I love that our group and so generous with feedback! What sewer scope hardware would you recommend for somebody just starting out with sewer scope?
By hardware, I am assuming you mean equipment? I have the Milwaukee pipeline (120’ & 200’). It’s pricey, but the cream of the crop! The cable pushes with ease, the pictures and video quality is great, the enclosed real is mandatory (for me), I have had no maintenance expense in the (almost) 2 years it has been in service. It paid for itself in less than 4 months. Definitely worth checking out during your due process.
It’s a great ancillary add-on!! Good luck. 
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I personally don’t do the lateral scopes or septic inspections, I have a licensed Plumber who does them all for me, although I did the research on these things and found Rigid to be the cadillac of scopes and my Plumber actually purchased the one below, this was after he’d gone through two other off name brands in under 2 years and after spending nearly 10k on off brand scopes.
You get what you pay for.
Ridgid Seesnake Max Reel 63658 Seektech SR-20 Locator 21893 CS6X Versa 64968 | eBay
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There are a ton of scopes out there and generally you will get what you pay for. However, I know a few with the Ridgid system. For them, they love it, but when sending in for repairs, have said that it is $1000 at a minimum, 4-6 weeks, and never deemed as an equipment failure.
I went the cheaper route with a camera system from Inspectorcameras.com and went middle of the road. I have some spare parts in case, and have never had any damages to replace, but nice to have in case and I can fix mine if ever needed. I have been totally happy with it and no complaints.
For the SOFTWARE, I just made my own templates and comments with Homeguage
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The plumber is video scoping a sewer pipe. Who the hell wants or needs 5k video of a sewer pipe. Save your money any buy a camera similar to yours.
I can see everything with a $500 sewer scope that a $10,000 sewer scope can see. It’s like thermal cameras, it’s the person behind the equipment with the skill that really matters.
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Which one do you have? I have been looking right now too.
Daniel there’s plenty of sewer scopes on Amazon with 200 foot leads and a 9 inch color screen for under $1000. They will take a little bit more time to unreel and reel in but it’s a far cry from $10,000.
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For a good value and excellent service I recommend you talk to Mark at https://inspectorcameras.com/
I remember you making this point in the other sewer scope thread. I totally agree. I would rather buy 10 1000 dollar sewer scopes that broke after a long period of time than 1 sewer scope for 10k. It can still break. Correct me if I’m wrong, but all you really need is 1. Enough line. Around 150 feet. 2. A decent camera. 3. A line counter built in so you know how far out a defect is. 4. Good training. Internachi or sewerscan.
A self leveling camera seems unnecessary because the defect is there however far down the line it is. That’s all you need to know.
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Yes to all of the above except for this. It’s not our responsibility to locate or know how far the defect is. As long as the defect is somewhere between the clean out and the public sewer connection that’s all you need to report on. I don’t care about self leveling video cameras. The water running through the pipe as I’m video scoping will tell me where the bottom of the pipe is. Once a defect is found it’s very easy to take a live snapshot. Most equipment will allow you to rotate the photograph.
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Thanks. What is modt equipment?
Most equipment
Yes, I was looking at several around $900-1200, but was skeptical as to the camera quality
Daniel the camera quality is very good in these inexpensive models. Pick something up on Amazon, give it a test run and if you don’t like it send it back.
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That definitely would not work in my area. If there’s a 180 ft sewer line that has a break in the clay pipe, or other type of damage, at one small area, but the rest of the pipe is good, they’re going to want to know exactly where it’s at. All of the professionals that do sewer scopes in my area have a tracer and spray paint in the yard, driveway, etc, exactly where an issue is located.
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The key is you have professionals doing the scoping. The professionals will likely be the same people doing the repair.
If a home inspector identifies a problem with the sewer it is not his responsibility to locate the defect and identify its location. He will simply defer further evaluation and repair by a professional.
It is just like operating a furnace with a thermostat. The furnace did not turn on it is not my responsibility to locate the component that isn’t working or a method of repair.
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Same here, I’m getting paid to locate and report on defects, the 15K Rigid system that I posted does have leveling, the utrasonic locater to pin point problems, it tells you the angle of the pipe so you know there will adequate flow when solids are present, and it tells you how far out into the line you are. Here’s a couple from todays scope, the line looks great for a home that was built in 1927, but there was a previous repair that was found, it transitions from clay tile to PVC, so I recommended that my client inquire about any possible transferable warranties.
Anyone can buy cheap equiptment and replace it multiple times, I buy and use only the best equipment, always have and always will.
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Curious because I don’t do these yet but may in the future; do you mark the location outside (or inside I suppose) of where the defects are when you find them?
I’m not Kevin, but in my area they mark it (usually circle it), plus take a photo of exact location (however many feet out), and include that along with video, and description, in the report. A srill photo of the video.
And these are companies that only do sewer scopes, no repairs. It makes it a lot easier for Everyone involved.
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Just to clarify, they put a mark on the grass or concrete slab or wherever the issue is?