Pipe Location
Pipe Location
(OP)
I'm interested in acquiring a pipe locator. Specifically when copper tracer wire has been installed. I've been looking at the Leica DigiCat and associated signal generator, but thought I'd see if anyone here has any suggestions/recommendations/experiences. Thanks in advance.





RE: Pipe Location
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"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/
RE: Pipe Location
http://ww
RE: Pipe Location
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"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/
RE: Pipe Location
RE: Pipe Location
Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.
WWW.amlinereast.com
RE: Pipe Location
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"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/
RE: Pipe Location
RE: Pipe Location
If the electronic pipe locators work so darn well, how come the sparkies can't tell you where to dig for their buried cables? Or, when they do, get it wrong by more than 10 or 15'?
Sorry, I shouldn't be in this forum, I know. I'm just not civil enough.
RE: Pipe Location
**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/
RE: Pipe Location
Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.
WWW.amlinereast.com
RE: Pipe Location
**********************
"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/
RE: Pipe Location
Here is your chance to be a wealthy. All you have to do is prove to James Randi that your downsing technique works and you get a million dollars.
The JREF sponsors the famous million dollar challenge offering a prize of US $1,000,000 to anyone who can demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult power or event, under test conditions agreed to by both parties.
Typical is what happened when James Randi tested some dowsers using a protocol they all agreed upon. If they could locate water in underground pipes at an 80% success rate they would get $10,000 (now the prize is over $1,000,000). All the dowsers failed the test, though each claimed to be highly successful in finding water using a variety of non-scientific instruments, including a pendulum. Says Randi, "the sad fact is that dowsers are no better at finding water than anyone else. Drill a well almost anywhere in an area where water is geologically possible, and you will find it."
http://www.skepdic.com/dowsing.html
RE: Pipe Location
I also don't know if I would agree that its paranormal. Remember, I said he used two rigid copper wires. That's definitely a scientific instrument. What would Ben Franklin have thought about somebody calling his kite & key non-scientific instruments? Don't dowsers actually use a forked willow switch? I don't think that's scientific, but then again I'm not a botanist.
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"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/
RE: Pipe Location
RE: Pipe Location
Good Luck.
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"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/
RE: Pipe Location
I'm no expert but I also think you need a generator to create the signal in the copper wires and then a detector to track the signal.
This link should take you to another manufacturer of these instruments - Radiodetection C.A.T (cable avoidance tool)
http
RE: Pipe Location
As far as the rods turning in or out. I was told and shown by an older gentleman that they will turn one way if your hands are placed together with the palms touching and another way if the palms are facing you and the knuckles are touching.
As far as a real pipe locator, you can probably contact some of the local utilities (water, sewer, telephone, gas, cable) and see what they are using and how they like them. The USA Blue Book and other water utility suppliers have several models that range in price from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. It all depends on what features you want. They aren't hard to use and with a tracer wire deliver an accurate locate.
RE: Pipe Location
RE: Pipe Location
RE: Pipe Location
It seems clear to me that using two copper rods (they call it "Witching" around here) is totally bogus. The claims are 2 bent wires can:
- locate concrete pipes, clay pipe, plastic pipes, power lines...anything, any material your worried about.
- It can locate water,
- No one can say how acurate it is,
- No one can tell you how deep it can detect things,
- It works better for some people than others,
- No one knows how it works.
People forget the times they get it wrong. There's a driller I worked with that remembers all the things he didn't hit, but never mentions the phone lines he drilled through in our parking lot during an open house demonstration. (I watched him witch that spot - who needs a utility locate?)
With a few surface features people who have been around usually figure out how things are run, and can get it right on that alone a lot of time. Lines aren't just randomly put in the ground (Most of the time anyway).
I think witching is a poor and dangerous pratice.
This would be a good one for mythbuster.
RE: Pipe Location
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"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/
RE: Pipe Location
A contractor a few years ago told me additionally that sometimes wires don't survive HDD pulls (at least with plastic pipe, as the pipe generally has a much higher pull rating than the wire, and the wire is also fully exposed outside the pipe). While I understand some special high-strength and armored wires are available at some extra cost, they still have quite small allowable pulling load compared to pipe ratings, and generally must still be exposed.
RE: Pipe Location
We use a Metrotech 810 for our line locates when using tracer wire. It works very well and will provide you horizontal location as well as depth to wire. Having a good understanding of signal strength and capabilities is very important when using one of these machines. If there are other utilities, such as gas, phone, power, etc. that are in close proximity or crossing with little vertical separation, the signal can sometimes bleed off to these other utilities.
I have used the two copper/brass rods and have been about 50% successful. We usually only use this method when we are trying to find one of our water lines that is non-metalic and has no or broken tracer wire. We always dig carefully with this method and call for locates first.
RE: Pipe Location
I thought a lot portable equipments can detect those underground pipes. Usually burial depth shall be less than 3 to 4 meters.
RE: Pipe Location
He used bent coat hanger wires.
He maintained that it worked because the human body was a very sensitive indicator of magnetic permeability. The dowsing rods are motion toggles that take small muscular movements and magnify them greatly. He said that nearly anyone could do it, and that special powers or ability weren't required.
I was very skeptical. One day, several of us went in to the parking lot of our building in the area where the water service lines presumabley came in. Several of us "unconvinced" walked over a certain area and the wires crossed. I was unaware of any predjudice on my part (but who can say wheter suggestability caused it).
One time the company was digging for some large pipes that weren't where the drawings said they were. This fellow told them where to dig after dowsing, and the pipes were right where he said they were.
Was it all mere coincidence? Who can say?
RE: Pipe Location
http://www.skepdic.com/dowsing.html
RE: Pipe Location
RE: Pipe Location
RE: Pipe Location
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"Pumping accounts for 20% of the world's energy used by electric motors and 25-50% of the total electrical energy usage in certain industrial facilities."-DOE statistic (Note: Make that 99% for pipeline companies) http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/