Tracer Wire

About

• A type of wire used to mark the location of buried Underground Utilities
• Can be later traced with a proper Underground Wire Locator , or to an extent A Metal Decector or AM Transmitter/Receiver
• Video - [1]
• Tracer wire (blue) is required for potable water, sewer (green), gas (yellow).
• Tracer wire is not required for electrical. Warning tape is a good idea.
  • Mike Holt 2008 - warning ribbon is required for direct burial cables, whether in conduit or nott? [2]
  • This one says warning tape is not needed if you use conduit [3]
  • Practically speaking, warning tape is useful. Use 12" or more above the line. [4]. Point is: someone WILL dig your lines in the future. Things are modified all the time. If I had warning tape here, I would know where the first grid extension is. Now, I have to rely on a metal detector or other means.
• 6 colors all together - [5]
• Energized electrical is dangerous becuase it has no telltale signs, unlike gas or water [6]
• non-contact voltage tester - [7]

Water

• About tracer - warning tape may also be required in some jurisdictions [8]
• UPC 604.10.1 [9] -

Detection

• Only works 1-2 feet [10] otherwise you need a pro tool at $1k and up. Tracer wire tool - [11]. It emits a sound over the wire - video - [12].
• in 2019 - [13]
• Metal detector - senses only up to 1.5 the diameter of the pickup coil. [14]

Sourcing

• Gas - 15 cents/ft for 300' [15] or 25 cents for 100' [$22/100ft - [16]]
• Water - $64 for 500' of 14 ga - [17]
• $140 of 1000' of dog fence wire 14 ga [18]

About

• Different techniques are used. Radar can find pipe, or induction-based emitter/sensor. Or the tracer wirewhere you connect to a wire. [19]
• There is jetting-vaccuum to dig in sensitive areas. Could do pressure washer as needed.

About Wire Quality

• It's the jacket: dog fence, which claims most reliability for burial - is 14AWG XHD [20]. They say that THHN (thermoplastic high heat nylon) is inferior to XHD - ot doesn't last underground
• The above indicates no difference between dog fence and tracer wire.
• Main thing to look for is to double check it is Rated for Direct Burial

Tracer Kit

• Useful Amazon reviews - clip to ground and wire you want to trace. Then use the sensor. [21]
• Harbor Freight [22] - manual []
• You energize a wire and use a detector - [23]
• Another - [24]

Internal Links

• OSE Internet
• Electronic Underground Utility Marker (Essentially a Environmentally Hardened and potentially also Easy to Attatch / Bury En-masse RFID Tag )
  • Need a term for it, but non electronic versions exist, essentially easily detectable metal plates/rings