Any underground utility locator guys here?

[Cameramonkey]

I need some guidance.
I need to locate a live, buried 110v branch circuit out at my mom's place in extreme NE Hendricks Co. She is tearing down dad's barn and attached shop that is falling in on itself due to disuse. Problem is the garage gets its power from the barn, and the barn connects to the house.

So I need to find the underground wires and mark it so we can dig up each end and sever the connections before they tear it down, and then connect those two ends after the barn is gone. The old part of the barn predates me, so I have no clue where my (late) dad brought power into the barn. And we have no idea where the power leaves the barn to go to the garage.

I was loaned a wicked cool (and stupid expensive) Rigid SeekTek locator. I was practicing at my house and it finds the 220v feed to the house effortlessly.

However I tried finding the line to my minibarn and it was spotty. I really couldnt find it. And its only buried the minimum 18". I tried another buried line on another property that is also not really loaded either. (all lights turned off, etc.) I would find vague hints of it here and there, but not enough to reliably trace.

Would putting a load on the circuit generate more of a field to make it more visible to the locator? (Like firing up a ceramic space heater or two in the garage ) Is the fact that there is no current on the line causing it to not be visible to the locator?

Another idea I had is I really need to replace the breaker with a GFI since its running underground, so I guess I could remove the breaker and hook up the line transmitter to the hot wire before I install the new GFI since it will not be connected to voltage?

 

[Judamonster]

Call 811. They will locate it for you. You have to call them anyway before you dig up the lines.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Call 811. They will locate it for you. You have to call them anyway before you dig up the lines.

Nope. This would be a private locate. They’d mark the utility feed and stop. I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t mark this line.

Mom had a locate a couple months ago for crawlspace work and they didn’t mark the line to the barn.

Edit: I’ll go ahead and request my own locate on a wider scope to guarantee they’ll find it.

 

[Judamonster]

You may be right, but you have to call before you dig anyway.

 

[foszoe]

How to locate a buried cable using a lawnmower and an AM radio - My Daily Smile

Rick explains how to use a lawnmower and an AM radio to quickly locate an underground cable.

my-daily-smile.com

 

[edwea]

Not sure how the tool you were using works, but on my locator I usually hook to the ground wire with the locator. If the ground is broken or disconnected between my hook up location and where I'm locating with the wand, I will get results like you described. I think you may need to recheck your connection. And you don't need a gfi breaker because it runs underground.

 

[radar8756]

...
Another idea I had is I really need to replace the breaker with a GFI since its running underground, so I guess I could remove the breaker and hook up the line transmitter to the hot wire before I install the new GFI since it will not be connected to voltage?

If you know which Breaker feeds the Barn - turning it OFF / Removing it - should be sufficient ... Easy to confirm in the Barn / Garage that Power is OFF

As demolition progresses - tracing back the wires to Point-of-Entry/Exit should be easier

Electrical Code on Splicing them back together after is another Question since there will be no structure to house Junction Boxes

 

[femurphy77]

I've used Bloodhound for locates at work multiple times, those guys are so good they can even tell you how deep it is. They don't guarantee depth but in my years of using them it's always been spot on. So much so that when I had work done at home I didn't use the free 811 service, I called Bloodhound.

I've also used a simple circuit tracer on 110v circuits in the parking lot at work, it worked pretty well but there's not a lot of accuracy to it. It gives more of a "window" of where the circuit is vs "X marks the spot".

 

[Mgderf]

If you know which Breaker feeds the Barn - turning it OFF / Removing it - should be sufficient ... Easy to confirm in the Barn / Garage that Power is OFF

As demolition progresses - tracing back the wires to Point-of-Entry/Exit should be easier

Electrical Code on Splicing them back together after is another Question since there will be no structure to house Junction Boxes

Place a short post with a GFCI outlet at the junction point.
Always nice to have access in the yard.

 

[actaeon277]

When I had lines located, it was free for the feed to the house, phone - power - gas.

But then, any line going into the yard (such as to the pool shed) I paid for.

 

[KittySlayer]

House --> Barn --> Garage

Can you just disconnect where it leaves the house. Demo the barn. Then instead of trying to locate and splice simply run an entirely NEW line from the House to the Garage?

House --> Garage

 

[Cameramonkey]

It’s a 300’ run to do over. Splicing would be between 6’ and 50’