# Sewer Camera abuse?



## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

I've had my camera rig for a year now and it is on it's second repair trip to the factory. Very little use as I very soon started loosing faith it this things ability to withstand what it was disigned to do. I even kept the last box they shipped it to me in. Please watch this vid and give your opinion ( be nice ) as I know many in here are pro's with the sewer cam. Factory says "user error", we had cams where I worked before I went on my own and I never saw one be this iffy. I'm not revealing the manufacturer as I don't want that to influence your opinions.
I went around a 3" quarter bend turn down at alley and on return out it was very difficult to come back and blacked out.





 
I was trying to find C/O's which never happened. Notice how well the new self leveling head works. ( cough )


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

Judging from just that one video, I'd say you weren't any rougher than I've been with mine. I don't pound on it every day but sometimes you get those tough spots where you have to "convince" it to go. It looks like it got caught on the spring when pulling back and broke an electrical connection? 

Did you have a skid/ball on the camera for this one?








Paul


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

What brand camera? and which model.


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

SewerRatz said:


> What brand camera? and which model.





mpsllc said:


> I'm not revealing the manufacturer as I don't want that to influence your opinions.


 

I don't think he's going to give that up yet. Hopefully after a lot of replies we'll find out.








Paul


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

I have never been a big fan of self leveling cameras, just more parts to break. Also depending on who made the camera I would say user error, or manufacturer defect. For example if its a SeeSnake, or a Peer Point, I would say user error, if it is a scooter, gen -eye eel, Serco I would say it is poor quality equipment.


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

Yeah I really don't want the manufacturer to play in on the ruling as yet. I'm anxious to say but want to leave it as is for now as I know most of you are way more experienced in this area of expertise.
No skid ball, to my knowledge they don't offer it, I need to check that out.


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

I thought the self leveling would be cool but as you can see this one in particular takes a while to level out. This camera was used exactly 3 times since it's last repair and on the second use I saw the screen flicker. I knew it wouldn't hold up.


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## ChrisConnor (Dec 31, 2009)

I used to have a self leveling pearpoint that would stick if the screws on the skid were too tight. It would cause the head to ellipse and the gyro on the self leveling head couldn't rotate.


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

This is my camera I spoke of yesterday for those that were interested. 
Southcoast Equipment Model # ccl-15008w. I have 200' on it and a Titan 3600 head. I had bought it just as I was joining here. I'm a small company and can't afford the 10K rigs many of you have. But this is really disapointing because it simply doesn't hold up. It does'nt have skids, I'm not sure they would have helped coming out of hole or not.


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## ToUtahNow (Jul 19, 2008)

SCE is the worst of the worst. If you are sending it to the factory it must be going to China. If they are not charging too much for the repairs, just keep using it while saving to buy a real camera when you can. If you read this forum and the Ridgid forum you will get a ton of information on SCE; their poor quality and lack of customer service.

Mark


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

I agree 100% with Mark SCE is sadly the worse system out there. You do not need to buy a system with every bell and whistle on it. If a footage counter is an option don't bother. All you really need is a camera, transmitter (for locating) and a decent monitor with some sort of recording ability. Don't waste your money on self leveling, you can tell where the bottom of the pipe is just by looking at it. If you can find a B&W system IMHO it is the only way to go. B&W camera heads are pretty much bullet proof and you can see things you would miss with a color system.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

mpsllc said:


> This is my camera I spoke of yesterday for those that were interested.
> Southcoast Equipment Model # ccl-15008w. I have 200' on it and a Titan 3600 head. I had bought it just as I was joining here. I'm a small company and can't afford the 10K rigs many of you have. But this is really disapointing because it simply doesn't hold up. It does'nt have skids, I'm not sure they would have helped coming out of hole or not.


