As an advocate of evaluating existing septic tanks from outside the tank, I have always highly recommended using a powerful spotlight and large mirror on a handle for evaluating septic tanks. Now it feels like we have gone from the stone age to the “we’re finally going to work smarter” age.
An evaluator I know showed me pictures that he takes with a system he devised: a GoPro on an extendable handle with a drone light. I’ve seen his pictures and reports and they are remarkably bright and clear. Any system evaluator would be proud to get the results he gets.
After I saw those pictures, I challenged a tech-savvy co-worker to come up with a great way to evaluate tanks visually without going in; basically, I asked for a mirror and spotlight but on steroids.
The very next day he walked in with the answer: a 360 camera. This changes the game.
The camera is lowered into the tank. The handle is merely held still. Without turning the camera at all, an app on your phone allows you to pan around the entire tank and focus in where you need to. You can record the inspection and watch on a computer when you get back to the office, and while still on the site, you can look at every square inch of the tank and zoom in where you need to on your phone.
The light we have tends to illuminate one direction from the camera. Although it is bright enough, it works best if we turn it 180 degrees to optimally light up the other side.
The camera that we are working with is an Insta360 X5. It is on an X5 utility frame, has a 256 gig memory, has a VIJIM cold shoe light and an Insta360 3-meter stick. I have another co-worker who said they ordered a GoPro 360 that I assume does the exact same thing; we shall see.
The size of this camera is amazing; it’s smaller than my cellphone. This allows it to easily fit into vent pipes and observation pipes if needed. Because of the small size and powerful capabilities this would also work well to evaluate parts of systems a typical mirror and spotlight would never fit. Consider using this to lower into buried distribution boxes or seepage pits, things you could not fit mirrors into with any success.
Another benefit is the mirror and spotlight tend to illuminate one very specific location in the tank at a time. The mirror is harder to use when there are several risers or a tank is deep because you are using only your eyesight in an attempt to see farther in a dark tank. The 360 camera, depending on what light you use, really brightens up the inside of the tank, and again, allows you to focus in on any spot in the tank with incredible clarity right on your phone.
Obviously if we are going to evaluate a tank, seepage pit or D-box, we’ll want to look inside prior to pumping to observe the level, and after pumping to look at the condition. This camera will be a huge help during pumping to watch for drainback. The possibilities here are endless.
We had an evaluation for a home sale recently and the tank had 6 feet of riser. There were anomalies on the top of the tank that even when lowering in a phone with a flash were not very clear. But when reevaluated with a 360 camera, the items in question were very clearly brought into focus.
You can upload footage to a computer with the proper connections for the purposes of observing on a larger screen than your phone, and to store files so you can forward them to customers. Many times I’ll grab screenshots to create a PDF recap of what we found inside the tank. These pictures make outstanding additions to any home sale evaluation report.
This camera is light, small and powerful. You don’t have to do any aiming; just lower it into the tank and literally just hold it still. The app on your phone allows you to pan throughout the entire tank and zoom in on areas you want to make note of or get a better view of.
So whether the tank has roots, cracks, leaks or concrete corrosion, the 360 camera brings every square inch of the tank into bright focus. We were recently using this on a job and evaluating a very old tank. Another installer was present on the site to perform some routine maintenance. When he saw what the camera did, he was sold on the spot and said he was definitely getting one.
If you aren’t using one of these yet, once you see their capabilities you definitely will be. This is one of the best pieces of technology I’ve seen recently, that I know my company is already benefitting from.
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