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I have a septic tank in my backyard, and it has a gravelless chamber drain field pipes. After the septic tank was emptied, the septic person told me that the drain field pipe was clogged. He used a snake wire and found that it was clogged. Poured water into the drain pipe and it flowed back into the septic tank.

I am not sure why but all the septic service company around me don't use camera to inspect clog in septic drain field pipe. Can I just buy a camera system, and insert it into the drain field pipe to see the clog? I just want to make sure there is no issue with what I am planning to do.

I was told that the clog is about 7 to 8 ft away from the septic tank.

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  • What does seeing a clog (really just a black wall) do for you? How would you store a camera that's been dragged through poop? It just doesn't sound like a productive strategy.
    – isherwood
    Commented Aug 14 at 19:32
  • The pipe is clogged or the drain field is clogged? is the tank mechanic qualified to assess which?
    – Jasen
    Commented Aug 14 at 23:45
  • @isherwood I want to see why the water is flowing back to the septic tank. The septic person used a snake, and told me that there was a clog. I do not want to replace the entire drain field as it it expensive. Therefore, using camera to define the issue (clog) would help. Is it roots or pipe break or some kind of clog?
    – sammy
    Commented Aug 15 at 0:19
  • @Jasen I was told that the drain field is clogged. It is 7ft or 8ft from the septic tank. I do see a pipe for the septic water to go to the backyard. I am hoping that inserting camera into the pipe that goes to the backyard can tell me if the issue is root or something else?
    – sammy
    Commented Aug 15 at 1:02

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Can I just buy a camera system, and insert it into the drain field pipe to see the clog?

That should work (to view the clog), but a simpler way would be to call a plumbing company and have them do it. The critical point here is that the problem is in a pipe. That moves it out of the septic company's purview and into plumbers'.

A plumber will (probably) have a camera for use in pipes and a snake to clear the clog. Can you DIY? Sure. But you probably won't save money over having the plumber do it, since you need expensive, plumbing-specific equipment to do it.

There are also specialists for clearing roots out of pipes if that's the case. Your plumber could probably refer you if their camera showed roots to be the problem. Or they might even suggest the specialist first.

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  • I called a plumber, and asked them an estimate for camera video inspection; the cost is $700 to do it. If I buy it from Amazon, it is around $100. I am not entirely sure if the clog is in pipe? Atleast with camera, I should be able to see what this clog is.
    – sammy
    Commented Aug 15 at 1:03

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