Dowsing for Water

D

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Don't forget that the TV licence people swore that their TV detector vans worked. Most of them were completely empty regarding equipment.
 
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Wicky

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The bizarre case of James McCormick

"The bizarre thing, as I understand it, is because it didn't work, it didn't have to have a licence. But no-one thought to mention that to the police, or to the Foreign Office and trade and industry people to stop them providing support.
"Someone somewhere made a big mistake," he says. "And I'd like to know who."
The story of the fake bomb detectors

The ADE 651 is a fake bomb detector that was produced by ATSC (UK), which claimed that the device could effectively and accurately, from long range, detect the presence and location of various types of explosives, drugs, ivory, and other substances. The device has been sold to 20 countries in the Middle East and Asia, including Iraq and Afghanistan, for as much as US$60,000 each. The Iraqi government is said to have spent £52 million on the devices.

Investigations by the BBC and other organisations found that the device is little more than a "glorified dowsing rod" with no ability to perform its claimed functions.
ADE 651 Device
 
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Danidl

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Interesting, as they fit the meter at the boundry here, and I have yet to have worked anywhere where the mains stop cock is within the curtilage of the property.
.. in my case , and in a French village, the local water supply co-op, were on a lead pipe removal kick, installed a new plastic pipe from their water main, without I think a stop cock on it, dug a hole inside my property, installed a stopcock followed by a water meter and a manhole cover over it and then proceeded the 5 metres to the inside of my house with plastic pipe to another new water valve internally... The distance inside my property that the first stopcock is about 2 metres.
 

tillson

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I thought I'd just update this with the outcome.

Following my refusal to take any action, Severn Trent Water have been back to my house to measure the magnitude of the leak using a scientific approach (a water flow meter) rather than their preferred option of witchcraft. The flow meter has revealed that there is no significant water leak. No further action required.
 
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I wonder if they were just betting on a leak because they know there's been a bit of movement or systems your age often leak - or is it a total scam. It might be worth reporting it to Watchdog or Trading Standards to see if they are doing it to other people.
 

tillson

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I wonder if they were just betting on a leak because they know there's been a bit of movement or systems your age often leak - or is it a total scam. It might be worth reporting it to Watchdog or Trading Standards to see if they are doing it to other people.
That thought had crossed my mind. They seemed very relaxed about ordering me to excavate a potential 75 metres of driveway based on nothing but a device constructed from wire coat-hangers stuck into a couple of empty BIC pens and which was operated by a bearded man. It was almost as though it were routine, like they are doing it numerous times per day. They still won't accept the fact that this mumbo-jumbo has no scientific basis, saying on several occasions that my home insurance would pay, which they would have done, but that's not the point.
 

mike killay

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Some years ago, my father took advantage of the Electricity Companies offer of a free wiring check in the house.
Afterwards, he worriedly showed me a form which looked reminiscent of the old MOT failure form, and was obviously designed to be so.
Many of the boxes were marked in biro as 'F' which at first glance and familiarity with an MOT form, he took to mean 'Failed'
On the back, in very faint, small print was the explanation of the various letters, A,B,C, and curiously 'F' not 'D'
Significantly, 'F' did not mean 'Failure', it simply meant 'Does not comply with latest standard'
I showed the form to a qualified Electrical Engineer. He told me that every so many years, the electrical standards are upgraded in light of the latest knowledge. He actually gave my father's house a free check, reassured the old boy and stated that the wiring was well up to the previous standard and was perfectly safe. Basically, all wiring soon gets outdated but is not unsafe.
Just another racket to get people to pay for unnecessary re-wiring.
 
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tillson

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So, by saying "no significant leak", does that mean that there still is one?
Yes, there is leakage on the supply pipe of about 20 litres per hour. The threshold for taking action is 250 litres per hour.

Initially the bearded biro & coat hanger man had reported the leak at 600 litres per hour.
 

tillson

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That would seem pretty significant to me, especially over the period of a year. It would certainly be enough to cause untold damage in respect of possible property subsidence.

If this were my property, I'd deal with it sooner rather than later.

You might want to read this. http://www.subsidencesupport.co.uk/what-causes-subsidence.html
I'm not at all bothered by 20 litres per hour water leakage. It's about 175000 litres per year. 500000 litres of water fall on my house roof each year and that now goes into soak away drains. It's a minute amount in the scheme of things and it's 10 X below the water company's threshold for asking a home owner to repai it.

