Great Troubleshooting Aid

Michael TMichael T Member Posts: 7,227 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited June 2016 in Rinker Express Cruisers Forum

We have done a lot of talking about trouble shooting items in difficult to see areas lately, such as inside transom drain holes, inside anchor lockers under raw water pumps etc.

I know a lot of you guys have used these but this item was an absolute mainstay of my trouble shooting equipment when I used to own a custom construction company.

It is a video inspection camera with adjustable zoom, lighting and on the newer ones a usb port to video and still frame shots.

I probably drilled 500 inspection holes in my time and used that camera for every kind of inspection possible (more about that later).

With my 2013 EC 310 we had a water leak - right from the factory -  that we could not find. the tech said, 'If I could just see inside!". I went oh sh*t!....I drove home and got the video inspection camera. Found the leak in about 10 minutes after 3 days of looking - you know the drill starting high with a hose and running water.....

I must have used that rig 30 times on the EC 310 and the EC 360 to look for a leak, some wiring, a coolant drip you name it. On boats I have snaked it behind cabinets, through access holes, around fridges, TVs, stereos, behind helms, and ice makers - even looked for dripping sink connections.......IMO for a handy (and entry level ones are CHEAP) tool that can't be beat for boaters.

I have a friend who has concerns about water intrusion into his transom and is going to use a video inspection camera to show his glass guy what his concerns are. that will be invaluable for the glass guy!

Now for waaaaaay off topic.... but here's an invention - related to using the video inspection camera - that I came up with all by myself. It's for the many of you guys who do DIY troubleshooting at home.

I had to cut inspection holes, right? I used to cut a hole (like 500 of them) about 1.5 inches in diameter. Find what we wanted - then what.

We used to have to get a backer or fiberglass tape (some lazy guys just stuffed a rag in the hole - then fill it with drywall compound. BUT if you didn't use drywall tape over it, it would crack 100% of the time. Customers don't like that. If you did use tape no matter how we faired the compound over the tape you could always see it in certain lights.

Now for my lightening moment. With the advent panel super glues like the polyurethane PL Premium I had an alternative.

I kept the drywall plug that I cut out. I 45 degreed the edges of it and the wall around the hole. I vacuumed-up the drywall dust then sprayed both edges with water to make the super glue stick.

I liberally applied the PL Premium all around the edges of the plug and the hole.

Then using super sized sewing pins I held the plug in place. 24 hours later it was dry. 48 was even better. No need for drywall tape. Two coats of compound and just sand, prime and paint.

Never an idea where it was. Even on pieces 16" X 16"

I did some of those plugs 15 years ago - no cracks.

I even did a repair for a lady where the sh*t head drywallers had not used tape where they put the sheetrock together on a huge room. She was in tears having been told it would be a $5,000.00 repair. I had my guys use box cutters to cut out the compound, vacuum the joints, glue the sheets together, two coats of compound sand and prime. I made her no promised but that was 10 years ago and its still holding fine.

Cost to her $500.00

Off topic for sure but that's my tip for the day LOL

BTW I lent my video inspection camera f to a friend he called to say it didn't work worth a da*m - it was all dark. I said take the safety cap off the end, buddy!

P.S. In the picture are two drywall plugs one straight from a hole cut the other 45'd for installation with the pins already in it. The spray bottle is to pre-wet the cut drywall edges before receiving the PL Premium glue.

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