A push camera cannot be steered in the way a crawler can: the head goes where the rod sends it. But the rod is not straight. Coming off a drum it carries a curve, and the spring behind the head bends the same way, so the head points slightly off the pipe’s axis in one direction. Rotating the rod at the entry rotates that direction, and that is the only steering a push camera has. Used well, it chooses the branch at a wye, lifts the head over an offset and backs it out of a snag; used badly, it twists the rod until the jacket cracks.
Quick answer: watch the picture to see which way the head is biased, then rotate the rod at the entry in quarter turns until the bias points where you want the head to go, and push a short stroke. At a wye, point the head toward the branch you want; at an offset, point it up to climb the lip; at a snag, rotate and pull back rather than pushing. Rotate the rod itself with a gloved hand, or turn the whole reel on open designs, and never more than a turn or so in one direction without letting it unwind, because torsion builds along the rod and damages it.
Why the head has a bias
Rod stored on a drum sets a curve, and the spring section behind the head follows that curve, so the head points a few degrees off-axis in the direction of the curve. In a straight pipe that bias makes the head ride one side of the floor; at a junction it makes the head favour one opening. The bias is visible in the picture as the wall the head keeps drifting toward. A self-leveling head keeps the picture upright as the rod turns, which makes reading the bias far easier.
Rotating the rod
With a gloved hand on the rod near the entry, turn it a quarter turn and watch the picture: the drift changes side. Turn until the drift points where the head should go, then push a short stroke while holding the rotation. The rod transmits the turn to the head with some delay and some loss over distance, so at 100 ft a half turn at the entry may be a quarter at the head. On an open reel, turning the whole reel on the ground does the same thing more coarsely.
At a wye or tee
Stop the head just short of the junction, where both openings are visible. Rotate so the drift points at the opening you want, push, and watch the head enter. If it takes the wrong branch, pull back past the junction, rotate a little further and try again. The main line is usually the straighter path and the branch the one that needs the bias. Which branch is which matters: a camera that wandered up a kitchen branch has not inspected the lateral. The entry point often decides which junctions are met.
At an offset
An offset joint presents a lip. A head that meets it low stops; a head that meets it high rides over. Rotate so the bias points up, pull back a few inches and push, and the spring lifts the head over the step. On the way back the same lip catches the head from behind, and the same rotation frees it. Offset joints on camera shows what the head is dealing with.
At a snag
A head caught on roots, a protruding tap or a broken edge is freed by rotating and pulling back gently, not by pushing. The rotation changes the angle at which the head is held; the pull-back slides it off. Several small attempts beat one hard one. Retrieving a stuck camera covers the rest.
Head size and the pipe
Steering works when the head has room to move in the pipe. A 23 mm head in a 4 in pipe can be pointed; a 23 mm head in a 2 in pipe fills the bore and goes where the pipe goes. Head sizes, heads for 2 in pipe and why head size alone does not determine fit set the limits.
Skids
A skid or guide that centres the head reduces its bias and makes steering less effective but the picture better. For a run with junctions to negotiate, a smaller skid or none; for a straight run in large pipe, a centring skid. Guides and skids covers the choice.
Torsion and damage
Every turn applied at the entry winds torsion into the rod. A turn or two in one direction is fine; several turns stored along 100 ft of rod stress the jacket and the conductors inside and can crack the rod at a weak point. After steering, let the rod unwind by releasing the grip, and alternate directions when possible. A rod that has been twisted hard shows spiral creases in the jacket. Signs of a damaged push cable covers what to look for and water inside the head is one consequence of a cracked jacket near the connector.
Fixed heads
With a fixed head the picture rotates as the rod turns and the operator must mentally correct for it. Many monitors have a flip or rotate function; some operators mark the top of the picture with tape on the screen. A fixed-head reel reviewed here shows the configuration. Self-leveling is worth paying for if steering at junctions is a regular task.
Common questions
Can you steer a sewer camera?
Only by rotating the rod to point the head’s natural bias where you want it, then pushing a short stroke. It is enough to choose a branch at a wye or climb an offset.
How do I get the camera to go into the main line instead of the branch?
Stop short of the junction, rotate the rod until the picture shows the head drifting toward the main, and push. Pull back and retry if it takes the branch.
Does twisting the rod damage it?
A turn or two does not. Several turns stored along the rod stress the jacket; let it unwind after steering.
Related guides
See when to replace a camera head, reel vs complete system, and feeding technique.