Locate buried water pipe plastic

[Pipefitter]

The dowsing or witching will work better if the water is running through the pipe. I always used a couple of welding rods.
Some years back my next door neighbor spent over $400 on a metal detector to find a buried pipe. Metal detector didn't work, but 50 cents of welding rod in my hands did find the pipe.

[CLAYPOOL]

I "SECOND", the back hoe. None of this "AMATEUR" attempts.. I guarantee it will locate a line or wire every time..

[NyFirefighter357]

Lawnmower and an am radio. Wrap a piece of insulated copper wire around the spark plug wire 8-10 times and attach the other end to the trace. You can track the signal with the am radio.

I know this works with a broken wire too!

Problem I had was finding an AM portable radio!

[wgr]

why is it that deep

[samari46]

Used two 20" pieces of brazing rod with one bend to form the handle. Used it at work to locate buried water lines and underground oil lines. And now that I'm retired to locate PVC water lines from the meter and buried lines from the pool. Even showed my wife's niece and she found lines as well. Louisiana's one dig when called will come out and locate any underground facilities such as water and gas lines. Most if not all power lines are still mounted down here on poles. And not uncommon if the power goes out it's usually a safe bet some fool has hit a pole. Heck even the guys who drive tractors with cane carts have been known to take down the odd pole or two. By the way failure to call Louisiana one dig can net you some hefty fines and replacement costs if you take out any underground water and gas lines. Not uncommon for someone to dig up a water or gas line or get injured. Then it really becomes expensive. Frank

[jessdigs]

I am a backhoe operator for PG&E, the nation's largest utility. If there is a tracer wire with it, you can locate it to 95% certainty. What kind of locator are you using? Metrotech? Pipehorn? If you need help feel free to pm me. We use pipehorn and metrotech every day to verify before excavating.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[Hossfly]

May try the lawn mower method, I think I have old portable radio in shop. Just will need batteries and try to get some noise out of it. If can get within a couple feet then will break out manual shovel, to hot today to do many test digs. Will be 94’ today with usual mosquitoes and other vermin in the woods. Other option would to just cut off the H2O to this line and let dozier find the line and patch or reroute later.

[Hossfly]

May try the lawn mower method, I think I have old portable radio in shop. Just will need batteries and try to get some noise out of it. If can get within a couple feet then will break out manual shovel, to hot today to do many test digs. Will be 94’ today with usual mosquitoes and other vermin in the woods. Other option would to just cut off the H2O to this line and let dozier find the line and patch or reroute later.

[popper]

am radios use a rod antenna so you will get a null or a peak depending on how you hold it. Basically same as pipe tracer.

[WheelgunConvert]

If you have any HAM operators within a couple hundred yards you may want to give them a heads up. It won’t damage anything but could send them on a snipe hunt for nothing.

[WheelgunConvert]

You can often find the little pocket am/fm radio on the clearance rack in the back of Walmart or dollar stores. Old hardware stores usually have them.

The little weather emergency radios would also be useable after the task

[peachhead]

Coat hangers or copper wire works. Don't know why and some people just can't do it apparently. As mentioned, it does work better if there has been water in it recently.

[Lloyd Smale]

OT a bit. Back in Illinois, when a buried power line would break and leak to ground, they would disconnect all feed to and from it and use a thumper. Basically dumping high current pulses into the line. Worked would walk the line until they felt a thump in the ground and they'd have an approximate idea of were to start digging.

i was a lineman and we used thumpers often to find faults. But they arent locators and you sure wouldnt want to stress a good cable hooking one up to it. The locators we used had to be clamped on a wire above the ground and sent a signal through it that the locator picked up. It wouldnt work on plastic because i doesnt conduct. I guess the new ones are more like ground radar and would probably work. As to "witching" ditch the coat hangers and get a chunk of #6 solid copper and make a 90 degree bend to hold them in your hands and youll be suprised how well they worked. Guys at work would shake there head at things i found with them that the fancy locator wouldnt. Even power lines burried so deep the locator had problems finding.

[Bookworm]

I agree with the dousing rods to find buried pipes.

My late Grandfather was a drainage contractor back in WW2 era. He showed me the trick about 2 bent rods. I've used it many times to find PVC piping, electric cables, even keys lost in tall grass. It works, but not for everyone.

My father can't make it work, I can.

[skeettx]

Following this thread,

[sparky45]

What a beautiful job of digging.

[beshears]

1-800 dig rite in Missouri

[rancher1913]

the problem with call 811 to get locates is they only do the right of way on your property, not your whole property so they are useless if the line you are locating is away from a road.

[MT Gianni]

Bare #12 copper in MT soils will be gone in a year. Coated, rated for direct bury with no voltage might get 15 years. Wire with the proper rating is not easily found. Good luck.
I believe coat hangers/copper wires will find disturbed ground. That means any and all trenches. Call your local 811 for a free locate to get the utilities located. Slip the locator $15 to trace your wire out.

[elmacgyver0]

OT a bit. Back in Illinois, when a buried power line would break and leak to ground, they would disconnect all feed to and from it and use a thumper. Basically dumping high current pulses into the line. Worked would walk the line until they felt a thump in the ground and they'd have an approximate idea of were to start digging.

I thought thumpers were used to call giant sand worms!

Let's see if anyone knows what I'm talking about.