witching water well-- electronically

[daveshoe]

I need to find my water well which is buried with a well seal. I was told the general location of the well but I need to find it by backtracing from the wellpipe entrance to the basement. the way I want to do this is by running a n electric wire [Energized but not shorted] inside the 1 1/2 inch plastic well pipe that goes from the basement to the well . Utilities locator service could locate it this way but they do not want to help unless it is a service cable owned by a utility company . Anybody got some ideas where I can rent this tool to locate an underground "wire"

 

[BCFAST]

Wouldnt it be cheaper...

... and easier to actually have someone 'witch' the well? I am the biggest skeptic of all this, but darned if it doesnt work for me! I cant explain it, but that stupid peach tree baugh would turn in my hands... my knuckles were white, my grip tore the bark from the small branch... and it still pointed to specific points in the yard. Wierd, but apparently it works... . try it!

 

[Blu-meanie]

Try witching it the old fashion way, or have some do it for you. You can find almost anything that way... ... . If you can't, do you know anybody in the telephone company? You don't need to run a wire up your waterpipe, use the power wires.....

 

[illflem]

I've had excellent luck finding pipes, even plastic ones by bending two three foot welding rods 4" from the end then holding them loosely in each hand parallel to each other. When you walk over the pipe the rods will cross. Try it you'll be amazed.

 

[Champane Flight]

Witching

Witching may work, as long as you get the same witcher you had to begin with. I have seen two witchers go to different spots before. Both had water, just different levels.



The method you are trying for is called a trace lead. Industrial Scientific line finders have this available. The finders are quite expensive!



However, does your well have a submersable pump in it? If it does it should be easier to trace the power to the well and pump.



If you know the general location of the well, how deep is the well seal? Could you probe for it? Use a 6' piece of rod and probe it in the general area until you hit the well.



Or rent a backhoe, do a utilitys locate request and start digging alongside the 1 1/2 " plastic pipe. Sluff off the dirt from on top of the line to prevent breaking it and dig till you get to the well.



Once you do find it make sure you draw it all out so you don't have to go through it again.

 

[Jammar9082]

Is it possible to follow the electric wires from the house to the well casing using a magnetic compass? I located a lost steel septic tank yesterday using a good compass. However, the tank was only about 10-12 inches below the surface. Yet, the magnetic field created around the electric wire may disrupt the earths magnetic field enough that a compass may be affected. I think that the electric wire field would be a lot stronger than the earth's magnetic lines that the steel septic tank concentrates.

 

[merryman]

My son has been a well driller for the past 17 years; They would have wellswitched if the owner wanted that, or drill where the owner/owner's witcher said etc, or if owner was not interested in having the well witched, they would drill where it was convenient to get the drill rig.

For over 1000 wells, the kept a record of percentage of wells where they did or did not get water---- the average in getting water was allmost EXACTLY the same--whether witched or when they drilled where it was convenient to get the drill rig.



About 10 years ago we made an offer on a parcel of land conditional on getting a 5 gal a min well. The parcel had been witched by two local witchers (one of whom was 1/2 indian who practiced their ways) and each had marked a "good well", both claiming 125' or less.

We drilled where indicated and got two 400' dry holes. One of the witchers, the 1/2 Souix S(Sp?) indian, was upset that his spot was a dry hole, so he urged us to let him bring in the big gun of witchers----a Souix medicine man who NEVER failed on witching a well. Since our son's group was doing the drilling for cost, what the heck--punch another hole.

Yup, another 400' of DUST at the spot picked by the medicine man.

The 1000+ well stats convince me; 50/50 witch or easy access.



Vaughn

 

[Champane Flight]

Goes to show ya.

Merryone, it goes to show you why the Soiux (Nomadic people) didn't have a lot of wells in the old days( My Ogalala friends will get me for this) . I have seen first hand what a good witcher can do several times and believe. However, I am also sure that there are quacks out there to.



