John Shrall Posted June 9, 2013 Report Share Posted June 9, 2013 Does anyone know of a person who has the equipment to locate an underground water leak? I've had a couple of plumbers over the last several months looking for the problem but so far no success. My pressure pump is coming on every hour or so but there is no evidence of water anywhere on the property. No standing water and no sink holes. We've pretty much eliminated the possibility of the leak being in the house or casita. The pressure tank has been checked and holds pressure if the nearby shutoff valves are closed. I did an air compression test a couple of days ago confirming that pressure drops rapidly with all valves turned off. Unfortunately the pressure they used must have widened the hole because after switching back to water the pressure pump comes on more frequently than before. I may need metal detectors to follow pipes or possible listening equipment to follow those pipes. Losing pressure that quickly should emit a pretty loud sound underground. I have a guy coming back tomorrow to try to locate a T junction so we can test one section of pipe but just in case that doesn't work I'd like to find someone else that has some higher tech equipment for the search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traderspoc Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 I located one I had about 3 weeks ago with a medical stethoscope. it help me understand what pipe leaking and also most important what pipe not leaking, for pipes above ground mostly, once I knew what pipe had sounds going into the ground, (water moving in a pipe when everything in the house was shut off.) then we dug the second whole we dug we found the leak. dug two holes two feet apart, surprising the first whole totally dry. A elbow joint was leaking that was put in four years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carib Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 Call Brad Grieves, the property inspector. He will know someone to do this. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OsoNegro Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 Call: Jose Martinez 01-331-152-1369 465-3297 He has the equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doberwoman Posted June 11, 2013 Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 J. Brad Grieve, P.Eng. MBAAjijic Home InspectionsCarretera #33E Oriente (above Banco Multiva) Ajijic, Jalisco 45920MexicoTel/Fax: 011 52 (376) 766-2836Cel: 011 52 (33) 3904-9573Web Site: www.inspec-mx.comBusiness Email: brad.grieve@inspec-mx.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronte Posted June 11, 2013 Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 I located one I had about 3 weeks ago with a medical stethoscope. it help me understand what pipe leaking and also most important what pipe not leaking, for pipes above ground mostly, once I knew what pipe had sounds going into the ground, (water moving in a pipe when everything in the house was shut off.) then we dug the second whole we dug we found the leak. dug two holes two feet apart, surprising the first whole totally dry. A elbow joint was leaking that was put in four years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronte Posted June 11, 2013 Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 We have a similar problem. Plumbers have been out here but they could not pinpoint where the underground leak is. We have not been able to find any company- even in Guad. that has electronic device that can trace the sound. Do you know where one can find a stethoscope because I also have heard this is an effective way to find the sound of the running water. Many thanks. RT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Shrall Posted June 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 There could be trouble brewing but both Brad and Jose are here trying to locate the leak. Thanks to those who posted the info. So far Jose's listening device is a length of garden hose. He can hear the water running which of course is not too surprising since we have a leak. Locating the sound where it is strongest could be more challenging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Shrall Posted June 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 Brad did very well at diffusing a situation where there were 2 people looking for the same problem. Jose and Brad agreed to work as partners and after a couple of hours Brad game up with a high probability guess that the offending line branched off a T from the main distribution line to the house. Jose is going to come back tomorrow and run a temporary line which will hopefully bypass the line with the leak. It's a faucet we don't need or want anyway so killing it is the best solution. If the test is successful he'll run a new main line into the house and problem solved. Ojala. I had to pay for 2 people but if this works it was worth the price. Brad has very good detection equipment for problems like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted June 12, 2013 Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 Thanks for sharing your experience. Please let us know the rest of the story when you have the information. I would like to know if your problem is also caused by a faulty elbow joint. Why? Because that was our experience on the coast...a small pinhole in the joint itself that was less than 1/16 of an inch in diameter. The welds were fine. Through that little hole, with a pressurized water system, we were losing 1,000 litres of water every eight hours. Luckily, we had the water system set up into four zones that could each be shut off separately to narrow down the location of the problem. Shared information of this kind is very helpful. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Shrall Posted June 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 The two guys have an idea of what might have caused the problem if our guess is correct. The backwash tube from the water softener dropped water onto the ground directly above the main distribution line. They noted oxidization on the nearby gas tank and water faucet as an indication that the salts discharged from the softener have been causing slow corrosion to everything nearby. There will be no way to tell for sure because Brad's equipment said that the galvanized pipe with the leak is about 2 feet below ground level. The lesson here is for folks who have water softeners - be careful where the backwash water goes. Over time it can cause problems. I plan to put some elbows on the PVC and construct a concrete ramp to push the backwash water onto the concrete away from the dirt and the pipes that lie below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doberwoman Posted June 12, 2013 Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 We have a similar problem. Plumbers have been out here but they could not pinpoint where the underground leak is. We have not been able to find any company- even in Guad. that has electronic device that can trace the sound. Do you know where one can find a stethoscope because I also have heard this is an effective way to find the sound of the running water. Many thanks. RT. I bought an stethoscope at the farmacia.... or in the store where medical equipment is available.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.