The original predicted 600 litres per hour, or 5 million litres per year would have prompted me to take action.
 

EddiePJ

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I'm not at all bothered by 20 litres per hour water leakage. It's about 175000 litres per year. 500000 litres of water fall on my house roof each year and that now goes into soak away drains. It's a minute amount in the scheme of things and it's 10 X below the water company's threshold for asking a home owner to repai it.

The original predicted 600 litres per hour, or 5 million litres per year would have prompted me to take action.
Then being blunt, you are a fool to think that the size of the leak won't increase over time. And a fool not to take steps to repair the leak.
 
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tommie

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Must say tillson i have to agree with our mud-worshipping member above, i had a similar occurrence, there`s no if`s and buts about it, this will become a bigger and bigger problem with every week that passes, the flow will increase the water has to go somewhere. I let it go for over a year then one day noticed the paint on the back wall turning flaky, dampness where it shouldn`t have been.
Are there adjoining neighbours? The last thing you need is water around anyone's foundations.
Our Water Service guy found our leak in 15 minutes with that stethoscope thing inside our property, he then got an iron bar and spade from the van and dug down approx two feet and there it was, water gushing everywhere, corroded pipe at the junction of entering the house.
Plumber called and he made a new joint in ten minutes.
Just hope you don`t have tarmac or cement in your yard, i was lucky as the ground was earth, was reasonably easy to get to.
 
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tillson

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Must say tillson i have to agree with our mud-worshipping member above, i had a similar occurrence, there`s no if`s and buts about it, this will become a bigger and bigger problem with every week that passes, the flow will increase the water has to go somewhere. I let it go for over a year then one day noticed the paint on the back wall turning flaky, dampness where it shouldn`t have been.
Are there adjoining neighbours? The last thing you need is water around anyone's foundations.
Our Water Service guy found our leak in 15 minutes with that stethoscope thing inside our property, he then got an iron bar and spade from the van and dug down approx two feet and there it was, water gushing everywhere, corroded pipe at the junction of entering the house.
Plumber called and he made a new joint in ten minutes.
Just hope you don`t have tarmac or cement in your yard, i was lucky as the ground was earth, was reasonably easy to get to.
The drive is about 75 metres in length, so the leak will be somewhere over that span. As the ground freezes and thaws over the winter, I expect the leak will become worse due to movement of the lead pipe.

At present, I'm not concerned by the 20 litres per hour and have no intention of attempting to repair the old pipe. Next year I have scheduled to have the drive resurfaced (tarmac) and at the same time install cable & some old street lights. I think this would be a good opportunity to renew the water supply pipe with the latest plastic based material.
 

Georgew

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As someone has said "dowsing" has its uses beyond water.
Someone well known for having this ability but using the pendulum method lived very near to me. He had a reputation as a "Healer" having gained this as an Army Officer in the Korean war and I consulted him regarding some injuries I had sustained around thirty years previously while in Army training.
He stopped me from telling him anything about my injuries but sat for a moment watching the swinging pendulum before exactly detailing a number of injuries. He made several manipulations involving my pelvis and back before asking me to walk and I promptly fell over...this he said as a result of my pelvis being out of alignment for so long. Now this I found staggering but even more so was when he asked me to ring him after a few days in order to check that my vertebrae was still in the correct position. I did so and he asked me to be quiet for a few moments before declaring it was fine and he had no need to see me again.
 
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Georgew

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To those who are sceptical regarding dowsing (and who can blame you)....it might be helpful to google the man I referenced above "Bruce MacManaway" who ran the Westbank Healing Centre in Strathmiglow. Now deceased his story is a fascinating one and he was very well-regarded. Oddly enough a large part of his work was with valuable racehorses and many famous trainers made use of his skills.
 

Wicky

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Scientist finds UK water companies use 'magic' to find leaks

Water companies are using divining rods to find underground pipes despite there being no scientific evidence they work, an Oxford University scientist found.
Sally Le Page said her parents were surprised when a technician used two "bent tent pegs" to find a mains pipe.
She contacted all the UK's water companies, and a majority confirmed engineers still use the centuries-old technique.

 

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