals signature such as looking for that weak point where the temperature is significant enough to make an assessment. then again there are a whole lot more challenges you will have to face to see it and have accurate data.

licensed pilot · Jan 26, 2018

Outta Control said:
I guess I will chime in on this. So there are 2 things to understand.

#1 Thermal IR will not read gases (period). You will need a FLIR Optical Gas Imager.
#2 If you could afford one and strap on a sUAS such as a G300, finding a client to help pay for that $80K (camera only mind you) that you just purchased.

The best advice to give you is setting expectation on what you can find. That could mean thermals signature such as looking for that weak point where the temperature is significant enough to make an assessment. then again there are a whole lot more challenges you will have to face to see it and have accurate data.

What he said....FLIR is not the tool for this task.