Dropped $400 on a fancy borescope and it barely saved me

I bought this high end borescope from Snap-On last month thinking it would make my life easier for internal engine inspections. Used it on a Cessna 172 cylinder and the camera fogged up after 10 minutes, couldn't see crap. Ended up going back to my old $80 camera from Amazon that's never let me down. Anyone else have a tool that sounded great on paper but flopped in the hangar?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_murphy3d ago

Is it really that big a deal though? A little fog on the lens and you're already writing it off. Sounds like the real problem is you expected a magic wand instead of a tool that still needs common sense. My buddy's got a Snap-On borescope and he just keeps a silica gel pack taped to the case, never had a fog issue once. Maybe take a minute to figure out the trick before blaming the price tag.

johnson.river3d ago

That silica gel pack trick saved me when I was using a Snap-On borescope last winter on a 737 APU. I actually bought a pack of 10 on Amazon for like 8 bucks and tossed a few in the case and one taped right near the lens. It pulled the moisture out way better than I expected, never had a fogging problem again even when I went from a freezing hangar to a hot engine core.

karen_carter3d ago

Is fogging up really that big of a deal in a heated hangar? You're working with a hot cylinder in a cold room, moisture happens with any camera. I've seen guys spend twice that on a Flir borescope that still fogs if you don't warm it up slow. Sounds more like operator error than a tool issue. A couple desiccant packs and preheating the probe seems like basic prep, not some crazy trick. Most folks don't read the manual and then blame the gear. If your cheap Amazon one works for you, great, but I'd take a Snap-On any day once you learn its quirks.