Videoscope rental

[oilyfan]

So my 14 month old son grabbed our keychain, which has the remote starter and the SUV keys on them and "misplaced" them somewhere on the main floor of the house. This was in the space of maybe half an hour that he was playing with them. We spent three hours last night looking for the keys but no luck and a lot of frustration.

I am convinced that they are down one of the heating vents, he plays with them and this particular one takes two 90 degree turns and then drops right down towards the basement bulkhead. We tried to look down it using mirrors and lights but the angles are too severe. Since to replace the factory remote and keys for the Acura is around $500 I am motivated to find them.

Does anyone know if and where I can rent videoscope machines, like the ones they use in pipe inspections? I think I could use that to look down the corners in the vent.

[cKy]

I wonder if Rotor Rooter (or however you spell it) would do it or any other plumbing service would come out. Not a plumbing issue per se, but they would have the tools to do it.

[oilyfan]

Originally Posted by cKy

I wonder if Rotor Rooter (or however you spell it) would do it or any other plumbing service would come out. Not a plumbing issue per se, but they would have the tools to do it.

Called one of them and they didn't have a camera type service.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by oilyfan

Called one of them and they didn't have a camera type service.

Try calling a plumber that does and explain your dilemma. There was a guy in my neighborhood who has his own plumbing outfit and advertises right on the side of the van that he used that video tool. I'm sure for the right price you could sweet talk someone like that into helping you out.

[oilyfan]

Found a place that rents one of these for $10 a day. I will try it today and see how it works.

http://www.accutechrentals.com/image...5643_large.jpg

[DownhillGoat]

Post pics if you find them! This sounds way more fun than when I lose my keys.

[Northendzone]

given it is a rigid tool i wonder if home depot rents these bad boys. $10 per day seems like a reasonable price.

hopefully you can find your keys - hopefully he does not miss playing your keys too much in the future.

[fredr123]

You can buy them for $200 at Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/s...partial&s=true

[oilyfan]

So got the tool and went home for lunch to try it out. This is one awesome device, the snake works well and the camera and display are pretty clear. It was cool to be able to fish this through the vents.

Unfortunately I did not spot the keys, found his rubber ball, two plastic toys and his plastic toy cell phone, all in different vents. Man he is all over the place.

I didn't spend too much time looking as I had to get back to work. Considering it is only $10 a day I will keep it for the weekend and look some more. I will give an update after that.

[Rathji]

Look inside your subwoofer. My daughter his my watch in there for a year before we found it.

[Russic]

I was convinced my kid put my keys in the kitchen recycle bin (just before I took it out and dumped in the giant bin). I spent over an hour sorting through everything including the recycling only to find that my keys were in the pocket of a pair of pants I had in my closet.

[oilyfan]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Look inside your subwoofer. My daughter his my watch in there for a year before we found it.

Good idea but the subwoofer is on the 2nd floor where he couldn't go because of a baby gate.

[Sr. Mints]

I found my watch years after losing it in my couch, the couch I searched and searched and searched after initially losing it. It was like some cruel magic trick.