Common Costly Mistakes When Using a Snake Camera

Nothing is worst than finding a problem in your sewer line or process piping when you are using a snake camera. When that happens, you might have to postpone or even halt the process or production process.  Adding to these delays are the costly maintenance bills required to repair and replace your sewer camera equipment.

Avoid these common mistakes when using a snake camera stops you from throwing money down the drain.   Even if you feel that you purchased a cheap sewer camera you’ll still want to protect your investment.

1. Examine Your Snake Camera Equipment Before Use

Whether you are working with an old snake camera or a new pipe inspection camera with advanced features, examine the equipment thoroughly before use. That way, you will have the surety of using the inspection camera device effectively and practically when you reel it down the drains, pipelines or process piping. Identifying minor issues facilitates better care and quicker repairs.  We are all familiar with the old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”   You also get things fixed before the problem escalates into a costly inspection camera repair bill.

Here are a few things you should check during examination:  

Damaged power cords and kinks in the power supply line

Missing parts (such as connectors or protective caps)

Faulty switches and control buttons

Worn out reeling or external damage to the push rod

Cracked lens or grimy equipment

Lighting issues

In short, keep your eyes out for minor and major faults before use.

Continuing to use a faulty or intermittent inspection camera device is more costly than investing in a obtaining a repair evaluation. If anything looks out of order, repair or replace them before the next sewer camera inspection assignment.  If you show up to complete a job with a push camera that you know has been having problems and then it doesn’t’ perform in an adequate fashion to complete the assignment, who can you blame?  Yourself!    The cost of addressing the minor issues wit your sewer camera will be a far less cost than showing up to perform and inspection and not be able to complete the task.

Pro-tip: Ask a reputable sewer camera replacement parts supplier with professional assistance to handle your repairs and replacement needs.

2. Don’t Use It as a Cleaning or Bore Tool

One of the biggest mistakes when using snake cameras involves non-essential usage. Some workers might try pushing sewer camera probe to dislodge the obstruction or blockage out of the way with the camera. It doesn’t matter if you have the best sewer camera, the cheap sewer camera of the highest rated sewer camera, inspection sewer camera inspection equipment feature fragile parts and a sensitive camera lenses.  That is why the likelihood of irreparable damage is high when you use it as a cleaning or deburring tool for clogged pipes.

Most common damages in such situation include:

Dented and cracked screens

Blurry vision caused by grime and debris migration with the frontal camera lenses

Extensive wear and tear of the reel

Broken or kinked push rods

The good news is that some self-control and proper training can prevent these occurrences. Beginners must learn how to use the sewer camera like a delicate diagnostic tool during the sewer camera inspection. Request them to use other tools for cleaning purposes and remove the sewer camera out of the way when it’s not required.

Every organization is different when it comes to transparent dialogue regarding cost and operating expense to the entire organization, and we respect that.   We also feel that if you educate your front-line sewer camera inspectors about the actual cost of the equipment it will not only help them appreciate what the company is doing to make their job easier but also build a reasonable respect of the company investment.   Many times, the actual person that perform the sewer camera inspection has no idea how much funding was required to purchase the sewer camera inspection equipment.   With everything in life and in business we inherently treat the valuable assets with more care and precaution.  If the sewer camera Technician feels that the supporting sewer inspection camera is a disposable item is a consumable item or even a disposable item they will not handle this investment appropriately.   Our opinion is within a reasonable manner you should let your folks know the investment that the organization has made to made to make the job easier whether it is a Flexible sewer camera or a Rigid sewer camera probe.