The latest post about dowsing made me wonder what the stats would be for the group on their beliefs and or skills in this area.
If you can do it, please share an example of what you use and what you've found.
Andy J, post: 422818, member: 44 wrote: If you can do it, please share an example of what you use and what you've found.
On 2 separate occasions, I was successful in using this method to to find a storm line.
The first was when my boss showed me how to do it and we found a 36" line. It was in tall grass and we were driving 4' lath where we thought it was. close to the end; I was clearing a spot to drive the lath and found a hole over top of the pipe where the ground had eroded away.
The next one; I found a 12" line for about 1000' all the way to the river. It had a 15' jog in it and I found that too. Later, I talked to the client; he said they dug it up and I was right on top of where it actually was...
I can see that I should have allowed only one selection. If you can do it, then you are likely to also select the first three choices, thus inflating the stats.
Coat hangers bent into "L"s.
Just like RADAR my boss showed me how to do it - I would have never suggested it on my own.
I've located fuel lines and water lines. The water lines were done to show others that it works - there were valves to confirm the position - it worked. The fuel lines were done in desperation because there was no above ground evidence (winter, snow, and no posts or valves in the area). I wouldn't bet my career on the reliability of dowsing but it sure seems to work (I located the fuel lines in about 4 locations and they all lined up) - I put the method in the notes and on the drawing and let someone else decide what types of decisions they wanted to make based on that info. Unfortunately, nobody dug up the fuel lines so I don't have empirical evidence to assess whether the results were valid.
I spent a lot of my early days working on a crew in the old Humble Oil fields just east of Conroe, Tx. For some reason they had run a lot of 3-inch fiberglass gathering lines just snaking thru the woods. We could locate them by gentle probing with a sharpshooter. Regular probes were not allowed because they would punch a hole right in the fiberglass. My old party chief Jerry Willis could find them on the regular by just walking across the area with two bent brass rods in his hands. It saved us a lot of time.
My great uncle "N.C." told this story.
When he got married back in the 1930's and was ready to build a house, he picked a spot by the road with several big oak trees scattered around. He had the well digger out to find a good spot for the well. He brought his trusty forked peach tree limb and went about "witching" the well location. Uncle N.C. said he wandered about looking up and when he got to a spot where there weren't any tree limbs that would interfere will the drill derrick, the limb suddenly jerked down. He did hit water, but it would just barely make enough to fill the bathtub.
Count me in the false category.
I have done it for years, in the oilfield locating pipelines, both metal, and poly, land surveying finding property pins and buried utilities, helping neighbors find water and sewer lines.
It is also a great party trick. Put on a blind fold, have someone drop a quarter on the floor, and find it.
I have used bent pinflags, bent welding rods, Magnetomatics, coat hangers, and other assorted metal wire and rod type things.
I had a UXO detection specialist check my work with ground penetrating radar in an oilfield, he verified everything I marked, much to his amazement.
I gave him a Magnetomatic as a gift, and he got quite proficient with it.
I have a theory as to why some people are not able to do it.
They are born with reverse polarity. Have you ever met someone who cannot wear a movement style watch without ruining it? The watch just stops working after awhile. These people are not able to douse in my experience.
I have also noticed that left handed people have more trouble with it.
I have trained many people to douse, some with more success than others, and some people are more successful with certain types of dousing tools than others, it just takes some experimentation.
I used to think it was fake. Then an old timer from a small town utility department proved to me it worked. I started practicing and tested it on some lines I knew the location of. I was still skeptical, so I had a buddy set up a test and I was able to locate the line. I've used it many times successfully over the years.
backspur, post: 422841, member: 11896 wrote: I used to think it was fake. Then an old timer from a small town utility department proved to me it worked. I started practicing and tested it on some lines I knew the location of. I was still skeptical, so I had a buddy set up a test and I was able to locate the line. I've used it many times successfully over the years.
Interesting!! what was the test??
Right-of-way agent for utility company had me preparing maps to be used for easement exhibits. Was working on an easement along the edge of a farm field with drainage tile. The verbal agreement was that the new utility cable was to be between the road right-of-way and the tile. Land owner had provided an dimensionless sketch of the tile layout. Utility agent told me to witch the edge of the tile to check distance from occupied road center-line. He took a bent coat hanger and told me to try it. Flagged several spots 50 to 100 feet apart. Then he went between and flagged a few spots. They all lined up as if we had set out a line with a plumb bob.
The same agent had me locate buried cables several times and use this to create easement maps. Each time he would spot check by dowsing a few additional spots. Several additional times I have located field tile drains and have been checked with tile probes. Each time the flags set were directly above the tiles.
Given all this I believe it works but never trust the results and always check by digging or probing.
Andy J, post: 422816, member: 44 wrote: The latest post about dowsing made me wonder what the stats would be for the group on their beliefs and or skills in this area.
Wasn't there a thread on the original RPLS board about this that went on forever?
Stacy Carroll, post: 422851, member: 150 wrote: Wasn't there a thread on the original RPLS board about this that went on forever?
same perp
Andy J, post: 422843, member: 44 wrote: Interesting!! what was the test??
He put me in the vicinity of some sanitary sewer lines he had previously tracked down. I marked the lines where I thought they were. We compared my marks to where he located the line. I was within a couple feet of the actual location. That's as good as the 811 guys around here guarantee it.
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Rankin_File, post: 422852, member: 101 wrote: same perp
Yes, I find it fascinating.
Andy J, post: 422878, member: 44 wrote: Yes, I find it fascinating.
Things that make you go "hhmmm..."
Years ago I knew a "hippie chick" that wouldn't go anywhere without her Tarot cards. She would spend hours with any willing participant laying cards out and mysteriously being able to "read" their past, present and future in great detail. Her personal life was a mess though. She lived upstairs from me and I don't know how many times we had to either help her break into her own place because she locked her keys inside...or drive her to the service station with a gas can because she wasn't able to "read" her gas gauge...
Come to think of it...I wonder why no clairvoyant has never been able to "foresee" the winning numbers in a Mega-Million...or even a $500 "pick 3"..;)
Andy J, post: 422878, member: 44 wrote: Yes, I find it fascinating.
Let me clarify. I find it fascinating that people believe this is a real thing.
I'd love to try it in scientific way, though.
I don't believe in it.
But I sure wouldn't bet against it.
I can't explain it but I've seen it work too many times not to believe it "can" work. Not always, but it has been used to locate non-metallic lines that have no surface evidence.
The Other Andy
If dousing works for water, oil, and gas, you should be able to fold up a deed, in your hat, and run the lines, faster than a GPS. As matter of fact, this brings to mind... Why not install a bunch of GLO notes in your hat, and get your sticks, and perform GLO retracement? Much faster and cheaper than GPS, Total Station, and all the software that goes..... You could call it Jean Dixon et al surveying services....And you would not have to know a whole lot about it.....Just it works