What is important for a plumber Inspection camera?

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Who does service your camera

  • Local repair shop

  • Manufacturer

  • Self

  • Self


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aiaccarino

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Hi guys,

I am doing a research to understand what the main requirements for a Video Inspection Plumber systems are.

What is obvious to me:

Compact/Light
Battery powered
Inexpensive
Easily serviceable (locally)
Able to survey from 1’1/4 to 4-5”
Sonde/Beacon
Light Control

What am I missing? What do you value the most?
How important is for a plumber to record videos or annotate videos or photos?
What do you do with the final video? Do you produce a report?
Do you buy online/shop or do you prefer a direct sale?

I would appreciate any feedback you can give me.

Thanks
 
For my line of work doing mains and whatnot it has to be able to go from manhole to manhole so at least a 350' cable. Self leveling is a huge one for me, light of course. and able to record to a DVD.
 
#1 is tough and reliable. It needs to be able to handle getting rammed through tight spots and around fittings, and the pushrod needs to be tough enough to handle that much force as well.

#2 is tough and reliable. Nothing is worse than doing a camera job with the customer watching the screen all interested, and the camera fritzing out.

#3 is tough and reliable. Camera repairs are expensive.

See the pattern there?

#4 for me is a small head to fit down small pipes and through P traps.

#5 is sonde. I get called out to locate sewer lines, breaks, septic tanks, etc, on probably 20-30 percent of my camera calls.

#6 is battery powered, with a long battery life.

#7 is compact and light. Space is at a premium in a plumbing service truck, so a smaller footprint is a good thing.

#8 is color. Nice, but not necessary.

#9 is length. 100' does 95% of what I as a service plumber and drain cleaner needs. Longer would be nice, but I don't need it too often.

#10 Locally serviceable is really nice. Took my camera in this afternoon, and I will be picking it up tomorrow morning.
 
Clarity is important.
Color would be nice but not necessary.
Cable stiff enough to push the camera through larger lines but flexible enough to make turns with out causing it to bind.
Recording. The one I use is a bit antiquated. It records with VHS tapes.:(
Sonde is the money maker. With a locater, one can find the head pretty accurately. Kind of pointless to see the problem an not know where it is
 
#1 is tough and reliable. It needs to be able to handle getting rammed through tight spots and around fittings, and the pushrod needs to be tough enough to handle that much force as well.

#2 is tough and reliable. Nothing is worse than doing a camera job with the customer watching the screen all interested, and the camera fritzing out.

#3 is tough and reliable. Camera repairs are expensive.

See the pattern there?

#4 for me is a small head to fit down small pipes and through P traps.

#5 is sonde. I get called out to locate sewer lines, breaks, septic tanks, etc, on probably 20-30 percent of my camera calls.

#6 is battery powered, with a long battery life.

#7 is compact and light. Space is at a premium in a plumbing service truck, so a smaller footprint is a good thing.

#8 is color. Nice, but not necessary.

#9 is length. 100' does 95% of what I as a service plumber and drain cleaner needs. Longer would be nice, but I don't need it too often.

#10 Locally serviceable is really nice. Took my camera in this afternoon, and I will be picking it up tomorrow morning.

Really well described points you have told to us!

Victor
plumbing Northwest Houston out to Cypress
 
The video camera inspection method is the best option for the plumbers to identify all the problems quickly and then fix it in less time. The above mentioned main requirements are really important for every plumber.
 
Obviously the local camera shop. Camera is always an important tools for me, so I never tried myself to fix it since I doesn't know about the technical much.
 
A flexible Cable is needed to move camera through the pipes. If you call a professionals services for inspection, they take all equipment with them.


What does professional services have to do with what people like in a camera?
 
Hey guys, Quick question here. I'm getting ready to purchase a Ridgid Seesnake camera reel. Have any of you guys ever used the 325' Reel? I've used the 200' reel for 2-12" mains and it worked great but I would like to get the 325' for those longer city mains.and the just in cases. My question here is, If anyone has a 325' reel , is it hard to push it all the way out to 300-325' or would you just recommend the 200' reel?

Thanks
 
Personally I can't answer your question but if I were to buy one it would be the 325. Seeing how here it is 300 feet between manholes.
 
I have had very little experience with a full size camera. It doesn't hurt to have the extra length, as there are trick you can pull to get the camera head out there further. Plus, that leaves you plenty of length to loose for the inevitable retermination. But I can imagine that there will be a sizable price difference, and how often have you needed to reach out to even 200'?
 
We have jobs where we need to video a couple thousand feet from manhole to manhole on new construction but I am sure most plumbers don't do what I do for a living.
 

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