After asking our witcher about amount of water and depth, she told me she didn't predict depths or amounts anymore, it was not a good practice. She had done it in the past and got burned. Our well hit water at 50' and has a static level of thirty feet, 1. 5 gpm last check. The property had another witcher on it two years before and he had a different drill site according to the permit office. So I do think it is not a exact science, but does work if you find a reputable witcher. Our drillers would not even come on the property unless it was witched.

 

[GSchlegel]

Would a metal detector find the cap (if its metal and not too deep)?



gene

 

[daveshoe]

additional facts on well

I will try to address facts on well.

1. wellpipe should be at 4 feet depth

2. well is jet type - not submersible

3. preferred method is with detection equipment

4. I know someone from the phone co. but he has put me off because of tight security on borrowing tools not normally carried on his truck

5 location of well is 20 minutes from I_70 & I-75 or 30 minutes from richmond IN [Darke county OH]

6 I have a backhoe. As a matter of fact I will offer a good price break to TDR members close to this location

All my electric lines are buried . Mabe I can lie to the utilities locating service {call before you dig] and tell them this energized pipe is line side of meter ,but I would rather do it if by renting a detector or mabe a TDR member has access to this equipment and could help me out

 

[Blu-meanie]

The non submersible type shouldn't be too far from the pump/tank area. They don't pump that far, unless it's a three phase commercial kind.

 

[daveshoe]

Originally posted by Blu-meanie

The non submersible type shouldn't be too far from the pump/tank area. They don't pump that far, unless it's a three ph



ase commercial kind. [/QUOTE



I know its not far from the tank , but to trace the line from the house to the well by digging is darn near impossible ! there are 100 amp lines close by as well as phone and water lines going to the shop . tree roots sidewalk and porch are between the basement and the well . If i could find the well first ,I could run a new line inside a 4'' conduit and miss all that crap and avoid a bunch of hand digging Thanks for all the suggestions , but I am still looking for a detector .

 

[Champane Flight]

If

Heres an idea that might work. If you empty the line of water, then push an extestion cord up the line, plug it in, and trace it with a tick tracer. It ticks when close to voltage. It can be had at the local hardware store. I would make the far end of the extension cord water tight though.



If you do a one call, locate request for the area, one of the utilitys people may do a run on it for you. However do not ask them to verify the locate. I have in the past done a locate on another pipeline, however, I would not flag it or verify the locate. Most detecters will pick up a metal trace.



If you plan on doing a line bore to the well, you will probably have to do a locate request anyway.

 

[Champane Flight]

Serious

If you want a good line finder checkout this site. http://www.radiodetection.co.uk/



You will need a sonde unit to trace your plastic line to go with the detecter.

 

[daveshoe]

FOUND LOCATOR

I finally found a locator for my application! Thanks for all your concern and suggestions I am going to try the compass - magnetic field first and then use a signal emitter that is used by plumbers--I know -- the idea of using a drain locator inside a well line is going to be accompanied with plenty of bleach and disinfectant!! this unit will fit in lines as small as 1/2 inch and can be rented for 40 dollars a day. Vandalia rental just North of Dayton Ohio has it if anyone is interested. Again ,thanks for all your help. My daughter says I have some E-mail and I will open it as soon as I get some errands done . You guys are the best!

 

[merryman]

I don't mean to quarrel, and not really pushing a point, but been thinking about witching wells again. I used to be inclined to "believe", untill I saw my sons records.

Their purpose was not to debunk witching, but rather to decide whether they should find a good witcher to help in their business.

For something over 1000 wells (actually seems it was close to 1100), they recorded simply whether they got enough water to consider it a usable well, and whether it was witched or they simply chose a likely looking, easy to get into spot.

They did not do witching, so if witching was done, it was by someone found by the property owner; this would tend to indicate a great variety of witchers.

At the end of their survey, the two methods of deciding where to drill were less than two percentage points apart. (don't recall now which way it leaned--the "lean" seemed insignificant.

It would seem that if even a small percentage of the witchers involved actually brought about a better than random result, it would have produced statistical results significantly in faver of witched wells rather than what you would expect from random choices.



O K, as I say, I am not looking for a debate, but rather ideas on this survey?



Vaughn