Junk! plain and simple... Toss it!
Fixing it is throwing good money after bad... :yes:

If you want a good inexpensive camera take a look at Vu-Rite or EasyCam...
They work and in many cases are repairable by you with easily obtained inexpensive parts. In addition the company stands behind their product and offers great customer service...:thumbup:


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## AlbacoreShuffle (Aug 28, 2011)

Looks like you had a nice belly in that line at about 1 minute 45 seconds.
Did you get the repair job ?


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

Yeah I replaced the entire sewer line from house to turn down.
They had planted a tree exactly over the sewer and gas lines both as they were in same ditch which is common around here. I had planned to reroute around tree but when I got to the back fence I found that the grade wouldn't work out. When it was said and done I found that the original line was 4" out of grade in alley turn down. Don't know how it has functioned all these years. The house was built in mid 80's. The owner thinks the ground level must have shifted, not so sure as in most cases in shifting something especially in PVC snaps in time.


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## Mr Plumber (Oct 20, 2011)

Redwood said:


> Junk! plain and simple... Toss it!
> Fixing it is throwing good money after bad... :yes:
> 
> If you want a good inexpensive camera take a look at Vu-Rite or EasyCam...
> They work and in many cases are repairable by you with easily obtained inexpensive parts. In addition the company stands behind their product and offers great customer service...:thumbup:


Hew red 
where can you find those brands of cameras?


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Mr Plumber said:


> Hew red
> where can you find those brands of cameras?


http://www.vu-rite.com/

http://www.easycamllc.com/


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Allan J Coleman sells the Vu-Rite, He has them in stock, I got to look at them, not a bad system for the price.


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

I was looking at them, the easy cam has my attention but would need more time to look it over and see if anyone can split hairs between them on quality, customer service etc. We had just bought our SCE unit when we joined here or I wouldnt have done it. One thing I've noticed is you guys know your business.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Easy Cam & Vu-Rite are basically the same cam as I understand it.
There was a split in the company...
UnclogNH could give you more info on that...


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

Just got a Vu-Rite. I like it better than the Mytana or Ridgid. Seems more robust and durable.

Without color, discerning the type of pipe in the ground can be a challenge. For our pipe bursting, we have to know exactly what's there so the color is a must for our needs.

The self leveling is neat but not a need. If you have a locator, you don't need a footage counter.


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## drs (Jun 17, 2011)

I have the Mytana mainline camera set up and never had any problems.


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

*Bad luck???*

Well SCE supervising tech sure nuff played the "user error" card. To be more specific he called it "bad luck". Pffttt. Bad luck that I hadn't been in PZ before I bought it so I would have known to look the other way. Cost will be 375 for repair and return shipping. Cost me 150 to ship it to them totalling 525. I plan to get it here then sell it. Every 3rd use or so I have to go through this. BS. I'm selling it and will get a better unit. I told him about the forums and he said oh 2 or 3 plumbers have issues with them not bad odds. I assured him it was way more. He said thier units hold up great. He then said he would hold it 30 days waiting for the ok to repair but then it would go to warehouse since it gets crowded in the REPAIR SECTION. :laughing: oopsssss


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## ToUtahNow (Jul 19, 2008)

Did you catch the name of the SCE supervising tech?

Mark


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

Introduced himself as John.


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## SewerRat (Feb 26, 2011)

mpsllc said:


> *he said oh 2 or 3 plumbers have issues with them*
> 
> 
> > I had problems with a SCE cam I borrowed from a buddy but I didn't call them about it so now I guess that makes four of us who have had issues.


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

mpsllc said:


> He then said he would hold it 30 days waiting for the ok to repair but then it would go to warehouse since it gets crowded in the REPAIR SECTION. :laughing: oopsssss


 
That should tell you something right there. I bought my Seesnake used and have had very good luck. I think if I were in your shoes I'd be looking on Ebay and Craigslist as well as pawn shops for a lightly used unit. 





Paul


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

SewerRat said:


> mpsllc said:
> 
> 
> > *he said oh 2 or 3 plumbers have issues with them*
> ...


