I Want A Drone (To Check My Gutters)

DerbyDad03 posted for all of us...

Get a system like Gutter Helmut installed.

I see ads in the paper for gutter cleaning for 69 bux. I know it's a come on but why not take advantage?

Reply to
Tekkie®
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my gutters need to be cleaned? The highest part of the house can be reached with a 28' extension ladder.

As I said in a later post, gutters guards deserve a thread of their own. That is not the solution I asking about.

Because I am not asking about how to *clean* my gutters, I'm asking about a method to *check* them. If you were one of those "$69 guys", would you come *check* my gutters for free whenever I asked?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Did you even look at the Endoscope link I provided? I've got one that's about 6 ft and have found it to be quite handy.

Reply to
ChairMan

A drone is just a vehicle without a pilot. Or a driver.

What if we had a small tracked vehicle, like a mini version of a military vehicle, and just had it crawl back and forth in the gutters all the time?

It wouldn't need a lot of power to keep a mostly clean gutter completely clean.

Powering through a big clog would take some power but you'd clean them before you started, and never again.

Reply to
TimR

Yes, I "even" looked at it. Not what I had in mind, but thanks anyway.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

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Of course it has to be charged. Nothing is going to work "all the time".

Reply to
DerbyDad03

The quadcopter is a good idea. I'm sure that's what Dad meant when he said drone, since a plane won't work.

I have a 3-section pole that extends to ??18 feet? that I used to paint the house, and I have an extendable pipe that curves over at the top that I bought to flush out my gutters, which last summer were overflowing for the first time since I've been here.** I taped the pipe to the top end of the pole, taped a camera to the top of the pipe, and stood about 4 steps up on a ladder, to video the gutters. I used a USB camera with a 20 foot amplified USB cable, going to my laptop.

The camera worked but it was spherical and hard to keep in place, pointed down. Plus the pole was hard to control and didn't always stay perfectly straight. I could surely get the camera over a particular place but it was hard to move it slowly down the gutter to look at all of it. Partly because I was on a ladder, but mostly because the pole was so long.

Since then I've bought a camera that is not spherical and woudl work much better, but I guess I've lost interest. For the front, I used the extendable pole with the extendable pipe, and I succssfully flushed out the front gutter, so half my incentive is gone.

**In fact when I was up there for various reasons, they never even had leaves in them, despite all the tall trees only 20 -30 feet from the house. But I think the cottonwood tree, part of which fell on my yard and seemed to have some tar-like stuff in it, got in the gutter and clogged the gutter (not the downspout).
Reply to
Micky

Remove the damned trees from your yard and you won't need yearly gutter cleaning.

Reply to
buzzard

A quadcopter is a drone. I posted the definition earlier in this thread.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I can't fly for shit. I'm pretty sure the drone could not handle bright sunlight. Maybe I had a line-of-sight drone? No idea really.

I bought my first rc plane a few years ago. The shop owner asked if I was advanced enough to fly this model. Of course I am. How hard could it be?

10 seconds in the air and 300 bucks down the drain. WOW.
Reply to
Thomas

You were either very good or very lucky to get the plane to fly down the drain. Either way, I'm impressed.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

The problem I see with it, which may not be a problem for you, is it records onto a memory card, instead of being able to view in real time. You land the drone. Retrieve the memory card and view. But you will have a problem knowing just where what you see is along the gutter.

Don.

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(e-mail link at home page bottom).

Reply to
Don Wiss

While it's not critical to know exactly where the debris is, I don't think it would be all that hard to tell. Odds are the image will include some of the surroundings (a bush here, a driveway there, the deck, etc.) that will narrow it down.

However, in general, the main goal is to check the downspouts, of which there are 5. If any of them need to be cleaned, the ladder is coming out anyway. Once I'm up there, the condition of the rest of the gutters can be assessed.

Someone else suggested this unit for about $20 more. Extra batteries and real time transmission to a smart phone (I think...I haven't looked at it in any detail, I just found out about it a few minutes ago)

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Reply to
DerbyDad03

Headless is a real nice feature to have. And, of course, this one wipes away my complaint. Avoid the cheaper sellers along the right. They are all shipping from outside the US.

Don.

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Reply to
Don Wiss

DerbyDad03 posted for all of us...

n my gutters need to be cleaned? The highest part of the house can be reach ed with a 28' extension ladder.

Yes, later than my post therefore you can't call the shots...

No. I already have a wife to tell me what I am doing wrong.

Get your ass on a ladder and check them. What's the problem? You want to spend big bux to check them and what if you find something? You going to spend more money to fix them? What is your plan of attack here? Clean them first so you find the problems or find problems that hidden by not cleaning them? Later on you opine about the downspouts. You going to fly your toy down the spout? You can check them simply by getting your ass and hose on the ladder. What is the real result you are looking for in this evolution?

Why do you always attack the posters that are trying to help you?

Reply to
Tekkie®

hen my gutters need to be cleaned? The highest part of the house can be rea ched with a 28' extension ladder.

invest in a tall ladder?

marc

Reply to
21blackswan

They cost more than a drone.

Don.

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Reply to
Don Wiss

hen my gutters need to be cleaned? The highest part of the house can be rea ched with a 28' extension ladder.

Later than my OP, which is the post your responded to, but *not* later than your response.

My post regarding gutter guards appears before yours in the thread.

Do you even read the things that people post? Why is it so hard for you to understand this simple concept?

Let's try this again...

I asked about an inexpensive drone to use as a visual check to see if my gutters need cleaning. I already get "my ass" on the ladder at least three times a year to clean them. Sometimes I clean them before they really need them because I've already pull out the ladder to check them and I might as well remove what's up there as long as I got the ladder out. However, that usual ly means an extra cleaning because I cleaned them "too early".

I don't know what you consider "big bux" but I don't think that $40-$60 is an unreasonable amount for a method to do a quick visual inspection instead of pulling out a 28' extension ladder and climbing to the top of a 2 1/2 story house, front and back. Get the ladder from the under the deck, fully extend it, cl imb up, down, lower the ladder, carry it to the front of the house fully extend it, up, down, carry it back to the deck and store it. A $60 drone sure sounds easier and a lot more fun. The older I get, the more I want find easier ways to accomplish a task.

I have no clue why you even mention spending money to clean them. You broug ht paying to have them cleaned, not me.

Your comment about "flying the drone down the downspout" shows your complet e misunderstanding of the concept of "checking them". Debris often floats alo ng the gutter and gets hung up at the end, blocking the opening of the downspout a nd causing the water to back up and even overflow during heavy rain. A drone w ould allow me to check the gutters *at* the downspout to see if it's time to get out the ladder, the bucket, the hose, etc.

I don't know how many trees you have at your house or what they do to your to your gutters, but mine sometimes get filled to the top 3 or more times a ye ar. If I don't clean them in time, they overflow and wash mulch away, etc. A drone w ould be a simple way to keep a closer eye on their condition. It really is as si mple as this: Fly a drone instead of using a ladder...plus I have a drone to play w ith.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Absolutely. That is reason enough to buy a drone. We got up to $64.35, which is not an expensive toy for a man.

Don.

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Reply to
Don Wiss

when my gutters need to be cleaned? The highest part of the house can be r eached with a 28' extension ladder.

I've already got a ladder. That's what I use to check and clean the gutters . I'm looking for easy way to check them without have to pull out the 28' extension and climb ing to the top of the house.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

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