What is a Good Base Line Temp for Hot Electrical Connections?

Below the rating of the connector and/or the wire insulation feeding it, whichever is lower.

Or, the fuse protecting it.

Come on! You just got a new toy. Take some readings and tell us what they are.

I shot alot of my old cutler hammer starters and got 80a tp 140 degrees f. And 1 at 210. I fixed that one

Usually between 110-130ºF.....You can't beat an IR detector for troubleshooting electro-mechanical systems....It takes a while to get samples of normal operating temp for different situations, but it's well worth the effort....

Yeah i feel really good about this investment. Thanks

Try to get as much time as you can with this thing in different areas and situations.

You'll find a lot of WOW's right off the bat. As soon as you get used to working the camera, try to get some training....

As a general rule for electrical connections, I try not to worry too much about a connection until I see the wiring going from both ends about 6 inches to see if the entire wire is warm or just the connection. Then half-again the ambient temp is where I tend to "notice" a warm connection. Twice ambient temp, I'll seriously look at it. At 200f, I'm looking to fix it pretty quick. If an entire wire is warm, it's usually high current and that can be looked at to determine if it's "normal"

All of this is speculative at best. Different systems act differently, it's best to get a baseline temp on things that look odd and certain critical pieces of equip. Then trending the temps over time (which can be labor intensive) helps determine if something may (Let me repeat May) be going south.

In 3 phase systems, especially electrical cabinets, you can use the Sesame Street method. "One of these things is not like the others". Meaning that 3 fuses feeding the same motor should be close in temp and likewise the wiring, connections, etc.....

If one is say 125f, and another is 175f, then that's a possible problem. Provided the current draw is the same on all 3 legs.....

In any case, training will help.

I think whatever is the ambient temperature existing in the room or inside the enclosure.

The internal condition of an electrical connector cannot be determined solely on the basis of IR termperature measurement. In general, a current-carrying connector should never run hotter than the conductor on which it is installed. Connector to conductor contact is dynamic and current transfer occurs through relatively small areas of lowest contact resistance. However, those contact areas change as a function of internal resistance. Resistance increases in old contact areas (called A spots) and decrease as new ones are formed. That effect can be seen through temperature (and resistance) changes. Increasing as the resistance of old spots increase and decreasing temporarily as new ones are formed. Ultimately, all are consumed and the connector resistance (and temperature) begins to rise and will continue to rise in thermal runaway and ultimately failure.

Does this new toy interface with a computer?

After you play with the camera enough to get comfortable with it, decide on a standardized picture to take of each piece of equipment. Always use the same camera angle and framing when taking these normal, maintenance, pictures. Set up the folders or the naming scheme for the pictures so that all the pictures, for the same piece of equipment, are in a row when you browse the folder. That would make it easy to spot differences over time. With the preview pane open, you can quickly step through the pictures, with the same camera angle and framing, the image won't jump around very much, making comparison easy.

Yeah it generates reports that u edit. I/ we have already paid for the ir camera, with all the things weve found. Not sure of i should be proud of the good that has come of this already, or ashamed we let it get that bad! LOL ANYway its an amazing tool

Well you couldn't just stick your finger on the connections to see if they were hot, right? This way you can clean up the connections or replace them before something burns up and/or somebody gets hurt. We both know that replacing the lug on a wire is a lot cheaper than replacing the entire switch box. Not to mention the down time wasted while someone has to go to a supplier, when they are open, to get the replacement for a burned up unit.

I know that i'm preaching to the choir, your bought the IR camera. I just hope that your management understands how much money you are saving them.