Drainage is one of the few trades where the device is wet for most of the day on purpose. Jetting, unblocking, lifting covers and lowering a camera into a chamber all happen with wet hands, in spray, often in rain.
What kills devices in drainage work
- Spray and splashes. Jetting throws water everywhere. Rinsing a camera head, coiling a hose or opening a chamber in the rain puts water on the device several times an hour.
- Drops into the wet. Onto a wet pavement, into a gully, or the slow slide off a manhole cover into the chamber below.
- Grit, silt and effluent. It is on your gloves, so it is on the screen and in the port. A device that cannot be rinsed under a tap is a problem in this trade.
- Survey software that wants Windows. Many CCTV survey and reporting packages were written for a Windows laptop, and some connect to the camera unit over a cable. That one fact decides which device you can use.
What actually matters in a spec
Immersion, not just splashes. Look for IP67 or IP68. Both mean dust tight and rated for immersion: IP67 for a metre of water for 30 minutes, IP68 for deeper and longer. IP65 means dust tight and protected against water jets, but not rated for immersion, so a device that goes into a flooded chamber is outside its rating. Our IP68 vs IP67 guide explains the ratings in full. One more: none of our devices is rated IP69K, the rating for high pressure, high temperature jets, so clean them under a tap or with a cloth, never with the jetter.
A camera that works in the dark. Photos of a chamber, a collapsed section or a root mass settle disputes with customers and insurers. A rear camera with a flash matters more than its megapixel count when you are pointing it down a hole.
Windows or Android. If your CCTV survey or reporting software only runs on Windows, you need a Windows device, and you need to check with the software vendor which Windows version it supports and how it connects to the camera unit. If your work is job sheets, photos, quotes and a mapping app, Android is cheaper and the tablets have bigger batteries. Our Android or Windows guide has a five minute test, and can a rugged tablet replace a laptop covers what a Windows tablet can and cannot take over from the laptop in the van.
Ports, if the camera unit needs them. Some survey kit talks to the computer over USB or HDMI. When a work tablet needs real ports lists which of our devices has which socket.
A battery for a long day. A removable battery means a charged spare takes over at the van rather than the device going on charge mid job.
What we would pick
For the jetting and unblocking side of the trade, where the device carries job sheets, photos, quotes and a customer signature, the Tuga A8 at £379. It is an 8 inch Android tablet sealed to IP67, so a splash from the hose or a drop into a wet gully is within its rating. The 1000 nit screen is readable at a roadside in full sun. The 13MP rear camera has autofocus and a flash, which is what a photo down a chamber needs. The 8000mAh battery is removable, so a charged spare gets a long day of callouts done, and the VESA mount points and pogo pin contacts mean it locks into a vehicle dock on the road and comes out at the job. Dual SIM 4G and GPS are built in for tagging where a defect is. Two honest caveats: it lists no drop rating or MIL-STD rating, and it runs Android 12, older than the A10's Android 14, so check your job app supports it.
If your survey or reporting software needs Windows, the Tuga W8 at £629 is the 8 inch Windows 11 Pro tablet, with an Intel Celeron N5100, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 1920 x 1200 screen at 550 nits. The ports are the point: USB-C 3.1, USB-A 3.0 and Mini HDMI 2.0a, so a camera unit or a USB drive plugs straight in. It is sealed to IP65 and tested to MIL-STD-810G with 1.22 metre drops, and the 5000mAh battery is removable. Read the rating carefully: IP65 is dust tight and protected against water jets, but it is not rated for immersion, so the W8 is the device for writing the survey in the van and plugging into the camera unit, not the one to take down a wet chamber. It weighs 910g, and its 8MP rear camera lists no flash.
For the wettest work, and for anyone who reads site drawings and drainage plans on the device, the Tuga A10 at £449 is sealed to IP68 and tested to MIL-STD-810H. Its 10.1 inch Full HD screen gives a plan room to breathe, it has 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage with a microSD slot rated up to 2TB, dual SIM 4G and a 13MP rear camera with a flash, and it weighs 680g. The trade offs against the A8 are a 350 nit screen, which is dimmer at a sunny roadside, and an 8000mAh battery that is not listed as removable.
Whichever you choose, trial your own apps and camera unit on one device before buying for the team. If you are not sure, tell us what software you run and we will give you a straight answer, including when the cheaper device is the right one.
Accessories worth adding
The Vehicle Mounting Dock (£109) is a locking VESA mount with a DC power input for the A8, A10 and W8, so the tablet is charged and secure on the dashboard between jobs. The 12V DC Car Charger (£26) fits every device in the range. A Tempered Glass Screen Protector 2-pack (£14) is cheap insurance against the grit on your gloves. The Hand Strap (£24) fits the A8, A10 and W8 and is worth having at a chamber edge; the A10 and W8 ship with one in the box, the A8 does not. For the W8, the Capacitive Stylus (£14.99) makes a survey sketch or a signature neater, and the Charging Dock (£49.99) charges the A10 or W8 on the office desk overnight. A spare battery for the A8 or W8 is available on request. All of these are on the accessories page.
Questions drainage engineers ask
Can I rinse it off after a job?
The A8 (IP67) and A10 (IP68) are rated for immersion, so a rinse under a tap with the ports closed is well within what they are built for. The W8 is IP65, so wipe it down rather than rinsing it. None of them is rated IP69K, so keep every device away from the jetter and the pressure washer.
Will my CCTV survey software run on it?
Only the vendor can tell you. Ask them which operating systems and versions they support, and how the software connects to the camera unit. If the answer is Windows, the W8 runs Windows 11 Pro and has USB-A and Mini HDMI. If the answer is Android or a web browser, the A8 and A10 are cheaper and sealed for the wet. Trial it on one device before you buy for the team.
Can I use the screen with wet hands or gloves?
None of the three lists a glove mode or a wet touch mode, so expect to dry your hands or take a glove off for fine work. A stylus helps.
We run several vans. Is there a discount?
Yes, and it is automatic: 3% off at 2 devices, 5% at 3 to 4, 8% at 5 to 9 and 10% at 10 or more, mixing models as you like. See bulk pricing. Prices have no VAT to add, delivery to UK addresses is free in 7 to 10 working days, and every device comes with a 12-month warranty; the 3-Year Warranty is £65 on the A8 and A10 and £79 on the W8, on the warranty page. See also rugged tablets for engineering and utilities work and mounting a tablet in a van.
