Locating tools

Radio Detection transmitters & receivers (Radio Scanner)

The radio scanner is the tool most frequently used for single utility locating.  Essentially, a wand that you wave over the ground capable of detecting a current emitted from live loaded conduits (120v & above).  If there is not a naturally occurring current, we are able to clamp on to an aboveground portion of the service & energise it with a signal that we can trace.  Basically, the radio scanner can find anything with continuity making it possible to locate:

• Buried services (hydro, water, gas).
• Ground faults on buried conductors (including tracer wire breaks).
• Determining the exact location of a camera that is in a conduit/pipe underground.

Duct Rodders

Not every buried service naturally emits a traceable signal.  Some services that do not emit signals are made of material that will not carry a signal, making it impossible to send a traceable signal form an aboveground portion of the service.  A Duct Rodder is a rod that gets pushed into non-conductive pipe so that they can be traced from ground level, making it possible to locate:

• Plastic sewer & storm drains.
• Plastic conduits.

GPR

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) can be utilized to assist in locating objects in both the surface & the sub surface.  High-frequency radio waves are directed into the surface & sub surface. When reflected to the device, the signals create raw data that a trained technician interprets to ascertain information about the following:

The surface:

• The thickness of the concrete surface.
• The pattern & spacing of reinforcing rebar.
• The location of tension cables.

The sub-surface:

• Buried services (water, sewer, hydro etc.)
• Buried objects (tanks, tile beds, etc.)

The GPR is the most frequently used tool where x-ray used to be used.  GPR has not completely replaced x-ray, however it has several advantages (hyperlink to comparison) over the x-ray that are quickly making it a more frequently used tool.