Plastic Drain Pipe Locators?

[Haoleguy]

I have recently placed 3ea 250ft plastic drain tiles at 3-4ft depth in a field to help move excess water away during late Fall to early Spring. At the moment I can still see where I laid the tiles and have noted them on blueprints. But to be honest there is not much accuracy in the notation. I'm thinking about using a small section of cast iron pipe at the beginning and end of the tile run at 3ft depth with the idea that I can use a metal locator like those from Schonstedt ... Schonstedt Instrument Company : Magnetic Locators, Pipe and Cable Locators to locate the run?page=indexml&gclid=CIWp2aOIsqoCFQXc4Aod60AB7g . These are rented locally for not much money. Anybody have experience with subsoil metal locators? How small can the object be and at what depths? .....Thank you, Gary

 

[buckeyefarmer]

you could use a roll of metal tape, like used for geothermal projects, or they have metal disks you can throw in the trench and cover with the pipe. lets you find it with metal detector.

 

[ragkar]

It may be too late but you should have photographed the field and then printed the photograph.

 

[TedLaRue]

If I'm reading your post correctly, you say you are thinking of putting a piece of cast iron drain pipe 3 feet deep at the ends of your runs. Why 3 feet deep?? If you put it roughly six inches deep, you'll be able to find it with even the least expensive metal detector.

Another good marker is an old iron plate from the railroad (used to anchor the rails to the ties). Walk along older railroad tracks and you'll find discarded plates. On second thought, that's stealing, and of course I can't condone that.

If you're having trouble seeing where the drain lines are, wait until a decent snowfall. It's easy to see the depressions of the trenches in the snow unless you did a really good job of backfilling and packing the dirt.

Finally, there's the problem of passing this information into the future. When you or someone else needs to find the lines, how will you remember (or how will someone else know) that you buried markers at the ends of the lines? I recommend writing that kind of "permanent record" information down and putting it in a folder/envelope inside or next to the electric service entrance (main circuit breaker box) of the house.

 

[mjncad]

They make utility marking tape in 2" and 6" widths that are detectable by metal detectors. They usually come in 1,000' foot rolls. Not the cheapest stuff around; but it's usually placed 6" to 12" below the surface, so if your metal detector doesn't find it, your shove or digging implement of choice will.

 

[California]

I put scrap water pipe (iron) in the trench over my septic line distribution box, also at a point where the line angles 45 degrees, and at the end of the line. A metal detector should find this scrap. I laid the pieces in a # pattern at each point for the backhoe to hit *before* it destroyed what it is searching for - like what happened to the distribution box on the first dig.

I also took photos with reference points in the background, and used my 100m tape to triangulate the location of the distribution box relative to the corners of buildings. My notes are on a big piece of cardboard filed along with similar ones in the workshop and unlikely to be lost. If my photos aren't available in the future, that cardboard map should still be there. Either the photos or the notes should be sufficient to locate these buried points pretty precisely.

 

[Kays Supply]

One of the citys I work in just puts a 1/2" bolt in the top of sewer clean out plugs. They say it is easy to locate with a metal detector. A trail of scap metal pushed into the ground would be plenty.

 

[Haoleguy]

It may be too late but you should have photographed the field and then printed the photograph.

Ragkar - I do have lots of pictures but I will probably go back and take a few more with above ground markers with an idea of what will not change and thus be a good reference point. This area is going to change dramatically with new buildings and vineyard over the next few years.....Gary

 

[Haoleguy]

If I'm reading your post correctly, you say you are thinking of putting a piece of cast iron drain pipe 3 feet deep at the ends of your runs. Why 3 feet deep?? If you put it roughly six inches deep, you'll be able to find it with even the least expensive metal detector.

I'm putting the iron 3 ft down as this area will become a vineyard with posts and grapevines and thus I do not want to disturb the locators when I do subsoiling(2ft down). ....Gary

 

[Haoleguy]

I put scrap water pipe (iron) in the trench over my septic line distribution box, also at a point where the line angles 45 degrees, and at the end of the line. A metal detector should find this scrap.

This is essentially what I had planned to do......Gary