If you are having trouble with your plumbing, or even locating where your pipes may be there is an instrument that you can use. Pipe cameras are a tool often used to solve these problems. The camera can be used to see under buildings and roads. What can the camera tell us, and how does it work? These are the questions we will discuss below.
The basic parts of a plumbing camera are a high definition waterproof video camera attached to a flexible rod. Push cameras are small cameras attached to a cable and pushed in manually. This type of camera is good to use in places like small drains, and residential sewers. Cameras controlled remotely called crawler cameras are better for larger jobs.
A pipe inspection gauged is attached to a motorized cable. The camera has a light usually LEDs to illuminate the pipe. Some even have lasers to help measure the diameter of the pipe. The cables are coated to help them from damaging the pipe. Another more advanced form of sewer camera is the Inline Inspection Pigs. They use ultrasonic technology or Magnetic Flux Leakage to measure anomalies in the pipe.
To use a sewer camera, place the camera in the main sewer clean out. From here the camera can be used to locate drainage issues. The camera can see what is blocking the pipe , mud build-up, grease, sludge, and foreign objects. The camera can detect tree roots that have broken the pipe. The camera can also show a pipe connection and if there is a connection break. The camera can tell what kind of piping your sewer system has. The camera can also help locate where the pipes are underground. Some cameras have a signal receiver. The camera sends out a signal above ground and receives a signal back from the pipes underground.
In looking for leaks in a pipe, a plumbing camera might not be the best tool. Since the camera is inside the pipe, it cannot see what is occurring what outside the pipe including if water is flowing out. The pipe walls are thick and covered in grease and other build up. What looks like a hole or crack in the pipe could be just a hole in the buildup. The crack could also not go all the way through the pipe. It is hard to tell what is going on with a leak when you are just looking through the inside part of the pipe.
Using a plumbing camera can help take the guesswork out of plumbing issues. It can save a person a lot of money and wasted time. The camera can help you see the exact type of problem that you are facing. It can also tell you exactly where the problem is originating from. It saves a lot of guesswork. You know what pipes need to be dug up. Since you can see the blockage, you will know rather the pipe needs to be dug up, or if you can solve the problem through other means.