Let's see, we got Orange County Public Works, landowner (?), etc.
Don't cut the lock. Cut a link and replace with a lock.
That's how we learnt it.
Five is about average.
You've got the owner (or lessee) that needs to feed the cattle.?ÿ Then there's the electric co-op that reads the meter at the water well.?ÿ Then there's the other electric company that owns the transmission line across the quarter.?ÿ Then there's at least one pipeline company that has to spray their R/W.?ÿ And if there's a petroleum well in that quarter the pumper has his lock on the gate too.
And then there's mine...the surveyor.?ÿ It will be a small bronze Master lock with "PC" engraved on the back.
More than once a watchful county deputy has visually scanned my tools and asked about my 36" bolt cutters.?ÿ When they ask what I use them for I always tell them I use them for exactly what they're made for, cuttin' stuff.?ÿ 😉
I used to drive Mr. Schumann's work truck. I think he had 3 key rings with 200+ keys. Probably 1 of every master key ever made. It might take a while to get through that gate, but more often than not I had a key already.
Was working a very large cattle ranch one time. Numerous gates and dirt roads all through the place. The owner had a combination lock on each gate. The combinations could be changed on the locks. He would change the combinations once a week and contact all parties involved with the new combinations. Worked pretty well.
Just wait till you see just Locks and no chain.
Not unusual. Had a site last fall that had 11 locks. It was a Christmas tree farm that included a hilltop. The hilltop had 3 different cell phone towers on it. Lots of stakeholders, each with a lock.
I'm like Mr. Schumann. Since I was a rodman, I haven't thrown out a key. I have 2 key rings for probably about 150 keys. One key however opens most gates in Texas. All seismic outfits use the same lock and key. (master lock key 2094 if memory serves) When I was in the field, I kept that key in the ashtray and the key rings stayed packed most of the time. Very seldom did I have to break out the "Oilfield Master Key" that Paden spoke about.
Once a week sounds excessive; a lot of work for him and somebody wouldn't get the word in time.?ÿ Was there so much traffic that he needed to weed out prior visitors that often?
I think there was 19 locks, plus the one on the ground - heavy as hell too
those locks represent interest holders in the land and roughly the number of parties that will have a claim against you if your survey goes south
or at least that's one interpretation of the photo
An interesting simplification I've seen in urban areas is one lock, quite often an electronic RFID type,?ÿ and bunches of key safes shackled to the fence nearby.?ÿ You go to the owner, obtain an RFID key (usually there's a deposit involved)?ÿ which uniquely identifies you & your personnel, and put it in your own key safe.?ÿ Two advantages for the landowner:?ÿ He knows exactly who has access, and every-time you open the gate, a record is made of the date & time.?ÿ You & your personnel just have a booklet with the key safe combos in your rigs, not dozens of keys.
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Cell sites covered the hills there and I was just gathering antenna data so low liability
Here is the crazy part - the client gave me a list of about a half dozen combinations with the "promise" that one of them would work. Probably. They gave me no advise on how to tell which of the locks was theirs. And several of the locks were the same Master 175 type which uses a 4 digit combo.
Luckily, in that case, it was late October and a tree pruning crew was on site at the time preparing the crop for harvest. They opened the gate for me.
