Water Leak Detector?

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.

My neighbor and a friend I went to school with, both do water leak detection as you described. They are very busy, and successful in finding leaks.

Our Son had a similar problem last year, but his was a suction line, so when the water table we high enough it wasn't a problem. He put it off until the ground froze pretty w,ell and then it became a big problem. It was 1-1/4 so we tried shoving a 1" polly line inside but there was an elbow about 5' out from the basement so that was hopeless. He ended up getting a big excavator and digging it up and fixing it right. If yours is all straight you might be able to shove a 1/2 plastic line through it,but 100' is a long way. If you have less than a foot of frost once you get started it shouldn't go too bad, fix it right.

Save your money. If you do have a leak,it'll come straight up and it won't take long either. Frost won't stop it. Almost 30 years ago we had one come right up through the asphalt in the road where it goes across to water the cattle over there. My brother is in the excavating business and was head of city maintenence in Carson City Michigan for a few years and dealt with water main breaks constantly. He said the only one he ever saw that didn't come straight up was under a concrete city street. It came up through a crack about 50 feet from the actual break.

Hal! is there a driveway crossing the line? My experience has been rocks cutting a hole in plastic line, over the years of driving over it.

I am waiting for the answer since dad had his lines spring a leak last fall and it still hasn't surfaced. They still used the Cistern on the hill and it would drain it every night practically. We changed the check valve in the well thinking maybe it was not working right, and dug up one hydrant with no luck, and since the lines were all empty to the lowest point it has to be a line and not the cistern. Finally got to the point that he trenched in a new line to the house and put in a pressure tank with a valve to shut off the rest of the farm since there is not much for animals anymore.

Hal if your ground is fairly well drained the water may never come to the surface if it is buried 5 foot deep. About the only easy way to do it is start at the well and dig toward the house. If you are lucky and it is close to the well then just repair that section until better weather. If it is close to the house then just replace the whole line and be done with it.

I am willing to bet that the old galvanized line it just crumbling in the soil. I replaced all the water lines here years ago and every one of the old galvanized lines just fell apart when we got them out. Some of them would have been newer than yours.

But it is 1" galvanized steel pipe, not plastic. I used galvanized when I set up the place with a mobile home, because I thought I would never have to mess with the pipe...guess I was wrong. When we built the new house about 17 years ago, I used galvanized pipe to connect the existing pipe to the new house. I sure wish I had left a marker where the old and newer pipes connect, as I suspect that might be the problem area.

Over the last couple of years, I have noticed more redness in the water, especially when I have not used outside water for a couple of days. It is probably rust from the inside of the "galvanized" pipe that has worn out. It was supposed to have been made in the USA, and I paid extra to try to get the best quality. I bet the pipe at my Parents" old house is nearly 100 years old, and still working great. OH WELL!

When I replace the underground pipe, I will probably use PEX inside either plastic conduit, or maybe plastic sewer pipe. My ground is VERY rocky, and I think the PEX will need some protection. Replacing the old pipe will be a tough job. Most of it runs under a section of gravel driveway, and there really is no other place to put it.

I work for the city water department and leaks in old galvanized lines are common. You can bandaid it with a wrap around clamp. Replace it it the spring. But I have to disagree with rrlund. Frost DOES play a big role as to where the water will surface. It acts as a ceiling and the water could travel several several feet before it comes up. One way that we determine where the leak is; is to use a hammer drill and drill lots of holes through the frost right above the water line. Use a long metal probe and probe to the depth of the line. If water come up then great. Keep doing this until you get the most water coming up and then you know your close. If you get lucky and actually probe the line you can listen on it with a stethoscope (automotive style). A leak will make a hissing sound.

I have chased water leaks 100' before when it went down the pipe and came out of the path of least resistance. Local guy does leak detecting also but its hard to covince older construction workers that new technology does work. I would proably look in the phone book if you cant find a leak specalist try plumbers. If I was to replace a line I would use hdpe water line. It cant break, you can cut it but it will not break. You can take any size hdpe and pinch it down to stop theflow then unpinch it and it will return to its old shape.We pinched down some 8" line a couple months ago.