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Thoughts on TIC - specifically Scott Eagle 160 & Bullard T4
Our dept is looking to replace our old Argus TIC (purchased in 1999). A group of us went down to FDIC and previewed many of the cameras there. Our two favorite ones were the Scott Eagle 160 & the Bullard T4.
If you or your dept. has any experience with either of these I'd love to here your thoughts and opinions on them.
Which one do you prefer and why? How do you like the functionality and usability of them?
Thanks,
John
If you or your dept. has any experience with either of these I'd love to here your thoughts and opinions on them.
Which one do you prefer and why? How do you like the functionality and usability of them?
Thanks,
John
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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I haven't tried the bullard one yet.
We have the Scott Eagle 160. I love the camera. It is easy to operate and with the pistol grip and crawl feature. (head swivels)
The only thing I DO NOT like about the Scott is that in less than 2 operations (and in a room that was only 500 degrees) the main computer in the camera "overheated" and caused the camera to be placed out of service. Nothing melted on the camera, just the computer fried. In a quick interior primary search, or a RIT situation I would heavily rely on a camera to make it faster.
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Permalink Reply by Gary Dreyer on
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Our Department recieved a T-4 Under a grant about a year ago, we love it. When we evaluated them for eventual purchase the bullard was on top but the grant furnished the T-4. About three weeks ago we used ours at a large commercial fire which was really up there in temps and it worked great. However I was recently told that the lenses are made by a single manufacturer. I guess in my opinion evaluate which camera would work the best for you and choose that one.
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Permalink Reply by roy yoder on
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we got a grant for a thermal camera and have looked at serveral. i was not there when they looked at the bullard so i don't know if it was the t4. the paid station i work at has the eagle x but we have looked at the msa , isi, bullard, and scott 160. we ruled out the isi and the bullard was 13000 dollars and i am not sure if that is with the transmitter but i don't think so. the guys said they liked the color screen and a few other things about it but watch the battery the sales say that you have to continue to use it till it wears down before you charge it or it will make a memory and you will not have the length of battery time. large screen and the temp is told to me to be a general temp and not a pinpoint like the other three. oh i almost forgot the salesman throwed the camera across the room on the floor from a standing position. as an instructor i would have skun him out. the eagle 160 has a better battery and is about 6500 with a 3000 price tag on the transmitter. large screen and i like the crawling feature with the adj. head. the battery switches out quickly but as with the bullard has a specific battery. the temp gauge is nice and has a pinpoint reading but does not read in specfic temp. but in a general range of 50 degree range. not a whole lot of problem with me but some like the temp read in 1 degree interverals. does have a color change once the temp reaches 1000 degrees which in my thinking helps in the simple stage as when you see red its to hot where as if it turns color before you ned to remember more. KISS. it does take a little getting used to because the lens is not straight in front of the screen like a video not a problem in the crawl mode but takes some thinking in the hand held. the msa is small and compact with a smaller screen and i can't see it as well since i am 52 and the eyes don't work like they used to has a pinpoint temp and temp bar on the side and measures on a 1 degree scale has a 2x zoom that is easy to switch to. the msa has the lens like a video straight out and has a rubber hand gaurd that helps in the crawling mode. nice camera but the price is 7800 without the transmitter and i don't know how much that is. not sure which one we are going to buy but we got 10000 in the grant we are going to get one. we could get 2 if we went to the eagle x and we really like them in the paid dept. i am at. they cost about 5000 each but don't do everything the above do. LOL anything else hollar
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the other thing is to make the service after the sale with whatever you pick.
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Permalink Reply by Ol' Smoke on
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After I retired from the Fire Service, I worked for a while as as a Thermal Imaging trainer for Bullard. I DID NOT sell thermal imagers, but merely taught the technology. Bullard felt strongly that their product was good enough that if we taught people the technology, they would choose Bullard.
Some of the posted information is accurate. Some is salesmanship.
The best thing you can do for free is to contact one of the thermal imaging manufacturers, and see if they will teach you about cameras. I know Bullard still does this, and their trainer is a retired FF...who is not a salesman, and couldn't sell you a camera if you wanted one.
Then, what you need to make your decision is to obtain imagers for evaluation. Let each salesman make their pitch, but actually evaluate the thermal imager in a real-life situation. (I don't care about putting it in an oven, or dunking it in a bucket. Get the imager in a fire, and use it). The most important thing you can do is to GET TRAINING in thermal imaging.
There are companies out there that do this. (Safe-IR is one.)
1. Educate yourself about the technology.
2. Evaluate the product.
3. GET TRAINED.
There are several manufacturers out there making some good products. And some do use the same engine (the parts inside that makes it work).
You can make the training part of the bid.
Thermal imagers can make your job a lot safer and quicker, but I can't stress enough the need for quality training.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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As a third option, you might want to evaluate a MSA Evolution TIC. We have four of them, and we really like them. A neighboring department has Bullard T4s. The MSA is comparable, but it has one feature we really like. It has a large "trigger guard" on the front of the handle. This really helps a lot when you're crawling. Rather than bumping the TIC lens on the floor or debris, you're bumping the trigger guard. Performance-wise, the MSA is pretty equivalent to the T4. Microbolometer technology is roughly the same regardless of who makes the TIC. The bells and whistlescreate the major cost and useability differences.
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