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OT find electric cable

Milady has a high tunnel greenhouse project. I'm already looking at how to do better next year...

This year I installed soil heating cables on three rows. The resulting increase in growth rate is amazing. Putting them in place and knowing where they are at so you don't drive a stake through one was plumb awful.

We can go to higher plant density if I can design an easy method to pull in the cables close together and know where they are at. I have a concept in my mind's eye for pulling in cable and irrigation T tape.

OK, my question. With heat cables installed two inch under ground and plastic pulled over the surface, I need to be able to locate and mark the cables. Will one of those buried wire locators find a heat cable (each 110 volt 200' cable is rated at 1000 watts) accurately? Which one should I buy? I'm thinking test this concept now so I know it works.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend
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If you can isolate cable when locating you can inject an oscillating signal and locate it along its length with a receiver like telephone techs use.

Reply to
F Murtz

IR thermometer?

MikeB

Reply to
BQ340

(...)

23 dollarettes:
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--Winston

Reply to
Winston

Thanks for the tip Winston and Gunner.

I was thinking this was a big dollar item.You saved me money.

Karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

So, in future it might help to (1) plant some location fixed points (a rock won't move far from one season to the next), (2) establish a grid (for building trades, this would be done with stakes and string), and (3) make a map of where the buried items lie on that grid.

Athletic field lime-line gizmos might help, too.

Reply to
whit3rd

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