Drain locators

fermerboy

Member
Location
Banffshire
Having a right ballache trying to find drains in a field of mine.
They seem to go all directions and new ones crossing over old ones, the map we have is pretty vague.
I don't have the dowsing gift either. :cry::cry:

So been considering some sort of drain locator to go on to the drain rods.

I read on here before about using terrier or ferret locators so any recomendations for what is good???
How do you attach to the rods? and What sort of range do they have in the ground?.

Any advice very welcome!!
 

mo!

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
York
I've got a ferret finder, it's cable tied onto the drain rods inside a bit of 25mm water pipe. It is quite handy.
 
Having a right ballache trying to find drains in a field of mine.
They seem to go all directions and new ones crossing over old ones, the map we have is pretty vague.
I don't have the dowsing gift either. :cry::cry:

So been considering some sort of drain locator to go on to the drain rods.

I read on here before about using terrier or ferret locators so any recomendations for what is good???
How do you attach to the rods? and What sort of range do they have in the ground?.

Any advice very welcome!!


You want some of these

C17EA0E6-82EC-45A0-A743-B337579C623E.jpeg
 

fermerboy

Member
Location
Banffshire
@fermerboy Are they not showing just now with the dry. I should be getting drone pictures/ maps done of the farm just now cause most of the drains are showing.

A few drains are but this bit is just a bloody maze!!!
There has been a lot of draining attempts in this bit and it's just a lottery what you find when you dig. Got a tile more or less running on top of another today.:banghead::banghead::banghead:

Quite fancy a drone for mapping drains.
 

NH 200

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Ceredigion
In previous years iv'e used a deben ferret finder with some success but only has a small range of 5m so unless you know roughly where the drain is it can take some time, locator eventually stopped working and looked around for a better alternative. In the end i bought a bellman & flint ferret locator based on an avalanche locator although more expensive it paid for itself the first day i used it. The locator is very robust, waterproof and has a range of 60m with directional pointer. Best used on a 100metre cobra drain reel as rods are a slow to assemble.
 
In previous years iv'e used a deben ferret finder with some success but only has a small range of 5m so unless you know roughly where the drain is it can take some time, locator eventually stopped working and looked around for a better alternative. In the end i bought a bellman & flint ferret locator based on an avalanche locator although more expensive it paid for itself the first day i used it. The locator is very robust, waterproof and has a range of 60m with directional pointer. Best used on a 100metre cobra drain reel as rods are a slow to assemble.
Did you buy the whole kit eg receiver and screen? Do you think the receiver would work with a normal cat?
 

NH 200

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Ceredigion
Yeah, bought the complete kit £300+ vat was going to by a pieps locator box which is cheaper elsewhere but isn't IP66 rated. Think the cat works on a different frequency but not sure.
 

fermerboy

Member
Location
Banffshire
Well last night after @RWG Contracts post about divining rods, I thought I'd see if the wife could work them. So went and got an old coat hanger cut it in two, bent into a L shape.
Out the back of the house and she gets nothing and f**k me they worked for me!! Couldn't believe it and still can't, near 40 years I've had various goes and nothing, I mean absolutely not a twitch and now they work!!
Down to the field today and sure enough they cross, mark he spot a few times to get a line, and dug up the drain!!!!

Cant understand it, always tried with s bit of galv fence wire or a welding rod before, a coat hanger this time is the only difference.
Weird stuff!!
 
Well last night after @RWG Contracts post about divining rods, I thought I'd see if the wife could work them. So went and got an old coat hanger cut it in two, bent into a L shape.
Out the back of the house and she gets nothing and f**k me they worked for me!! Couldn't believe it and still can't, near 40 years I've had various goes and nothing, I mean absolutely not a twitch and now they work!!
Down to the field today and sure enough they cross, mark he spot a few times to get a line, and dug up the drain!!!!

Cant understand it, always tried with s bit of galv fence wire or a welding rod before, a coat hanger this time is the only difference.
Weird stuff!!
Possibly because the ground is so dry there is not so much groundwater to confuse your reading
 

fermerboy

Member
Location
Banffshire
Any wire then ???
I've tried a good few times before with welding rods, various bits of fence wire and nothing. Even tried it barefoot once, still nothing.
One day I was with another chap who could dowse looking for a water pipe and I couldn't get any twitch from the wires, he held on to my arm and sure enough they turned. He said any old bit of wire worked for him.
I made the latest rods with a coat hanger and so far they work for me. Still can't fathom out why they work now, wonder if it's because every thing is so dry.
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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