I still think a full visual check beats a camera every time

I was on a job in Burlington last fall, cleaning a big brick chimney on an old farmhouse. The owner insisted I use his new inspection camera, saying it was the only way to be sure. I humored him, ran the snake down, and the screen showed a clear flue. But when I got up on the roof with my mirror and light, I found a huge crack in the clay liner, about two feet down, that the camera had completely missed because of the angle. The camera gave a false sense of security. I had to explain to the guy that his fancy tool almost let a major hazard go unchecked. I trust my eyes and a good mirror over a tiny screen any day. Has anyone else found a camera inspection to be less reliable than we're told?

3 comments

3 Comments

miller.rowan9d ago

Was the crack actually dangerous or just a normal wear thing?

daniel1409d ago

A normal wear thing? It was a crack big enough to lose a wrench in. Those fancy cameras are great for seeing straight down a pipe, but what about the sides? It's like trying to check your whole car's tire tread by only looking straight down from the driver's seat. You gonna miss the big nail stuck in the sidewall every time.

murphy.mason9d ago

Yeah, I was all about the camera too until a similar thing happened to me. That false sense of security is the real problem.