Customer Reviews

Ridgid 25643 SeeSnake Micro Inspection Camera

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm a contractor and was pleased to see an inspection camera finally out on the market that doesn't cost a fortune.

I was looking at the Milwaukee inspection camera when I saw this one. The biggest reason I chose the Rigid over the Milwaukee is that the Rigid has 3 helpful attachments with it: a mirror, a hook and a magnet. These attachments are great for doing down the wall cabling and retrieving lost items.

I could honestly care less about a rechargeable battery. If you don't use a rechargeable battery all the time, it doesn't hold it's charge and then it delays the job. Alkaline batteries have years of shelf life and are easily obtainable.

The picture being upside down doesn't make a difference. If you're looking up a wall, everything is going to look somewhat confusing anyway. The idea of a picture is to see leaks in pipes and you already know what direction pipes run so it doesn't matter if you're looking at it upside down. Besides it's easy to twist the unit to change the camera orientation.

I haven't tried the Milwaukee so I can't compare the Rigid's picture to it. I was fairly impressed with the picture on the Rigid so I don't have any complaints. Since this type of tool is new to the consumer level market, I'm not expecting miracles as far as the picture. It does the job fairly well.

I'm a plumber and I've waited a long time for somebody to make one of these. Some reviews complain that the image is upside down, but all you need do is grab both ends of the snake and twist it until the image is upright. It also comes with a hook that attaches to the camera end or a very powerful, very small magnet. The magnet is only about 5/16 diameter but will pick 6 ounces straight up.
It says right on page two of the instructions " Do not use this device for personal or medical use/inspection in any way." So if you are thinking of starting a roadside proctology service, forget it.
I think I am going to be very happy with it.

I'd been eying inspection cameras for some time and finally pulled the trigger on this model as the price was reasonable and, as somebody else has already mentioned, it included a set of small attachments. So far, I've used it while retro-fitting an exhaust fan into a bathroom that previously had none. Suffice it to say that there is no way I could have fished all the required Romex without this device. The hook attachment is indispensable for such a task. I was able to catch my fish tape at a 90 degree angle through a floor joist and double top plate even with a fair amount of existing Romex to get in the way.

The camera can become a little shaky and difficult to maneuver when the gooseneck is fully extended, but I can't see how this could be avoided without adding expensive directional control. My biggest disappointment was the mirror, as the lights at the end of the camera shine directly into it, making it completely useless in any environment that is not already lit. (...and when would you ever be using an inspection camera in a space that was lit?) I did not experience an inverted image as many people have previously complained.

If you find yourself fishing power or data lines through existing wall cavities with any degree of regularity, this tool is well worth the price.

We have some underfloor plumbing leaks and were worried about having to tear up several rooms to find out which room had the leak. This tool helped us narrow down the problem to a single 2x2 area without opening any holes other than drilling a hole in each room that I was able to plug quickly and easily... We were able to investigate a thoroughly insulated floor and find piping leak which is no mean feat. This was about to make me run out and get one of my own. (I was using the plumber's brand new device)

Why only 2 stars? Well this was a new unit. Used once and after 30 minutes the camera head had detached. The plastic casing and screw are brittle and break easily. We not being rough with the camera as this was our new toy, not a well used tool and even with kid gloves on we broke it on a single outing. Needing to replace a 70 dollar part each time you use it will get expensive fast. On a almost fully solid product I have no idea why they chose such a flimsy plastic attachment for the camera. Check reviews and you will see a number other users had problems related to the camera detaching.

This 250 saved us a lot of time but a metal camera housing and connector would have made this a keeper when the plastic attachment made this yet another piece of junk we now need to replace.

It is true what others say about the camera often being upside down or sideways but that is just a part of learning how to handle the tool to keep it facing the right way. We were able to work that out in just 10 minutes. Great tool if they just spen a few mor dollars to keep the camera from breaking off and and shorting out.

I own a few of these and as great as they are there are two newer models of this unit which blow this one away. There is a second generation of this unit which is much improved and a new micro Explorer which takes still pictures and videos of your inspections.

This takes some getting used to. The image is reversed, and the natural inclination is to move the handle to adjust the view, but you need to jiggle the cable - moving the handle of course does nothing. So it really takes a while to get the hang of it. But we use it for snaking cables in existing house walls, and it has proven valuable over and over again. It's kind of a "rough" tool, but being able to see what you are after can save big time, and give you confidence you are in the right place. We are happy with the purchase.

I borrowed this tool from a friend to snake an HDMI cable for a flat screen t.v. in a finished basement. It took some time but we were able to run a 32' cable through existing outlets without having to cut sheet rock. There is no way we could have done it without this tool. The detail on the screen is amazing. It does take some getting used to the screen orientation since the snake does twist around in the wall cavity as you work it along. As others have said and I'll confirm, just twist the base until the camera's pointing the direction you want. The included magnet did snag on insulation so we taped on a sturdier one and it worked fine.

Great for tracing wiring, finding fasteners, "aiming" tools, and locating leaks in engine bays and up under dashboards. Beats the old mirror-on-a-stick by a country mile.

Great tool. I chose the Ridgid over the Milwaukie due to the clarity of the display. I saw a demonstration of both brands and the Ridgid's display and camera was much clearer. I have used this Seesnake for assisting in auto repairs, clearing drains, pulling cable through walls [multiple floors] and inspecting plumbing. While I do not use this tool everyday, it is one of those tools that is a frustration saver. Eliminates so much guess work in hard to reach areas and helps reduce the times to become a contortionist. Well worth the extra $$ over the Milwaukie.

This product worked very well for me. I did not have any upside down image problems that other people are talking about. I think you just have to turn the snake-cable 180 degrees and that will solve this issue.

I guess some of the minor things I would say in the negative about my experience with this item would be:

--Once you have the snake inside a wall, it is hard to get it to go where you want to see something specific. You can only control direction by clumsily twisting and turning the handle to look around. I guess adding directional controls would make the unit more expensive.

--I would definitely like to have the ability to grab onto things by adding a trigger to the handle so I can grab onto something which has fallen into a wall or small hole. I lost a wood file inside my wall which fell down to the 1st floor. I can now see the file with the Snake, but cannot grab it. I guess I at least know exactly where the tool is now, DOH!

If you do inspection work into small places this tool is a very good product. I guess not being a handyman by trade, just a homeowner, I can't see myself using this tool more than a few times.