Hal/Eastern WA
Member
Anyone ever use a Water Leak Detector? They advertise that they can find leaks underground with special sound equipment. I was wondering if they were successful, and how much the service cost.
I believe that the galvanized 1" pipe that I buried from the pump house to the house about 37 years ago has started leaking, and pretty bad. Unfortunately the pipe is at least 5 feet under ground and about 100 feet long. The temperature is in the single digits at night and there is about a foot of snow on the ground.
This morning I got up early and dug out a hydrant that has given me trouble before. It was really hard work, with the first 8 inches of soil like concrete. After digging for a couple of hours, I did not find evidence of a leak around the hydrant. I was able to isolate the house from the pipe through the yard, by closing a valve, but the leaking continued. I tried listening to see if I could hear the leak, but I am fairly deaf.
Unfortunately the well I have is not a large producer, and yesterday I think we just about ran it dry, with the pump cycling over and over. Overnight, I shut the main valve in the pump house off, and the pump shut off and it held the pressure all night. So I am pretty sure that the pump, well and pressure tank are OK. But even with the valve that shuts off all the house water off, I can hear quite a bit of water moving when I open the main valve in the pump house.
It has to be a leak, and it must be a pretty substantial one. I keep hoping that water will come to the surface somewhere, or the snow will melt, so I will know where to dig. So far, there are no signs.
A friend of mine has a backhoe, and we probably COULD dig up the driveway area and put in a new line. But it is a lousy time to work on things outside. I would prefer to just fix the line where it is leaking, if possible, at least for now. I wish I knew exactly where it is!
Any experience with water leak detectors? Thanks, Hal.
I believe that the galvanized 1" pipe that I buried from the pump house to the house about 37 years ago has started leaking, and pretty bad. Unfortunately the pipe is at least 5 feet under ground and about 100 feet long. The temperature is in the single digits at night and there is about a foot of snow on the ground.
This morning I got up early and dug out a hydrant that has given me trouble before. It was really hard work, with the first 8 inches of soil like concrete. After digging for a couple of hours, I did not find evidence of a leak around the hydrant. I was able to isolate the house from the pipe through the yard, by closing a valve, but the leaking continued. I tried listening to see if I could hear the leak, but I am fairly deaf.
Unfortunately the well I have is not a large producer, and yesterday I think we just about ran it dry, with the pump cycling over and over. Overnight, I shut the main valve in the pump house off, and the pump shut off and it held the pressure all night. So I am pretty sure that the pump, well and pressure tank are OK. But even with the valve that shuts off all the house water off, I can hear quite a bit of water moving when I open the main valve in the pump house.
It has to be a leak, and it must be a pretty substantial one. I keep hoping that water will come to the surface somewhere, or the snow will melt, so I will know where to dig. So far, there are no signs.
A friend of mine has a backhoe, and we probably COULD dig up the driveway area and put in a new line. But it is a lousy time to work on things outside. I would prefer to just fix the line where it is leaking, if possible, at least for now. I wish I knew exactly where it is!
Any experience with water leak detectors? Thanks, Hal.