finding sprinkler heads and valves

[mdhunt]

Did you try locating sprinkler heads and valves with a metal detector? Did it work for you? I know it SHOULD work because sprinklers have metal springs. My question is did you try doing it?
Many thanks

 

[still looking 52]

A metal detector will definitely find sprinkler heads and valves, I've never intentionally went out looking for them but I've found them. We hunted this old closed down golf course one time and we found some sprinklered heads, they'll blow your head sets off your head they come in so loud.

 

[jim tn]

I've hunted for them for people on a couple of occasions and they can be found.......along with tin, aluminum siding pieces, copper, anything metal that get used when building houses. Usually the homeowner has a pretty close idea where they initially were located and a whole lot of digging usually isn't necessary. HH jim tn

 

[GeorgeinSC]

Yes they will have metal in them and yes you can find them. I was asked by a local park to help them find the cutoff valves for their sprinklers on five of their ball fields. We located four of them and I told them that the fifth one was too close to the metal post for the pitchers rubber on the mound. Large metal mount to keep the rubber in place. Saw the guys later and I was correct in what I told them.

 

[5900_XL-1]

Some newer sprinkler heads are very lean in metal parts, almost totally plastic. I actually got contracted to find them in newly built ball fields. Those heads were deeper, because of the method of doing the final landscape at a last thing, before installing grass. I learned a lot.

First, it works easier if you have a decent detector which discriminates and gets good depth. A cheap detector will be tricky. Get one of the heads tested before you start. Have the sprinklers turned on and test one after it pops up. Benchmark the tone/ID from that one and begin. You can discriminate for that VDI only, and save time and work.

The control boxes and buried wires emit electrical so those are easier to find. The installers actually use a detector which simply reads EMI. Even cheap detectors will get ground EMI.

Good luck!

 

[dfmike]

A metal detector will definitely find sprinkler heads and valves, I've never intentionally went out looking for them but I've found them. We hunted this old closed down golf course one time and we found some sprinklered heads, they'll blow your head sets off your head they come in so loud.

I've never intentionally tried to find them myself but there is an old school I go to that has some in the ground and I often dig the crud off of them by mistake thinking it might be something good. The heads are about 2 inches in ground with thick thatch over them. They surely have not been used for years.

 

[Dancer]

Few years ago some park approached me to help locate some in a soccer field. They will blow your headphones off.