# Thinking about a sewer camera



## Bill (Jun 17, 2008)

Couple of questions.

What brand?

What price to expect for a new one?

What price to expect from a used one?


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## JK949 (Mar 18, 2009)

Brand: Ridgid or General

Price: Depends on a few factors

Are you planning on using it for commercial or residential use? 

The newer ones have more LED's in the camera head than the old ones. Color is nicer than B/W.

And don't let anyone get to rough with them. A kink in the rod is repaired by cutting it down and reattaching the head. A new rod is around $1800.


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## Va. Plumber (Dec 8, 2008)

Just bought a Ridgid see snake compact (color) with 100' spool, about $4,200. It's not a large monitor but picture is good. It will go through smaller lines but cannot push though too many turns, geat for shorter runs. Also bought a Ridgid navitrack II locator for $2,400. I haven't used it yet but have heard that it works really well from other plumbers, accurate locating and depth measurements.


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## Green Country (Mar 6, 2009)

I've used ridgid and they are nice. The color and self leveling features are nice, but not necessary. They didn't hold up real well, but I was at a 25 man shop and they got used and abused.

The place I work now has a vivax. It's nice because it is compact and can run off of a rechargeable battery, but it won't fit in an 1 1/2" line.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd pick the seesnake mini. If you need to go longer distances in larger lines, get the bigger seesnake.


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## Plumber Jim (Jun 19, 2008)

What size lines you planning on putting the camera in?
I have been using a gen eye II for about 9 years and it's been a good camera. I just picked up a used seesnake mini so i can camera 2" lines too. I would agree with eaither general or ridgid. 


Plumber Jim


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

Go seesnake. You'll never look back.

The compact model is the best for resi. If you do lots of commercial then you may want to get a bigger model as the compact doesn't work well in 6" and up. I won't reach out to 200' ether. The absolute best for resi though. I've used ridgid and mytana. There is no comparison to the ridgid cams.


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## lbjohn (Jul 19, 2009)

Open to brand, I expect it will be between 5 & 10K. I would buy used, but I haven't seen one except for some cheap ones that have reviewed as junk.


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## lbjohn (Jul 19, 2009)

We currently do mostly residential. So, up to 6". Thanks for the tip on the kinking it. I have only used a friends with him. He has a seesnake. It seems easy enough to use.


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## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

There are deals out there if you look hard enough. I wasn't about to spend thousands on my first camera. I found a shop in North Dakota, not too far away from me. He had a Sreco 200' reel, color camera with dimmer. Very heavy duty. It works perfect. I have my own monitor (small tv with VHS) if it goes bad I throw it away and buy a new one for under a hundred bucks. I've inspected dozens of lines with the camera, no problems.
I've used it and abused it and it just keeps working great. Paid $1200.00 for it.
I've had many comments by local city crews about how clear and crisp the color picture is, I like it and it's paid for itself over and over again.
They sell a lot of used ones and also make new ones, comes with warranty.
Let me know if you want his contact info.


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## A Good Plumber (Jun 18, 2008)

I have two Ridgid See Snakes w/ 200' color self leveling cameras. They are great for inspections 3" to 6 or even 8". Most of the time we can only push the cable out a maximum of 150' even if no offsets are involved. Running water helps when pushing the cable through. 

I now need a smaller camers head for 1-1/2" -2" inspections. I'm looking into the Ridgid Compact w/o the monitor because I have two monitors and only need the camera for short (less than 100') runs of pipe.

I've had both systems for four years and use them for about 5-8 inspections a week. They have held up great. The key is having an employee who cares about the equipment as if it were his own.

Anyone know of a good dealer I can buy a new Ridgid 100' color Mini cable?


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## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

This is the Sreco I'm using, not as fancy as some but it's color, has 200' and the picture is perfect. The green box carries my monitor, tapes and controls and wires. Pretty simple set up.:thumbsup:


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