Geophysics to find land drains

[pipeman1964]

Forget geophysics best way to find drains in my experience is to dig three trenches from top to bottom from corner to corner about 40 metres apart any drains found can be marked by digging 3 trenches you can see what drains line up its a lot less fancy than geophysics but fool proof this only needs to be done once and plotted but in the spring of the year for a time you will see the drains in the crop so it gives you an idea of there whereabouts as for bent wires to find drains every body say they can find drains with them so could someone teach me the correct way because I have never had success with them and ended up swearing and throw them in the hedge where I think they belong.

 

[massey765]

.I just use one wire

It will find any running water ..drains....plastic ...tile...stone ...sod...mole ....worm runs....cracks in the rock ..in fact everything. ...the trick is deciding wot is the truth or the lies

 

[pipeman1964]

Instead of this fancy geophysics go back to basics and use you Head and Hands that's what you was given them for !!!!! Get the GREY matter working !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[massey765]

Wot I generally do is stand and look at the field and try and decide how I would have drained it in 1900 with a spade

Most old tile systems around here are 7 yards apart a spade deep

One second world war system was 6.5 yards ...ganger man must have had short legs

 

[milkloss]

If you get the google earth program on your Pc you can go back through historical aerial on a slider which is good. There was also a link on here somewhere to a lidar map which is laser bounced off the ground and ignores trees/hedges etc. It is used for flood plain mapping mainly and the search function is carp but it is there.

How about finding a local 'boy' with a drone? Not only may they be really keen to find somewhere to fly but the right weather will reveal an enormous amount like where the ground isn't frosting etc.

 

[Red Fred]

I'm amazed at the work that went into these schemes. We have a system that was carried away by a pipe that is at least 6ft down with brick inspection chambers built in 1877. The rise and fall of the river would have prevented it from emptying so they built a metal Syphon under the river to take the carrier further down the valley. When Wessex Water finally buggered it up with their new water main in 1987, they discovered 3 even older syphons under the river one being big pottery pipes, and the older two being wooden pipes jointed with clay.

 

[massey765]

I'm amazed at the work that went into these schemes. We have a system that was carried away by a pipe that is at least 6ft down with brick inspection chambers built in 1877. The rise and fall of the river would have prevented it from emptying so they built a metal Syphon under the river to take the carrier further down the valley. When Wessex Water finally buggered it up with their new water main in 1987, they discovered 3 even older syphons under the river one being big pottery pipes, and the older two being wooden pipes jointed with clay.

The old boys with spades new wot they were about

 

[glasshouse]

Who did the demo please clockwatcher?

wait till summer and put up a drone.

 

[glasshouse]

This is from a microlight. Winter wheat
All the working drains are showing green, along with a few dry patches.
Rest of land is waterlogged and dying

 

[Clockwatcher]

Under the right conditions a drone will be the most cost effective method.
The conditions in spring 2014 were the best I have ever seen in 45 years farming for seeing drains showing in crops and I took hundreds of photos over a 2 month period and saw drainage schemes that I had no idea existed.

We would use the gpr in advance of laying drains etc to locate services such as fibre optic, gas and water mains, the sort of stuff that can't be detected using a CAT.

 

[pipeman1964]

Wot I generally do is stand and look at the field and try and decide how I would have drained it in 1900 with a spade

Most old tile systems around here are 7 yards apart a spade deep

One second world war system was 6.5 yards ...ganger man must have had short legs

I'm amazed at the work that went into these schemes. We have a system that was carried away by a pipe that is at least 6ft down with brick inspection chambers built in 1877. The rise and fall of the river would have prevented it from emptying so they built a metal Syphon under the river to take the carrier further down the valley. When Wessex Water finally buggered it up with their new water main in 1987, they discovered 3 even older syphons under the river one being big pottery pipes, and the older two being wooden pipes jointed with clay.

There's more to us drainer boys than a craggy face you know ! Drains are like men they need working hard !!!!

 

[glasshouse]

Here
You can see where the landlord has flooded the field with water from new forestry ditches which he didnt bother to connect

 

[Farmboy1611]

I have use the method of two piece of wire many years ago.

What sort of wire does it have to be anything special?

 

[Pasty]

I have use the method of two piece of wire many years ago.

What sort of wire does it have to be anything special?

Welding rods are good. Coat hanger is OK.

 

[Farmboy1611]

Brilliant Thank you!.

That will hopefully stop me going through a water pipe i know crosses the field but no idea where!

 

[rob1]

Welding rods are good. Coat hanger is OK.

Thought copper wire was meant to be best?

 

[Pasty]

Some people find bending them 90 degrees and put the short ends in some tubes such as biros with the ends hacked off works. Best to do muliple passes and stick in pegs of some sort and see if it makes sense at the end. People will think you are mental but there you go.

 

[Pasty]

Thought copper wire was meant to be best?

No idea. Anything works for me. Dad the same.

 

[Danllan]

No idea. Anything works for me. Dad the same.

I know we agree and get on with regard to most things, but... dowsing really is utter b*llocks! It is the surveying equivalent of homeopathy and has never been demonstrated to work under controlled conditions anywhere at any time.

Right, I'm off outside where I guarantee I will find water... i.e. rain.

 

[Pasty]

I know we agree and get on with regard to most things, but... dowsing really is utter b*llocks! It is the surveying equivalent of homeopathy and has never been demonstrated to work under controlled conditions anywhere at any time.

Right, I'm off outside where I guarantee I will find water... i.e. rain.

Folk who can do it are not going to put themselves up for that. Channeling the ultimate power of the universe into a 'controlled experiment' would lead to WW7 at least. There is of course, always a margin of error. False positives if you like. But many a time we have been sure a cable or pipe is in a particular place but the rods disagree. The rods have always been right.

Dunno. I'm not out to prove anything but I've found plenty of things in the past and much not on my own land or land I have ever been on. Probably, if you put me under pressure, me rods would go wonky.

It's like the baby Jesus. You have to believe.