inspection camera - for homeowner use

Posted by The Daring Dufas on July 7, 2009, 5:34 pm

Heathcliff wrote:
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The first time I saw them for rent was at a local
plumbing supply house and the deposit was $1500.00.
TDD

Posted by Walter R. on July 8, 2009, 12:15 am

You can probably rig something up using this $ 29 camera:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47546
You could ductape the camera and a small led flashlight to a stiff sewer
snake. It needs to be stiff so that you can push it along 50' of sewer pipe.
Any old TV will give you a good image.
I have a slab house and wanted to know where all the pipes under the slab
are running. For $ 250, a commercial company marked all the pipes. Then we
looked down the main sewer line (100') to make sure it was clear. The black
plastic pipe was clean as a whistle, after 25 years.
Interesting and educational. The wonders of science!
--
Walter
www.rationality.net
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Posted by building-inspector on July 8, 2009, 1:55 am

On Tue, 7 Jul 2009 11:55:15 -0700 (PDT), Heathcliff
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Take your cheapie $500 camcorder and charge the batteries well.
Attach 100 feet of rope to it, turn it on, and turn on the light.
Drop it in the toilet and flush the toilet. Do not let go of the end
of the rope. Let it go all the way down the sewer until you run out
of rope. Then pull it back out the toilet and enjoy watching a really
shitty video (literally).
By the way, if you can not pull it back up thru the toilet, be sure to
tie the rope to something solid when you go to call a plumber. You
dont want to lose 100 feet of valuable rope.

Posted by SteveB on July 8, 2009, 10:32 am

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Posted by SteveB on July 8, 2009, 10:36 am

> Re: the recent thread on inspection cameras. I have different but
> related question. I would like to be able to inspect my sewer line
> out to the street - probably 50 feet or so total distance. I have
> easy access to it via a cleanout plug. I don't really have any
> problems with it right now in terms of clogs, but I am still curious
> as to how good of a shape it's in. I am pretty sure it's cast iron
> (the stack is) and 90+ years old. If there are incipient problems I'd
> like to know so I can start saving up! I am thinking there ought to
> be a reasonably cheap solution using a camera that hooks up to the
> computer. After all a USB webcam that sits on top of your monitor
> costs about $10. Can anyone recommend a product or a rigged-up
> solution? I don't want to pay $$$ to a plumber or even an equipment
> rental place. Yes, I am a cheap bastard. -- H
Well, then just dig it up, you cheap bastard. Other than that, SOME
companies do FREE inspections, or at least reasonable ones. You're dealing
with a big deal here. The first thing you need to do is get a good idea
what you're up against. And the way to do that is to put a good camera down
there and look at it up close and personal. What you see is what you get,
and you'll be sure about what work needs to be done. THEN, you can cut
corners on that with different ways to save money. Don't cheap out on the
inspection.
Welcome to the CBC. (Cheap Bastards Club) If you qualify, then you can
upgrade to the CBOFC. (Cheap Bastards Old Farts Club)
Steve

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