Borescope recommendations?

[stownsen914]

Emphasis on reasonable price ...

Thanks.

[Cajundaddy]

Unless it is a tool you expect to use often, rent as needed.

[timmy2]

Have a laptop?
I bought one of these, works well enough for what I need it for.
USB 5M Portable Waterproof Inspection Camera Borescope Endoscope 4 LED Light | eBay

[stownsen914]

Originally Posted by timmy2

Have a laptop?
I bought one of these, works well enough for what I need it for.
USB 5M Portable Waterproof Inspection Camera Borescope Endoscope 4 LED Light | eBay

I've looked around on eBay and Amazon and have seen a number of the lower cost ones like the one you suggest. I should have mentioned my intended use .. I need to look at the inside of my engine's combustion chamber in diagnosing why it won't turn over due to a suspected blockage. I'd like to use a borescope to go through the sparkplug hole to look around in there. It looks like some of the lower cost units have a relatively large "head" that may not turn the corner nicely (and possibly also no wide angle lens) to see the sides of the combusion chamber. Have you had experience using yours this way? Thanks ...

Scott

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by timmy2

Have a laptop?
I bought one of these, works well enough for what I need it for.
USB 5M Portable Waterproof Inspection Camera Borescope Endoscope 4 LED Light | eBay

Hey that is pretty slick. The last one I used was a complete rig with articulated gooseneck camera. I think it sold for around $3k which is why I rented. Something like this USB cam might work if the lens is wide angle enough.

[KTL]

Check with ShakinJoe here. He may have one you can borrow or a good recommendation for one.

[stownsen914]

Originally Posted by KTL

Check with ShakinJoe here. He may have one you can borrow or a good recommendation for one.

Thanks Kevin

[SchnellSchweitz]

+1 on the ebay borescope.

Just a shot in the dark, but I had an issue where I had something blocking my engine from turning over. Turned out to be a leaking injector had flooded a cylinder and caused hydrolock. Easy check is to insert a long straw down each spark plug hole. Plug the top of the straw hole with your finger when you extract and you may find some gas collecting in one of your cylinder chambers.

[AlfonsoR]

It would be great if the one that timmy2 would do the trick, but I am almost sure as with most things, you get what you pay for.

Here is a website that might help. Flexible Borescopes & Fiberscopes by MEDIT | Quality and Affordable

Notice that they have one for $200, however it does not have an articulating tip.

[Walt Fricke]

Harbor Freight has one which will do the job. Somewhere between $150 and $200 as I recall. Has a 10 or 12mm head (so it will go into spark plug hole). Has a 90 degree mirror you can attach on the end so you can look sideways. Has a small but large enough screen for viewing. Has a button to allow you to capture images. Port for an SD card to store these on and transfer to your computer. And a USB port, which (I forget) either connects directly to computer, or should allow you to view in real time on the computer's screen - I couldn't quite get this part to work. They have one for under $100 also, but its head is too large for the plug hole. The E-Bay one looks like that is the case with it also. You need a semi-rigid stalk for these, not something as flexible as that coiled cord.

[timmy2]

10 mm diameter head and 53mm body length on the one I have.
I've taped a stiff wire to it if I needed to hold it rigid but I think the body would be too long to actually turn to look at the valves if that is what you want to do.
Having used many Borescopes in my industry I don't recall one that would have a small enough head to make that turn... Maybe in the medical field...
Definitely be able to inspect the top of the piston though, with a stiff wire attached.
The last time I used mine was to find the bolt from my vent window mount that fell into the front part of the door. What a pain getting that sucker out!