Crane accident 7/29/24 North Greenbush NY

I always just used the flags, aka galvanized steel, just rip the flag off and bend them. It's critical that they can spin freely, so your easy grip is key. It's not the same as an actual locate on a utility obviously, but it's crazy how well it'll show that something is there
 
Here's my theory why it works
Polarity of earths particles. When rock is formed, it reflects the North South polarity at the time it forms.
If something disturbs the rock or soil, the even polarity of the strata is mixed all up.
Witching finds this mis matched bunch.
So like when I witched sewer taps. You knew about where it came into the property and it was often marked on the curb. But you dont dig there. You want to come a ways into the property to prevent damage to water mains, undermining concrete side walks, or yanking the tap apart from the sewer main tie in.
So you witch a line. Never had water in it.
Locate direction and follow it in. When the crossing stops of the rods, you hit the end of the ditch. Mark for the back hoe or excavator. They then dig just in front of the termination. We rarely hit the pipe itself. Just exposed the cap. This will work the same way with any underground run that needed a trench or hole. No need for water or wire to run through it. Could be empty conduit. It'll work.
Aquifers also erode soils and rock and deposite minerals from elsewhere.
 
Is it typical that it works for some folks and not for others.

:whine:
 
Coat hanger wire bent to a right angle, using thin tubes like ball point pen as handles to ensure sensitivity.

I remember they did an investigation on TV in the 70s to see if it worked.
It did (to an extent) much to everyone‘s suprise.
 
cory said:
Is it typical that it works for some folks and not for others.

:whine:
Click to expand...

It just takes practice. I've seen guys hold down too, and they'll move when gravity says they shouldn't, but i like them sticking out straight in front of you because it's more sensitive imo. Just keep playing with it, and it helps if you can do a site that they've located on so you know where all the stuff is. And again, for most applications witching is just an additional aid, and can't replace the other types of locating tools and equipment, and other things to stack the deck in your favor like more and more cribbing or soil probing. And yes you need a dig permit if you're going to probe, you can easily poke through a gas line or something.

When you call in a locate the guys go out there and hook up a power source to the utility and use a tool to pinpoint it. If it's plastic they bury a wire to carry the current, and all connections are made in waterproof boxes to ensure reliability, in other words you really don't wanna have that fail because that's what will be used when digging it up. Even with all that it's a 3 foot on either side window, and it's often only 18" under ground. With smarter and bigger stuff in the ground, say like a directional drill, it's insane how well they can plot it, and can curve it around to go exactly where they want. But that's because they can change frequencies, have a far more advanced sensor placed directly on the ground, etc.

If you're trying to find something unmarked, the material makes a huge difference. If it's steel you can use locating equipment, even a compass can help. If you're going to be using a crane it only makes sense to learn about what's in the ground, and getting a dig permit so you can simply probe the ground can tell you tons of info. If you've ever seen guys prepare for a concrete pour on a commercial job you'll likely have seen a random guy walk up, put some instrument thing on the ground, and then drive a spike on the tool into the ground with a sledge. He's measuring how compacted the base is to make sure it's up to specs, and a probe can tell you the same thing with tactical feedback. You'll know if you're hitting rock and stuff, which tends to stabilize the soil. If it's a tank or pipe it'll have sand all around it, easy to feel with a probe too. Foundations often have pea gravel, very distinctive with a probe as well.
 
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I’ve used rods before with good results but have seen others that it didn’t. I figured their chemical make up was slightly different and then shunned the mutants😆.
One can get really good at recognizing ditch lines or old tanks just by eye once you figure out what they look like. Subtle differences in the lawn tell a tale.
I personally use a probe most of the time if there is a doubt on ground stability.
 
One friend of mine was roofing another friends house. We arrived right after they had unloaded the shingle using one of those hitch hiker buggies. They drove right over the septic tank with 2 full pallets of shingles on the forks. The worst part was it was the middle of summer and the grass over the tank was brown as could be. Couldn't get much easier to locate. Doh. Lucky they didn't go through.
 
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