bd32322 Posted September 28, 2012 Report Posted September 28, 2012 Do any of you use a borescope to look inside cylinders? I want one in the 200$ or so range. I was looking at the voscope or snap-on ones - any one has a PIREP on either of the brands? Thanks Quote
jetdriven Posted September 28, 2012 Report Posted September 28, 2012 Beechtalk has a 80$ HD dental cam they modified to use as a boresope. its 173 posts but good info http://www.beechtalk.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=50836&hilit=dental+borescope Quote
N201MKTurbo Posted September 28, 2012 Report Posted September 28, 2012 I have one to make me legal for annuals. I can't see anything in the cylinders that I cant see with a flashlight and small mirror through the spark plug holes. I stuck it in my exhaust system once and saw that the ends of my turbine impeller were all melted off. The turbo was working fine, so the bore-scope cost me $2500.00 Quote
KSMooniac Posted September 28, 2012 Report Posted September 28, 2012 I have a kit branded as Whistler (the radar detector folks) that is probably available in other labels. I purchased it at Fry's Electronics and I think it is/was also sold at Costco. (None around here) It has a skinny element with bulit-in LED lights and works pretty well, but it relies on a mirror attachment to look sideways and that does NOT work very well. It is great for looking at pistons and cylinder walls as well as nearly any other type of airframe need (like the Huck bolts in the tail) but it doesn't work well for looking at valves. I'll probably add the dental cam from the Beechtalk thread before my next annual. Quote
1964-M20E Posted September 28, 2012 Report Posted September 28, 2012 Beechtalk has a 80$ HD dental cam they modified to use as a boresope. its 173 posts but good info http://www.beechtalk...ental borescope Byron Enet to beechtalk and they wnate a login. Would you mind posting the make and model nuber here? Quote
Lionudakis Posted September 28, 2012 Report Posted September 28, 2012 I have tried using different types of video scopes and felt the poor resolution of even the higher quality ones was never even close to an optical scope, I use a Hawkeye, it's simple, and you can see detail that you simply will not see through camera/screen resolution, and it will fit in a 1/4" hole. Quote
MARZ Posted September 29, 2012 Report Posted September 29, 2012 Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=bore scope Quote
bd32322 Posted September 29, 2012 Author Report Posted September 29, 2012 The problem with some borescopes is that their 90 degree attachments dont work, thus apparently making them useless for viewing valves and such. I cant view the beechtalk site, waiting for login permissions from their admin or maybe Byron will post the details before then. Quote
Lionudakis Posted September 30, 2012 Report Posted September 30, 2012 true. the hawkeye one has a 90 degree mirror, still less than 1/4" diameter (the scope goes into a tube with a small mirror on the end that rotates 360), and I have yet to encounter something I couldn't see with it, I make a habit of looking inside cylinders on annuals. It's small diameter inside the relatively large spark plug hole leaves a lot of room for moving around. The scope tube is parallel the piston face. With the valve open it can even get in to see the back side of the valve / seat area. Quote
fantom Posted October 1, 2012 Report Posted October 1, 2012 Borescopes are much like radar.....you need to know a lot about how to use them and what they're telling you. Quote
garytex Posted October 2, 2012 Report Posted October 2, 2012 I have a focusing Haweye, and the optics are great. Cost $800. I mostly use it for rifle bores (for which is revolutionary, I can't imagine being without it now) but it allows a good view inside cylinders, too. It is great for magnified views of small areas with the mirror on. Kind of slow to inspect everything. fantom above is right, there is a learning curve, and for cylinders I'm on the back side. There is a great webinar on the EAA website by Bush titled "All about cylinders" with great pictures showing about to and failed exhaust valves that is a must read for any borescope neophyte. The short course is that the exhaust valves should have a red ash uniformly all the way around the face of the valve. Spots with no red on the outside edge of the valve face means the valve is running so hot in that area that it burns off the ash, and bad things are about to happen. I'm going to try to look at mine at 100 hr intervals, as that seems to cover the gestation period from warped to broken. Quote
kortopates Posted October 2, 2012 Report Posted October 2, 2012 I got a Autel MV201-85 Video inspection scope kit earlier this year and so far like it. I first saw it on Aircraft Tool Supply ATS but bought it elsewhere since they were immediately out of stock. They are available in 3 different diameter sizes from many sources. I went with the 8.5mm for the higher resolution over the smallest 4mm size. The kit comes with mirror and other accessories (magnet, hook tip etc) and allows you to record video and/or pictures. Quote
bd32322 Posted October 3, 2012 Author Report Posted October 3, 2012 I got a Autel MV201-85 Video inspection scope kit earlier this year and so far like it. I first saw it on Aircraft Tool Supply ATS but bought it elsewhere since they were immediately out of stock. They are available in 3 different diameter sizes from many sources. I went with the 8.5mm for the higher resolution over the smallest 4mm size. The kit comes with mirror and other accessories (magnet, hook tip etc) and allows you to record video and/or pictures. You had no issues inspecting cylinder internals with the provided attachments? Just collecting data ... Quote
kortopates Posted October 4, 2012 Report Posted October 4, 2012 You had no issues inspecting cylinder internals with the provided attachments? Just collecting data ... No, works quite well with good resolution. Quote
1964-M20E Posted October 5, 2012 Report Posted October 5, 2012 No, works quite well with good resolution. Just bought on like this from Harbor Freight they had it in stock. ($189) Looks like the same model problay came out the same facotry. Going inspect a plane tomorow will let you know how it works out and I'll post some of the photos from it. Played with is a little so far and it appers to be good. Quote
bd32322 Posted October 5, 2012 Author Report Posted October 5, 2012 Just bought on like this from Harbor Freight they had it in stock. ($189) Looks like the same model problay came out the same facotry. Going inspect a plane tomorow will let you know how it works out and I'll post some of the photos from it. Played with is a little so far and it appers to be good. Excellent ! Thanks! Please let us know Quote
1964-M20E Posted October 8, 2012 Report Posted October 8, 2012 Works pretty well for the $. The picture resoution is decent not 3MP to 8MP you see in regular digital cmaeras but you are usiing a very small lens. Takes some getting use to when trying to see something since the directions are all screwed up. Maybe an aerobatic pilot might have a beter touch. When using the mirror it needs to be clean otherwise it tends to focus on the dust on the mirror. I was able to look in the cylider and see numbers printed on the piston on a very low time engine and I could look at the cylinder walls. I've used the mechanical type bore scopes and they will do a better job looking back at the valves (much higher cost) but with this one you can see what is going on. i'm sure there are other video borescopes that perform better for more $. Of course the operator needs to know what he is looking at. I'll try to post some of the pics when I get home. Quote
carusoam Posted October 8, 2012 Report Posted October 8, 2012 John how's the search going? Is your description above related to a machine you are currently looking at? Best regards, -a- Quote
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