Locating buried water services
Locating buried water services
(OP)
This has to be a common problem.
In one street in my town there are two water mains.
A house could have been connected to either of the mains.
From the records, it is not possible to know for certain which line a given customer is connected to.
Does anyone have any cheap tricks?
What about sound? I was thinking about connecting a tone generator to the pipe in the house and sending out a tone, say 400 Hz.
Then take a stethoscope out to the street and listen at valves connected to each of the mains. Whichever valve has the louder tone, that should be the serving water main.
Any thoughts?
In one street in my town there are two water mains.
A house could have been connected to either of the mains.
From the records, it is not possible to know for certain which line a given customer is connected to.
Does anyone have any cheap tricks?
What about sound? I was thinking about connecting a tone generator to the pipe in the house and sending out a tone, say 400 Hz.
Then take a stethoscope out to the street and listen at valves connected to each of the mains. Whichever valve has the louder tone, that should be the serving water main.
Any thoughts?





RE: Locating buried water services
Inject food-grade dye or "funny smell" (wintergreen oil?) into one main, and inspect as above...
The odds of propagating any noise down the pipe and through the various bends, past the meter...well I wouldn't hold my breath.
RE: Locating buried water services
two brazing roads = 24=30" each. Bend each one in an "L" shape such that the small leg is about 6" long. Hold the 6" end in each hand loosly such that the long legs stick out straight in front of you and parralel to the ground. Walk over the area where the pipe is and the rods will turn inward when you cross the line. They will align in the same direction as the pipe.
I wouldn't use this method in itself, but it gives you a really good starting point. I keep two rods in my truck at all times.
No Kidding!
RE: Locating buried water services
If so, connect a locater to the service and find the main. if available, use the non jumping frequency.
If not metal, use the sound based locating devices available at water system supply outlets (not cheap). The sound based devices use water pressure to transmit a vibrating sound through the water and you listen using leak detection equipement.
Hydrae
RE: Locating buried water services
RE: Locating buried water services
I made a couple of "brazing rod pipe locators" as you describe many years ago, I still have same in my office cabinet, and if I remember correctly it appeared I could locate several metallic lines with same (metallic lines were all I remember checking/having to check). Interestingly, I think also in some impromptu trials with some of my co-workers it appeared for some reason not all folks could use these tools with comparable results.
Was just curious, as I had not tried this, if anyone had been consistently successful locating non-metallic, non-marked buried pipe with similar tools?
RE: Locating buried water services
RE: Locating buried water services
(including some financed with big bucks in Europe) and even at least one apparently in a research project sponsored by National Science Foundation under Grant BNS 93-13038 discussed at http://www.csicop.org/si/9901/dowsing.html . In another site, it was reported there have apparently been some "disastrous" occurrences when such means of locating were employed.
The results appear very contradictory and as explained by the NSF researcher et al accessible from the latter site frankly leave me some skeptical. While I guess I would not claim any particular witcher could not locate a particular pipe, I personally would not attempt to locate mains for any critical construction purpose with such methods, until such methods and the locator are approved (or proven?) by a proper authority.
RE: Locating buried water services
I had tried divining before but read about some refinements and may try it again when I have more time.
RE: Locating buried water services
I've "witched" lines with extremely limited success and seen many contractors use this method with pretty good success on metal and plastic lines.
You mention the wands turning the other way. The first time I saw this the contractor showed me that he could turn the wands in or out by the way he held his hands together. By gripping a rod in each hand and holding his hands together by his palms (thumbs side by side), the rods went one way. If he held his knuckles together (thumbs pointing end to end)the wands went the other way. It did the same thing when I attempted it.
Before others blow this post out of proportion , they should remember whether they believe in "witching" or not, the above ground locate is only part of the process. For something to go wrong, the process wasn't completed. The line must also be exposed carefully to verify it is there and what it is.
RE: Locating buried water services
It appears this field has diversified a lot, now into many types of locating for all kinds of stuff (some even claim to be able to dowse/locate stuff using maps!), and there is apparently even an "organization" devoted to same!
Some of this is still some scary to me, but I guess we engineers have to keep an open mind!
RE: Locating buried water services
RE: Locating buried water services
Not mentioned in prior threads on this topic: if the utility company locator due comes out in his little yellow truck and locates their line, and you move 8, 10, 20 feet or whatever away, start digging and cut their line, who is liable for the outage and repair? You guessed right if you said "I am". Even if you cut the line, and it's 20 feet off of their as-built drawing and/or surveyed right-of-way, you are still liable (this is in the really fine print on their convenants).
RE: Locating buried water services
Some state have locate laws that pass responsibility for the repair and any damages onto the utility when mis-located! Part of the law requires contacting the one call locate center and following the rules, I have found backing up the paint and flag markings with photos of the marks to prove the 'we said, they said;' issues is a must.
Hydrae