Finding leaks and moisture sources in wall

[Chadwick]

Hey all!

Wondering what those plumbing cameras are called and where I could rent one. One of the walls in my girlfriend's house has some moisture showing up on one of the walls in the kitchen. We had a plumber take a quick look at it, and he gave us some advice on where to look so that we could do some leg work ourselves before calling him to fix it.

I saw a small hand held lighted plumbers camera on Ask This Old House, and forgot what it is called. Thought that we could rent one if they are not too much, and that would help us locate the source of the problem.

Thanks for your help.

[MikeMcCoy]

I used my moisture meter to pin down an area on my last house. Just keep in mind that the most moisture will be around the floor and more than likely below the source of the moisture. I wasn't thinking and cut through the drywall a couple of feet below the leaking joint. Of course I know we aren't supposed to admit that kind of thing.

[Tom Slick]

Ridgid and Milwaukee both sell those types of cameras. I don't know where to rent one.

[Monyet]

Don't know where to rent one, unless you could the rental counter at Home Depot. Looked up Harbor Freight and searched under "scope" as keyword, and turned up this item #94958-3VGA

Hope that helps.

[mschrank]

From what I learned during a recent plumbing fiasco, those cameras are primarily made for examining drain lines and don't go into pipes smaller than about 2". And the ones that do fit into 2" pipes don't do 90 degree bends. I didn't find any available for rent...I had to call around to local plumbers/drain cleaners to find someone who had one small enough to fit my line. Once we got it in there, it didn't help us pinpoint the leak.

If you are dealing with 1/2-3/4" supply lines, I don't think you'll find a camera small enough.

I've heard that some plumber have some pretty sophisticated leak detection "phones" that let them pinpoint leaks via sound. Look up "leak detection" in your yellow pages.

[LinuxRandal]

From what I learned during a recent plumbing fiasco, those cameras are primarily made for examining drain lines and don't go into pipes smaller than about 2". And the ones that do fit into 2" pipes don't do 90 degree bends. I didn't find any available for rent...I had to call around to local plumbers/drain cleaners to find someone who had one small enough to fit my line. Once we got it in there, it didn't help us pinpoint the leak.

If you are dealing with 1/2-3/4" supply lines, I don't think you'll find a camera small enough.

I've heard that some plumber have some pretty sophisticated leak detection "phones" that let them pinpoint leaks via sound. Look up "leak detection" in your yellow pages.

There are camera's that range in size. Milwaukee makes one but it is much larger then those used in automotive. You might be able to rent one from one of the autoparts stores. They put a hold on your cc for its value until you return it, minus whatever fee. Look for the term Borescope, as inexpensive ones that go up to 36" long and will fit in an opening as small as 1/4" can be found. You can find longer ones that can fit into smaller spots (think surgery), but you do dramatically rise in price and they are much harder to find.

Edit: Amazon Searching
http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Vision-636...2199942&sr=8-4

[Chadwick]

I'll have to call around and see what I can find. Thank you.

[herb fellows]

There are camera's that range in size. Milwaukee makes one but it is much larger then those used in automotive. You might be able to rent one from one of the autoparts stores. They put a hold on your cc for its value until you return it, minus whatever fee. Look for the term Borescope, as inexpensive ones that go up to 36" long and will fit in an opening as small as 1/4" can be found. You can find longer ones that can fit into smaller spots (think surgery), but you do dramatically rise in price and they are much harder to find.

Edit: Amazon Searching
http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Vision-636...2199942&sr=8-4

I own this puppy, and sadly paid $300 for it about 7 years ago. I find it to be very limited in use because of several factors:
1) Gunk inside the pipes obscures the 'picture'.
2)Even if the pipe is clean, it can be very hard to tell exactly what you are looking at. It can just seem like a mass of grey stuff, hard to distinguish anything from anything else.
3) At least when I bought it, you could not do 90 Degrees with it, it would be too severe an angle.
As others have stated, there are other brands/manufacturers, I'm only speaking for the provision 36.

Also, you would think you could save a few bucks by avoiding the hospital for colonoscopies, but noooo, some quibbling about sterilizing or some such nonsense! :-)

[little-doodie]

Ridgid Seesnake micro would work great
i have used one and it works well.

http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/SeeSnake-micro