Borescope

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lowbudget

Mopar Man
Joined
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Does anyone out there have a borescope? If so what make and model? Pros and cons? I'm thinking of buying one for my Christmas present to myself so I wanted to get some info on them.
Thanks Mike
 
I have one it is a cheaper version it cost about 100.00 retail. whistler wic1249c. It is more considered an inspection camera.

Very handy, has contrast adjustment, a light and can rotate screen has 2 foot camera cable and is compact. I use for general purpose, checking cyl's, looking for a dropped bolt in obscure places, inside frame rails for internal rot, quarter panel lips for the same... many uses

con screen is a bit small at a little over 2" I would recommend a larger one depending on what it is you want to do.
 
I'm planning on using it to check cylinders on motors, piston wash on my snowmobiles and looking for dropped/lost stuff. I want one with a mirror so I can look up also.
 
I used the one from Snap-on,It is about $370.00.It works great and definitely need a mirror trying to look at burnt valves thru the spark plug hole.
When shopping for one make sure the tip is small enough to go thru the spark plug hole....many out there for construction purposes.I was told Fry's Electronics had a good one,have yet to check it out.
 
Harbor freight, 89 bucks and hit it with a %20 off coupon gets it around $70. 2.4LCD dont know what a good one from a bad one is, this one is waterproof and comes with magnet and mirror attachments. HF is great for one off tools, but if your a pro and depend on it, maybe something a little more top shelf? Like I said, dont know what makes one better than the other except maybe a longer flex? OOh, good call on the diameter of the head!
 
I was kind of leaning towards the Snap On one, 339.00 on sale but I don't know if I will use it enough to justify the extra cost. It would be nice for the warranty though. The bad is it is made in China. I liked the Autel on Cornwell's website also as it had a small camera. I suppose I could go Harbor Freight and buy the extended warranty. Decisions decisions......
 
I have used a couple different ones. The OTC seemed to work ok but it's the style you have to put up to your eye to see instead of having a screen. Sometimes it's very hard to manage moving the end around and keep it up to your eye at the same time while trying to adjust the focus so you can see what you're doing (granted I was under the hood of a Dodge truck trying to get it in an injector hole without falling). Seemed like a good piece for the money overall.

The Snap-on one that I used was very nice with a very nice screen. The only thing I didn't like was the light was too bright, even on it's lowest setting. I was trying to look in a bellhousing at a leak and all it did was reflect off the aluminum and white out the screen. Made it very difficult to see anything.

I can't remember the third one I've tried. I think it was from one of the parts stores (O'reilly, Advance, Autozone) but don't honestly know. On it, the light wasn't bright enough. It made it very hard to see anything at all until you were right next to it, then it was hard to get it to focus.

A problem I've found with a lot of them for my personal use was finding one small enough to fit in the injector hole on the 24V and Common Rail Cummins engines (my main purpose for one). The OTC and the one I can't remember were the only ones I found small enough. They all had mirror attachments but they were very hokey and you had to be extremely careful with them. One wrong move and they were gone. Kind of defeats the purpose of a borescope when you have to remove the head anyway to retrieve parts. Good luck in your search.
 
I hadn't even thought about looking in a Cummins, which might arise some day as I own 3 of them. But they are all 12 V. If I remember right the Snap On was 8 mm head and the Cornwell (Autel) was 5.5 mm head.
I can pick up a used Snap On BK5500 for 150.00 but now I am having 2nd thoughts. Now I guess the Cornwell is leading the list.
The OTC is a borescope instead of a video scope. The video would be nice to look at on a computer screen which would enlarge the veiw, plus I would be reveiwing it in a nice warm house.
It looks like I need to do more research.
Thanks
 
I took a chance and picked up a used Snap On BK 6000 for 350.00. It sells for 879.00 new. I figure this way I can buy the 5.5 mm camera for it if I need it and still be money ahead....If it works like it should. Everything is with it and it appears to be in great shape.

What sucks is I don't get to play with it until I get back in the states Jan. 3rd. At least I'll have a Christmas present or two waiting for me when I get home. lol

Thanks for all the advice.
Mike
 
The Snap On BK 6000 borescope showed up. It looks like it has never been used. Now it's time to go shovel 1 foot of snow off my Apsen and have a look in cylinder#2. A person has to love a good deal!
 
lowbudget said:
I took a chance and picked up a used Snap On BK 6000 for 350.00. It sells for 879.00 new. I figure this way I can buy the 5.5 mm camera for it if I need it and still be money ahead....If it works like it should. Everything is with it and it appears to be in great shape.

What sucks is I don't get to play with it until I get back in the states Jan. 3rd. At least I'll have a Christmas present or two waiting for me when I get home. lol

Thanks for all the advice.
Mike
Click to expand...

Mike your going to be very happy with the BK6000. The great thing about the snap on borescope is the different camera ends you can get, the 5.5 mm for injectors there is a dual imager with 180 and true 90 degree and a blue light UV camera. You can also get 72 and 120 inch lengths.
 
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