Picked the $60 snake camera instead of the $400 borescope for drain work

Last month I had a clogged kitchen drain that wouldn't budge with a plunger or chemical snake. I was ready to drop $400 on a proper inspection camera but my buddy loaned me his $60 endoscope from Amazon that connects to a phone app. I taped it to a stiff wire and shoved it down the pipe. Found a buildup of grease right at the elbow joint. Saved me a plumber call and the cheap camera did the job fine. Anyone else made a cheaper tool work when the fancy option seemed necessary?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivanlewis6d ago

i mean that's the thing right, you had the knowhow to tape it to a wire and shove it down there. i feel like most people would just give up or break the camera because they don't have that kind of patience. idk, maybe it's just me but I think half the battle is knowing how to rig stuff up when the expensive tool isn't an option. so my question is, did you already know where the elbow joint was, or did you just get lucky fishing around blind?

quinn5826d ago

Yeah I mean I've done enough drain work over the years to get a feel for where the traps usually sit. Typically it's about a foot and a half from the wall, give or take, at least in these old houses. I just took a guess based on where the sink was and went slow with the wire until it bumped something solid. A lot of it is just patience and not yanking on anything when you hit a snag. You can usually feel the difference between a clog and a pipe elbow if you pay attention.