Home Security - Help?

[JerzeyLegend]

if you have access to an old android phone you can turn it into a webcam and more

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pas.webcam&hl=en

Except it won't see in the dark.

It looks like any sub $100 camera is a gamble. In the $25-$50 range most of the camera are barely reviewed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16881103080 <<<got some pretty good reviews. I'd place it in the rafters right above the oil tank and have motion detection + notification and start auto recording.

I'd maybe look at something like

as it's less expensive and you can give the oil man the combo, after he comes enough times he'll remember it.

 

[cs6ranger]

if they have access to it and are willing to steal the oil, those locks can be brute forced in minutes, even faster if you know what you are doing.

I'm also assuming when they would come down they would turn the light on so an IR cam wouldn't be completely necessary.

 

[JerzeyLegend]

if they have access to it and are willing to steal the oil, those locks can be brute forced in minutes, even faster if you know what you are doing.

I'm also assuming when they would come down they would turn the light on so an IR cam wouldn't be completely necessary.

I'd rather spend $20 to find out someone is actually breaking into my oil tank than $100 to find out someone isn't.

 

[kimbal86]

I'd still be sorely tempted, were I in your shoes, to somehow rig it up to an exploding dye pack. Catch the theives red handed. Literally.

 

[cs6ranger]

by brute forced i don't mean breaking the lock, finding the combonation by just trying all of them is easy and fast, so if they had 30 minutes alone they could get in with no way to tell they did.

maybe make up a tamper evident seal to put on it. small stip of tissue or a string taped to both sides of the cap that would break if opened. it could be very small and hard to notice.

 

[Patchouli]

by brute forced i don't mean breaking the lock, finding the combonation by just trying all of them is easy and fast, so if they had 30 minutes alone they could get in with no way to tell they did.

maybe make up a tamper evident seal to put on it. small stip of tissue or a string taped to both sides of the cap that would break if opened. it could be very small and hard to notice.

I think they probably would like video evidence so, if someone else is messing with it, said person can't deny it.

 

[Jiyuueno]

Except it won't see in the dark.

It looks like any sub $100 camera is a gamble. In the $25-$50 range most of the camera are barely reviewed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16881103080 <<<got some pretty good reviews. I'd place it in the rafters right above the oil tank and have motion detection + notification and start auto recording.

I'd maybe look at something like

as it's less expensive and you can give the oil man the combo, after he comes enough times he'll remember it.

Or you could just unscrew the gold screw, also the tank has a pipe up top outside to fill, so they wouldn't need to do it very often. The inner one is just for checking levels and siphoning into your own tank from your neighbors apparently.

 

[JerzeyLegend]

Or you could just unscrew the gold screw, also the tank has a pipe up top outside to fill, so they wouldn't need to do it very often. The inner one is just for checking levels and siphoning into your own tank from your neighbors apparently.

Then it sounds like you need a multicamera setup as you have to watch two pipes.

 

[Jiyuueno]

The pipe to the outside would be about 8 feet long, without the bends in it, just a guess. also think it has a mesh near the gauge, which is a part of said pipe.

 

[Wooty]

I use four Foscam FI8918W (chinese knock-offs actually, but identical hardware), and two Foscam FI9821W V2s. I would definitely recommend the latter, and they can be had for as low as $75, but as you mention, you will need recording software (check out ispyconect, it's free).

 

[moondoggy23]

A cheaper option would be a deer/trail camera. You set it up, it's motion-sensored, and it'll take pictures. I just did a quick search and found one for as cheap as $60 on Wal-Mart. More pricey ones are about $120. These cameras are IR, so there's no flash (so far as I'm aware) so your potential thieves won't even know they're being recorded. Linky: https://t9k.me/2Zq

 

[JerzeyLegend]

A cheaper option would be a deer/trail camera. You set it up, it's motion-sensored, and it'll take pictures. I just did a quick search and found one for as cheap as $60 on Wal-Mart. More pricey ones are about $120. These cameras are IR, so there's no flash (so far as I'm aware) so your potential thieves won't even know they're being recorded. Linky: https://t9k.me/2Zq

Totally forgot about those.

 

[NewspaperCrane]

Contact the company and ask them what your options for locking it are.

 

[Kris]

Contact the company and ask them what your options for locking it are.

Yeah, certainly the company would have some sort of option. It'd make it a lot easier, unless you genuinely want the gratification of simply catching and confronting them.

 

[Jiyuueno]

The company has locks for the outside, but they don't have any that will work on the inside of your house.

 

[Bored]

Cheapest option: Put a post it note on where they access the oil "Candid Camera! *random arrow points to high shelf with mousetrap*"