# how to use a sewer camera on a cloged drain?



## matt38 (Oct 31, 2015)

hi guys im a plumber and have always been taught that the line needs to be cleared first before i can use a sewer camera to pinpoint the problem area. I remember we would use a pump truck to vac out all the sewage and then run the sewer camera (not always effective). But I would like to know if anyone has any tips on how to locate the problem area under a shopping mall slab on a drain I cannot clear. I know about the listening for the snake spinning at the problem area. How can I use a sewer camera in a line full of sewage?


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## dragit (Jan 16, 2015)

matt38 said:


> hi guys im a plumber and have always been taught that the line needs to be cleared first before i can use a sewer camera to pinpoint the problem area. I remember we would use a pump truck to vac out all the sewage and then run the sewer camera (not always effective). But I would like to know if anyone has any tips on how to locate the problem area under a shopping mall slab on a drain I cannot clear. I know about the listening for the snake spinning at the problem area. How can I use a sewer camera in a line full of sewage?


go downstream after the blockage and send the camer back towards it (if possible)


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## saysflushable (Jun 15, 2009)

matt38 said:


> hi guys im a plumber and have always been taught that the line needs to be cleared first before i can use a sewer camera to pinpoint the problem area. I remember we would use a pump truck to vac out all the sewage and then run the sewer camera (not always effective). But I would like to know if anyone has any tips on how to locate the problem area under a shopping mall slab on a drain I cannot clear. I know about the listening for the snake spinning at the problem area. How can I use a sewer camera in a line full of sewage?


 You need a camera with a transmitter on it. Then with the proper locator you will be busting cement right on top of the problem. We do it all the time


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

You can also put a sonde on the snake cable with some duct tape and push it out to the problem area then locate with a locator receiver...

Having a camera with a locating sonde in it I usually try sending the camera in from both sides and locating if at all possible...

From the upstream side you won't see anything with the camera..

This will usually give you a both sides of the problem range for where to dig. However, due to packing of the waste the upstream side may be exaggerated so use some caution there... 

I once did a locate job at the casino in their employee dining hall where their plumbers jumped in to action a little too soon. Our guys had jetted the line and drawn pea gravel up the line blocking it further up. I first located up the line and they jumped in to action despite me telling them to wait until I also located from downstream. When I finally located from downstream they were about 20' upstream from the problem when I gave them the line to dig on.

They had already moved the dining hall tables and booths, torn up carpet, put up plastic walls around the work area, cut the slab, and started digging, wondering why the hole was dry...

When I came along and gave them the right location about 20 minutes later...

They had about 20 guys working on the problem so I guess they wanted to git r done and weren't going to listen to me saying wait...:laughing:

So once the line was located, I went and got a nice meal in the employee dining hall and had dinner. By the time I finished, they had finished the repair, and were putting in the concrete patch down on the second hole...

The broken line only served the dishwashing room of their employee cafeteria and they had switched to disposable dinnerware when they couldn't wash dishes any longer. The cafeteria operation was never effected otherwise except for their work area when they went to repair the problem. The plumbing manager told me the cost of switching to disposable dinnerware was so high that the were under the gun to get it fixed...

PS Matt do an intro for yourself here...
I wasn't too worried about you being a non-plumber on this subject but you'll probably get jumped before long if you don't...


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