locate help

**ba339** · April 16th, 2009, 01:27 PM

Has anyone found a good way to lacate pvc by pushing a wire in the conduit. I was trying to do this and seem to lacate eveything else around the area. The pvc was about 7 ft deep and was in a duct bank

Bill

**AntiQuest** · April 16th, 2009, 03:03 PM

Buy a small gauge copper wire reel from lowes or home depot and fish it through the pvc.

Be sure to tape the copper wire & fish tape together solid, so you have a stable front to push with. Locate on lowest frequency and it has worked for me several times.

If possible ground the wire once it pushes through for optimal results.

Hope it helps.

**Goldenboy** · April 16th, 2009, 08:24 PM

We just use a metal fishtape. Empty conduit packages or conduit with only a sheathless fiber are done this way all the time here. Just push the fishtape in and then clip your lead to it and chase it out. I've never really had a problem with bleed off doing this.

**yahoo** · April 16th, 2009, 08:30 PM

hope things work out for you dude!!!!! this is the best advice avail......!!!!

**ifinditunderground** · April 16th, 2009, 09:38 PM

Lower frequency, higher wattage.

**beyond help** · April 16th, 2009, 10:19 PM

I do what golden does.

**Mke** · April 17th, 2009, 09:02 AM

Depends on what locate equipment you have at your disposal. I was stocked with a Fiber Optic camera with the locating sonde on the head of it (inspection camera) and this would work perfect locating PVC conduits and pipe. (slow but good) If you don't have that option we used to use a fiberglass rodder with 10 guage wire on it for locate purposes. This would push for greater distances then the Fish tape.

The Fishtape works great but has some limitations depending on the quality of the steel used in the fishtape (cheap ones didn't locate worth a Damn) and if your pushing a distance it may bind up on you.

And always remember your pushing a metal object into an unknown pipe... hope and pray it doesn't come into contact with anything that might charge the tape. (advice from unlucky co-worker who pushed the tape a bit harder then he should of)

mke