USAP-12.8-130 – 0.5″ Pipe Camera – 130′ Length

Affordable sewer cameras are often just as beneficial as premium sewer camera models with all the bells and whistles. This will help you discover how to find the best sewer camera for you.

Affordable Sewer Camera

Everyone is looking for the biggest bang for the buck when it comes to purchasing a sewer camera. You don’t want to go too cheap, but you also don’t want to spend a huge portion of your tooling budget on a single piece of equipment. (After all, you have plenty of other items you need to spend money on as a plumber or home inspector).

Unfortunately, it is a common perception today that sewer cameras are expensive. Boutique and bespoke brands sometimes charge over the odds for fancy units.

The purpose of this blog is to explore more affordable options. We discuss the factors influencing sewer camera affordability, the benefits of cheaper sewer camera models, and which features are essential if you want to save money.

Why Do Sewer Cameras Matter?

But first, why are sewer cameras so important?

Several reasons. First, sewer cameras make pipe maintenance and inspections more efficient. Instead of using guesswork to know when and where pipework needs replacement, these units show you the precise location of issues.

Second, sewer cameras make it more straightforward to identify the nature of pipework problems. Sewer camera inspectors can see cracks, root incursions, and blockages in high fidelity.

Finally, sewer cameras reduce disruption. You can learn whether a sewer requires repairs without digging or blocking access.

Factors Affecting Sewer Camera Affordability

Various factors affect sewer camera affordability. These include:

• Brand reputation. Brands considered the most reliable or highest-performing can charge a premium, making their products more expensive. Select a sewer camera provider that you can have confidence in the after sales service.
• Technology. The better the technology on sewer camera units, the more you will pay. A premium unit equipped with a 4K camera will cost more than an equivalent unit with a regular 720p camera.
• Unit type. Push sewer cameras are often substantially more affordable than remote-controlled or autonomous crawlers.
• Features. Units with proprietary features are also more expensive. For instance, crawlers may have intelligent software that lets them move around obstacles without instructions from operatives, or push rods may have unique flexibility options. Some advanced sewer cameras may even provide measuring software.
• Additional accessories. Finally, accessories can affect unit affordability. Add-ons, like centering devices or camera location detectors, add to the price.
• Good news. Most every sewer camera available will provide adjustable lighting, image capture and video recording.

What Are the Benefits Of Affordable Sewer Cameras?

While more affordable sewer cameras might not be as capable as some range-topping models, they offer various benefits. Here are some of the advantages they bring:

Cost Savings

The most obvious benefit of using affordable sewer cameras is cost savings. The absence of advanced features lowers the price significantly. This is very important to start up business as they want to make sure that they get a return on the investment before they jump into a higher cost sewer camera with advanced options.
Most manufacturers focus on providing basic functionality only. The rest of the budget goes into making a reliable tool.

Easy To Use

The most affordable sewer cameras are also often the easiest to use. Manufacturers integrate simple control systems, reducing the learning curve and helping you onboard team members faster. Most of these low cost sewer cameras are ready to roll right out of the box.

This benefit is particularly welcome for small businesses and independent plumbers. You may not have time to learn how to use more complicated systems.

Early Detection and Prevention

Another benefit of affordable sewer cameras is the early detection and prevention of sewer line issues they provide. Despite their cheaper sewer camera price, they can still help you detect sewer issues on your clients’ properties and correct them before they cause further damage.

There are low cost sewer cameras that offer transmitting heads. Inside of the camera there is a transmitter the emits a signal that can be read by a locator above ground. With the use of the sewer camera locator you can locate where the camera head is inside the pipe and pinpoint the issue location.

Another nice feature that some cheap sewer cameras will offer is a self-leveling camera head. The sewer camera with self leveling camera head will keep the horizontal plane no matter how you twist or turn the push rod. This makes is easier for the inspector to know what is the bottom and top of the pipe that is being inspected.

Versatility

Finally, you can use affordable sewer cameras for a range of tasks. While manufacturers design them for pipework and drains, you can also use them in ductwork and engines. Most of the low cost sewer camera will offer a 100 foot long push rods which are usually compact and easy to transport.

What Features Are Essential For Affordable Sewer Cameras?

Choosing an affordable sewer camera with the right features makes it more useful and valuable. But which should you choose?

You also want to choose a camera capable of exploring pipework of varying widths. Some larger cameras offer high fidelity but are ineffective for exploring smaller gaps. Larger camera heads will provide better lighting and the standard diameter for a sewer camera is about 1 inch. If you get into a smaller diameter sewer camera head yes, it will fit into the pipe but will it offer enough light output to illuminate the inspection area? We recommend 1 to 1 ½ diameter camera head for your entry level sewer camera system.

Flexible designs are another critical feature for affordable push sewer cameras. Push Rods should have the ability that let them snake through winding pipework, if necessary. Being able to look around bends makes it more straightforward to identify blockages, root ingress, and other issues. The trick is that you want to find something that is stiff enough to push the entire length of the sewer pipe but also offer enough flexibility to navigate some bending pipe.

More generally, look for sewer cameras with better-quality imaging. HD sewer cameras make it significantly easier to identify the source of pipework issues.

WiFi connectivity is also helpful. Affordable units that can transmit information in real time to crew members in the field are considerably more useful. Some sewer cameras will offer an APP that will allow you view the inspection on your phone and easily send the data to clients.

Finally, look for an affordable sewer camera with adequate protection. Sensitive electronics should be able to withstand potentially harsh outdoor conditions in drains and pipes.

How To Choose the Best Affordable Sewer Camera For Your Business

Here are some tips for choosing the best affordable sewer camera for your business.

Write Down Your Needs

First, write down your minimum requirements for your new sewer camera. You will need to consider:

• The minimum sewer camera rod length you require
• Whether you need flexible components for navigating around bends
• The minimum resolution of the sewer camera
• Whether you need the ability to transmit images to on-site monitors
• Whether you need accessories for locating cameras in the ground (so you know where to dig if you discover an issue
• If you need a manual device or a crawler
• The quality of the lighting you require (exploration of larger-diameter pipework requires more lumens)
• Whether you need a zoom function (if using a pan-and-tilt device)

If you decide that you require a sewer camera with advanced features, you may consider the VIS 700 Plus

Read Reviews

Once you have a clear idea of your needs, the next step is to read reviews and see what people in similar situations say about their sewer camera model. Do they provide all the functionality they require? Are there limitations?

Also read the reviews of the supplier that you are considering Predictive behavior will indicate that how a supplier treated their customer in the past is the performance that you should expect after your purchase.

Inspect Cameras Before You Use Them

Inspect the camera before you use it if you have the opportunity. Ensure all connections are secure and each element is unused. Confirm how long the warranty lasts and the conditions under which you can make a claim.

Proper Storage for your Sewer Camera

Lastly, when you are done with your sewer camera inspection usage, store you investment properly. Strive to clean your sewer camera after each use and place inside the storage case that was provided by the manufacture. You want to make sure that your inspection camera is ready to go each and every time that you need it. A large part of that success is making sure that it was stored properly and poised for success.

If you want to purchase an affordable sewer camera, explore our offerings today. Alternatively, contact a member of our sales team for guidance and advice.