Buying a Used Sewer Inspection Camera

Do you need a push camera or a crawler?

Most plumbers and drain cleaners need a push camera; a crawler only pays once you inspect mains from 6 inches up.

A push camera is a stiff rod on a reel with a camera head on the end. It covers laterals and small commercial lines up to about 200 feet and is the tool for plumbers and drain cleaners. A crawler is a tracked robot with a pan and tilt head that drives through mains from 6 inches up, run from a truck or a case. A lateral launch crawler adds a second camera it can push up a lateral from the main, for municipal inspection contracts.

Start with a push camera. Add a crawler when you win main-line work.

Municipal main-line contracts often call for defects coded under NASSCO's PACP program. PACP sets consistent condition codes for pipelines, and its sister programs LACP and MACP do the same for laterals and manholes. Before you buy a used crawler for that work, check that its software can produce PACP reports.

How do you test a used push camera?

Push the full reel out and back while you watch the monitor, then check the head, the counter, the recording and the locator.

• Reel length and pushrod stiffness. A rod that has been kinked or replaced with a lighter rod will not push as far.
• Camera head: self-leveling, a built-in sonde (usually 512 Hz, the frequency listed for the RIDGID SeeSnake Standard), sapphire lens and no fog or water inside.
• Monitor: screen brightness, recording to SD or USB, battery health and the cable connector at the reel.
• Distance counter accuracy: push out 50 feet against a tape.
• Head diameter for the pipe sizes you work: 1 inch heads for small lines, 1.5 to 2 inch for laterals.
• Record a short clip and play it back on the monitor and on a computer, so you know recording and export both work.

Does a used sewer camera need a locator?

Only if you mark dig spots, and then the locator has to read the camera head's sonde frequency.

The camera head's sonde only helps if you have a locator that reads its frequency. Many used listings are camera only; a good locator adds $1,000 to $3,000. Confirm the two work together before you buy separately, and test them on the seller's driveway.

Locators tune to a fixed list of sonde frequencies. The RIDGID NaviTrack Scout, for example, lists 512 Hz, 640 Hz, 874 Hz and 33 kHz, so check the head's frequency against the locator's spec sheet.

What wears out first on a sewer camera?

The pushrod at the head end, then the slip ring in the reel.

• The pushrod, at the head end where it flexes most.
• The slip ring in the reel, which shows up as picture dropout when the reel turns.
• The head's LEDs and lens, from grit and chemical exposure.
• Monitor batteries, which are consumable.

What can't a push camera do?

It cannot see the pipe wall under grease or dirty standing water, it rarely passes a toilet trap, and it seldom reaches its full rated length through a line full of bends.

• Reel length is a ceiling. Every bend adds drag on the rod, so a 200 foot reel rarely reaches 200 feet through a lateral with several fittings.
• Most heads will not pass a toilet trap or a tight 90 degree fitting. Go in through a cleanout or pull the toilet.
• Standing water, grease and a full line hide the pipe wall. Clear or jet the line first when you need to see cracks and joints.
• Match the head to the pipe. A small head's lights may not fill a 6 inch line, and a large head jams in 1.5 inch drains.

How do you check a used crawler?

Drive it, pan and tilt the head, and pull out the full cable before you talk price.

• Drive it forward and back on flat ground and through a length of pipe. It should track straight, and the pan and tilt should move through the full range.
• Many crawlers are pressurized to keep water out. Ask how the unit is pressurized and check that it holds pressure; a slow leak points to a seal.
• Pull out the full cable and look for cuts, crushed spots and splices. Check the cable counter against a tape.
• Test the lights and the camera lift, if it has one.
• Confirm the control unit, software and any license come with it, and that the maker still services that model.

What should you ask the seller?

Ask how much rod has been replaced, what lines the camera ran, and what comes with it.

• How many feet of pushrod have been replaced, and when?
• Has the head been sent out for repair? Ask for the invoice.
• What lines did it run? Grease, roots and chemical drains are hard on heads and rod.
• Does it come with the locator, charger, batteries and the software that reads its recordings?
• Is the model still supported by the maker for parts and repair?

How much does a used sewer camera cost?

$1,500 to $12,000 for a push camera system and $15,000 and up for a crawler, depending on the reel, the head and whether a locator comes with it.

Common makes: RIDGID SeeSnake, Envirosight, Cues, Mytana, Vivax-Metrotech, Forbest and RapidView IBAK.