Borescopes are useful for conducting remote visual inspections in a variety of different scenarios. This includes applications in the automotive industry, the aerospace industry and the plumbing industry. However, these devices tend to be a hefty investment.
For this reason, it may be better to rent a borescope rather than to buy one for certain applications. However, there are plenty of situations where it may be better to purchase a borescope. To make this choice easier, let’s compare the pros and cons of renting versus buying a borescope.
Why Rent a Borescope?
Borescopes are specialized devices that utilize several different high quality components. They include specialized probes with cameras, and miniature LCD displays. Many of these devices are waterproof or water resistant, and some are built to withstand hazardous or even explosive environments.
All these features can drive up the retail price of a borescope. Borescope prices can range from $2500 for economy models, to $9500 for high-end models. This can make purchasing a borescope quite the investment.
At USA Borescopes, we understand that not everyone can afford to purchase these devices. So we have provided customers with the option of renting borescopes for a fraction of the price. The cost of rentals ranges between $100/day for the aforementioned economy model, and up to $400/day for high-end models.
Situations Where It Is Better to Rent a Borescope
It’s a good idea to rent a borescope if you do not intend to use the device frequently. For example, you may need to rent a borescope to locate a piece of jewellery that was accidentally dropped down a sink.
You can rent an economy borescope for this purpose for $100/day, which amounts to $150 with the one and a half day minimal rental condition. If the piece of jewelry you are retrieving costs more than this amount and/or possesses sentimental value, it may be worth renting out a borescope to locate it.
Similarly, you should consider renting a borescope if you intend to perform vehicle tune-ups or inspections yourself. These may be sparse inspections performed annually or bi-annually. You can rent a 4mm borescope for this purpose for around $300/day. This device retails for around $3495 otherwise.
Hunting enthusiasts should also consider renting a borescope to perform occasional inspections for their rifles. A 4mm borescope would be ideal for this purpose.
Situations Where It Is Better to Purchase a Borescope
If you intend to use a borescope frequently, it may be a better idea to purchase one. This is especially true for professional applications. If you are a mechanic that inspects vehicle engine components for wear or defects regularly, you may need to use a borescope multiple times a week. You can justify this expenditure if you intend to use the device more than twenty times during its lifetime.
The same can be said for borescopes that are used in other professional applications. The aviation industry is one of the main purchasers of high-quality borescopes. Aircraft components need to be checked for wear or defects regularly. Such borescopes are used so frequently that they make up for their purchase cost within a matter of weeks.
Borescopes are also frequently used in the oil and gas industry. Applications in this industry include inspecting welds, and checking conditions of heat exchangers, pipelines, and condenser tubes. The staff working in these industries need to be familiar with the devices they are working with, so it’s best for companies in such industries to purchase borescopes rather than renting them out.
There are also other reasons to consider purchasing a borescope rather than buying one. If you need to perform an inspection in a time-sensitive situation, it may be better to keep a borescope on-hand, instead of waiting for your rental borescope to be shipped over each time.
In addition to this, setting up a rental borescope could take additional time. You may need to ensure that the battery is charged, and also adjust the settings each time you rent a device. If you already own a borescope, you won’t have to worry about re-adjusting the settings each time you turn on the device.
This will also help ensure consistency between inspections. If you intend to monitor the wear of an internal component over time, it’s important to use the same borescope and settings for each inspection. This is because picture quality, settings, and lighting may vary between borescope models, which can make it difficult to maintain the same picture using different devices.
Renting or Buying?
As we’ve learnt so far, renting is certainly a great option for people that intend to use these devices infrequently, while buying is a better option for professionals that will be using them multiple times per month.
There’s no set rule for renting or buying a borescope, so you should assess the costs and time of renting against buying for your unique situation. There may be many cases where buying a borescope for personal use may be justified. Conversely, some professionals may be able to get away with renting a borescope each time they need to use one.
Where to Rent or Buy Borescopes From?
If you are interested in renting high quality borescopes, you should go with a reliable retailer such as USA Borescopes. In addition to offering some of the best borescopes available on the market, our staff can assist you in choosing the right product for the job.
Check out our rental page to see the features and rental prices for each model. If you are interested in purchasing a borescope, you can see our selection of 3mm videoscopes, 4mm videoscopes, 6mm videoscopes, 8mm videoscopes, and economy videoscopes.
