Why Scanning with a Chim-Scan® Chimney Camera Far Surpasses the Naked Eye

When looking up a dark chimney flue with a flashlight, you will see what the light illuminates in degrees of shapes and shadows. Remember, you will also be looking at it from just one angle. Visual acuity (clarity of vision) differs from person to person. It is a rating of a person's ability to recognize small details precisely. Many factors can affect the quality of a person's eyesight, one being brightness. Because you shine a flashlight into a dark chimney flue, similar to looking into a dark tunnel, the details you can gather with the naked eye are minimal. However, a Chim-Scan® Chimney Camera can provide a close view with adjustable lens angles and variable light brightness. This surpasses the naked eye, captures details, and provides images and videos.

Should a flashlight and the naked eye be used to inspect a chimney?
I taught chimney inspection classes for over 21 years and used a prop with hidden defects (the images at the right). Almost 99% of the time, the inspectors missed an opening within the chimney flue using a flashlight and the naked eye. These defects were only 17” from their faces. If a chimney technician inspects a flue with a flashlight and notes there were no defects, they risk opening themselves up for liability or lack of disclosure for missed defects. If the chimney was scanned with a camera the previous year, and no events were noticed, a flashlight may be sufficient for the inspection if you performed a chimney scan inspection the previous year and they didn't use their chimney.

Currently, in the chimney industry, inspections with a flashlight are allowed on a Level 1 Inspection at least once a year, during a routine cleaning of the chimney flue, replacement of a connected appliance with one of a similar type, input rating, and efficiency according to NFPA 211. However, are you really sure you could see everything?

The language in Level 1 (15.3.2.4) asks for verification that the flue or flues are free of combustible deposits and blockage or obstruction. But the language in Chapter 14 of NFPA 211 does state that if the flue liner has softened, cracked, or otherwise deteriorated so that it no longer has the continued ability to contain the products of combustion (i.e., heat, moisture, creosote, and flue gases), the liner shall be either removed and replaced, repaired, or relined with a listed liner system (14.9). Can you determine all of this with a flashlight?

A camera with a tilting lens captures angles and textures and defines the movement of the flue tiles.
The beauty of inspecting chimney flues with an adjustable tilt lens, like the J3D and Lighthouse™ Tilt Cameras, is that changes to the masonry are more apparent when looking at it from different angles. If I look only at the sides of the chimney, I may miss the fact that the flue tiles are severely misaligned. If I look straight down or up the chimney, I will miss openings between the clay flue tiles. I may also miss a hole in a flue hidden by severely misaligned tiles, as the photos show. Instead, when using these tilt lens cameras, I can see how thick a mortar joint is, how much mortar is missing, whether the tile has damage and whether there is a hidden breeching, amongst other defects.
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Illumination is critical to diagnosing defects. What do you see if you look down a chimney with a flashlight? Most likely, you will see shapes, shadows, and lines. It will be up to your brain to form a picture and decide if these shapes, shadows, and lines constitute a defect. How good is your eyesight? How good is your flashlight?

When scanning a chimney with a properly illuminated camera, you can pinpoint defects as small as hairline cracks or degradation. If you look down a chimney and see creosote, can you define it? Is it a dark mass in the flue? Can you tell whether it is glossy, goopy, or tarlike creosote? Or is it shiny – almost reflective when the camera illuminates it head-on? How is the texture - puffy, granular, light soot, tarlike, or glazed? Can you see surface degradation?

Not every chimney camera is the same.
Now that we have described the ideal chimney scanning system, you need to know that not all chimney cameras have a tilt lens and adjustable lighting. Not all lenses can spin in a circle. With some systems, the technician must properly turn the camera while inspecting and videoing the flue. This video often ends up a wobbly mess, which gives the viewer an inclination to car sickness. The quality of the camera and the ability to get clear, focused pictures are essential to finding and diagnosing defects. Unfortunately, a camera with poor images shines a bad light on the technician. If the customer can't see a clear picture of a defect, it's a credibility wrecker.
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In closing
A chimney can be seen as a unique appliance in the home. It is a channel whereby the products of combustions shall pass through and exit the atmosphere. A chimney may also be a part of the fireplace or heater's draft. It must keep the elements out of the home, yet not without closing off the drafting function. It is exposed to heat inside and cold outside. It is exposed to the elements - rain, snow, wind, and weather events. There is no doubt that it is integral to the home. When it comes down to having an inspection and you are a homeowner reading this, demand that the chimney is scanned with a chimney camera. Especially one with quality photos, such as the Chim-Scan® Internal Evaluation Camera System.
If you are a chimney technician, remember to use your camera on every job!

What damage do you see looking down this chimney flue? We illuminated it with a flashlight. We also have a very bright ceiling light above the chimney.

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I took this 5' training chimney to a tradeshow. Most people couldn't see the hole in the flue tile. After they were sure they could detect all of the defects I opened up the door in the back of the chimney...

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The hidden defects became visible with the door opened. Notice the holes in the chimney. Above and below the top hole is simulated scorch marks. Farther down is another hole in the flue. 99% of chimney technicians at the show missed these holes by looking down this 5' flue with a flashlight. Look at the top photo again and see if you can see this damage now that you know it's there. If you miss this during an inspection, and note no damage was found, you are opening yourself up for liability or lack of disclosure!

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Our Chim-Scan® J3D™ and Lighthouse™ Tilt Chimney Cameras have bright LED Lights, a high-resolution lens that tilts up to 90°, and it rotates continuously without having to hold a button. It also includes spacers. This J3D™ Camera includes a camera on the top and another on the side, which is rotational, for multiple viewing options.

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Our multi-functional J3D™ Camera features high-resolution top and side cameras, bright LED lights, continuous rotation (without holding a button) and a side tilting lens up to 90°.

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