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## UnclogNH (Mar 28, 2009)

mpsllc said:


> This is my camera I spoke of yesterday for those that were interested.
> Southcoast Equipment Model # ccl-15008w. I have 200' on it and a Titan 3600 head. I had bought it just as I was joining here. I'm a small company and can't afford the 10K rigs many of you have. But this is really disapointing because it simply doesn't hold up. It does'nt have skids, I'm not sure they would have helped coming out of hole or not.


Ok I saw this video and my first thought was South Coast Equipment  :laughing:
I knew by the picture quality and the fact it was sent back twice :yes:
I have had my VU-Rite for over 2 years now its a tank also have a Ridgid Compact I scored for a song it's pretty good too.


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## rainman (Feb 19, 2009)

VERY GOOD VIDEO First of all your in PVC that should have been a piece of cake.try going through 6'' clay tile with massive root balls and misaligned tiles.Im wondering if there was a belly in that pvc. That camera is crap! You were operating it correctly,If you said it was a ridgid the sewerratz guy would have blown up because he is in luv with his ridgid distributer in chicago. Im in the market for a new one,mine is 6yr old and the manf is saying its to old and alot of the parts are antiquated. So go figure.I cant figure out why you can buy any other electronic equip cheaper by 20% now then 6mos ago but,these ridgid-spartan-general cameras are going up in $ they must all be in bed together.And if thats what self leveling is all about-they should go back to the drawingboard. I still am surprised you had that bad picture quality in PVC the easiest task for a camera.White inside and smooth on the bottom. Amen


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## Epox (Sep 19, 2010)

rainman said:


> VERY GOOD VIDEO First of all your in PVC that should have been a piece of cake.try going through 6'' clay tile with massive root balls and misaligned tiles.Im wondering if there was a belly in that pvc. That camera is crap! You were operating it correctly,If you said it was a ridgid the sewerratz guy would have blown up because he is in luv with his ridgid distributer in chicago. Im in the market for a new one,mine is 6yr old and the manf is saying its to old and alot of the parts are antiquated. So go figure.I cant figure out why you can buy any other electronic equip cheaper by 20% now then 6mos ago but,these ridgid-spartan-general cameras are going up in $ they must all be in bed together.And if thats what self leveling is all about-they should go back to the drawingboard. I still am surprised you had that bad picture quality in PVC the easiest task for a camera.White inside and smooth on the bottom. Amen


Preaching to the choir brother. Would you believe I'm still waiting on it? They said they been backed up due to the holidays.:blink:
Yeah I'm sure the holidays have alot to do with a sewer camera's repair department.:laughing:
Yes the sewer line was bellied to say the least. I was forced to reroute to alley turndown because to achive grade I had to lower the alley turndown 4". Not sure how a house built in 80's was running a total of 4" negative grade.


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## rainman (Feb 19, 2009)

*Are you kidding me?*

This pictureis Garbage for a "easy" camera View.PVC Pipe? This camera would be useless in the real world of old clay tile which is black inside,and misaligned due to massive root balls! Surprised to see the sewerrat guy did not already "brand it" by not being a ridgid! He is obsessed with the chicago guy who makes a big living off of ridgid.Anyway,You are not abusing the camera in any way. Self level? If that what self leveling is give me a break!I cant figure out why "all" other electronic stuff is comming down in price and these "big" manufacturers are raising the prices on sewer stuff! Im really glad I watched this video because my current 6yr old camera system is ''ANTIQUE'' they say, and no one has parts anymore.Lets see should I spend 8,700.00 for a new ridgid modest camera system, and struggle to re-coupe my cost at 225.00 a service call,and hope I get the job to repair the issue? Oh wait,just heard my competition will do a camera locate for 100 bucks cash! Wonder if the sewerratz buddy will give me a "break" on a new ridgid camera due to "hard times"? what do you think?:whistling2:


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