My First, Second, Third and Fourth failed Window Seal

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

All at the same Inspection!

[William Warner]

It's pretty neat when you find them isn't it!

I had one a couple weeks ago and the condensation pattern mirrored the IR image. That was cool.

[Peter C. Russell]

Very cool Mario

[Wayne B. Wilson]

Mario
Do you check for low e also?

[jbettencourt]

Nice shots Mario!

[Mark Easter]

Very nice shots. I know these pics are difficult to get consistantly.

Any tips for us newbies? Specific weather patterns or time of day?

Thanks a bunch?

[David Sorge]

How do you know it was a failed window seal and not a normal indication?

Do you have information from the manufacturer stating that at the given environmental conditions present at the time of the inspection, the surface of the interior glass should be...X?

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Originally Posted by dsorge

How do you know it was a failed window seal and not a normal indication?

Do you have information from the manufacturer stating that at the given environmental conditions present at the time of the inspection, the surface of the interior glass should be...X?

As this was my 1st-4th failed window seal found at an IR inspection I visually verified the defect. Not hard to verify when condensation is visible between the panes. Unless you believe it was something else?

[David Sorge]

Originally Posted by mkyriacou

Unless you believe it was something else?

No just curious. I thought you used IR information alone.

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Originally Posted by measter

Very nice shots. I know these pics are difficult to get consistantly.

Any tips for us newbies? Specific weather patterns or time of day?

Thanks a bunch?

Mark,

We barely touched on this topic both with level 1 and 2 training. However, I can tell you that the inside temp was 70 d f and exterior temp was 40+d f. Relative humidity was 48% indoors.

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Originally Posted by jbettencourt

Nice shots Mario!

Thanks Jerry!

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Originally Posted by wwilson3

Mario
Do you check for low e also?

No, but I know that it can be done!

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Originally Posted by prussell

Very cool Mario

Thanks Peter!!

[Mario A. Kyriacou, CHI]

Originally Posted by wwarner

It's pretty neat when you find them isn't it!

I had one a couple weeks ago and the condensation pattern mirrored the IR image. That was cool.

Yes it is William!!

[John Snell]

Mario,
I'd be interested to know where you saw the condensation. These patterns are consistent with argon depletion of double glazed units; when that happens the condensation occurs on either the interior or exterior of the unit rather than between panes.

If anyone is interested, I have a paper I co-authored with my colleague, Rob Spring, on the topic. We found IR to be very useful at finding these before they were otherwise obvious and often before they went out of warranty. You may notice a deflection in the glass in larger units while smaller ones will often time spontaneously implode.

The next time you see this characteristic oval pattern in the center of the window, and if conditions are right for condensation, notice on which surface it has formed.