Dowsing: real or fake?

Gamecock

Gamecock

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I need to locate water lines in my yard. A neighbor suggested dowsing.

Wut? He claims it worked for him. Using wire from cut up shirt hangers. He's a serious guy; a company president, so I have to believe him. But . . .

Seems paranormal. I'm thinking if I get it to work, I should get a TV show.

Has anyone here gotten it to work?
 
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It's real, but it is an ability few have! Ask your neighbor to show you how it works for him. You can buy commercial dowsing rods and dowsing pendulums, perhaps they come with instructions. Here is a link to the Etsy page that has vendors who sell both and an instruction manual. Dowsing rods - Etsy Perhaps your neighbor was trying to be funny, or facetious. :rolleyes::rolleyes:, :D:D:D.

I have always been somewhat skeptical, but there are many who believe. And no, I have never tried it myself,
 
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Yes, works for me. I get a pack of the small diameter 18” long wires with the 2” by 2” orange plastic squares and stick the spot each time my rods cross.
I use 1/8” diameter brass brazing rods, but have seen others using coat hangers.
Find a friend or neighbor that knows where his water line is, and go practice in his yard.
When you figure out why it works, please let me know
 
I've done it many time when I worked underground utilities and I can't claim any esoteric skills.
"L" shaped copper wire, #10 minimum. Trick is in the hold, make a circle with thumb and finger and rest the angle where the fingers meet and the short end will lean somewhere on the palm. The free end of the wire will swing parallel with the water line. Not sure why it works but it does. Walking under a power line will move the wire.
 
The family that drilled our water wells used a "Water Witch" to find where to drill. One well was 85' before they hit, the house to the North was 165' and to the south was around 120'.

The men that were the Witches, paid a horrible price to make a living that way, all died in the 30's, most had lost one or more of their senses, some couldn't speak or hear or see, but all could smell and a few "Smelled" the water.

I refuse to hire them.

Ivan
 
Another one here that can't explain the scientific principle but can attest it works.

We located a water line in what was basically a one acre field that had been installed/buried over 40 years previously; no one with any memory was left from the time the work was done, there were no maps or location descriptions, no physical cues as to where the line might be could be seen.

We criss-crossed the area and got indications in several places that basically showed the direction of the pipe run which we flagged, and then ran further crossings on that bearing with positive results; we dug test holes and found the ancient line almost three feet down.

Don't know how or why, but I've seen it work. :confused:


Edit 10/20/23 -

I didn't specify, but we were not using forked tree limbs (dowsing rods) or such, but twin rods with 90 degree bends formed from copper wire, I believe (though with modern wire I'm such there were other metals used in the mix/manufacture). As far "witching" I don't and never have put any credence to any supernatural explanations for these sorts of things; as an engineer I have read theories on magnetic properties, ionization and other yet scientifically unproven reasons, but know that there are things that are not yet understood that are observable phenomenon. I recall the movie "The Sand Pebbles" where Steve McQueen taught a Chinese coolie the workings of a steam engine when all the other Chinese crew were convinced there were 'spirits' in the contraption that made it run. Just because we may have not yet untangled the whole reason some things work and the conditions in which they do and do not work in our understanding does not mean it's "demonic" or superstitious claptrap. I'm a man of faith first and foremost, but realize there are mysteries in our universe where faith and science are not at odds - we just do not yet have the knowledge or experience to explain it.
 
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YES it works...

I have done it many times...always works for me...take 2 long metal rods about 2 1/2 feet long that are bent at a right angle for "handles"..."handles" should be about 4" long...simply start walking over where you think the water lines are in the ground with the rods held loosely in your hands pointed straight ahead of you...when you cross the water line the rods will be drawn together and "crossed"...Roger
 
I have used it to locate water lines, and it does work. I used clothes hanger wire. No idea if the wire's metal makes any difference or why it should work.
 
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My friend growing up had a gift for finding water/water lines through what were called, “divining rods.” Hadn’t heard them referred to as “dowsing” rods, but sounds like the same thing.

My friend’s father owned a large construction company, and my friend used this skill quite often. I’ll never forget the first time I saw him do it, it was amazing/unreal, but it really worked.

Ivan, interesting story about your experience with the “water witches,” and their fate. Unfortunately my friend with this ability was killed in a construction-site accident when he was 24, crushed by a slab of concrete that came off the back of a truck. When we were little, he said that he wouldn’t live to be 25. Still miss him terribly, he was an all around great guy…
 
It looks to me like the rods would have to be made of some sort of ferrous metal to react to the magnetic fields generated by the buried pipe you are looking for.
The method seems to work for some people ( I saw my Dad do it a couple of times when I was a kid ).
I personally would rent a metal detector, or somehow get someone who does metal detecting to come out and help me find the lines with their detector.
 
I thought that was about as real as Saturday night Sportatorium wrestling.
Is there really something to dowsing or is it a con game?
 
The guy that drilled our well told me about a little old lady he did a well for. When he went out to her place he told her the average depth of water in that area and the price.

Reply, was that she couldn't afford that, but she would pay for a well at a spot she'd chosen-method unspecified. I expect she also mentioned a budget-been 30 years.

He drilled where indicated and hit water at a much more shallow depth than expected. Don't know what he charged her, but he did offer her a job finding water. She turned him down.

No idea how they picked my well spot, but the well is about 400 feet deep. I can usually see water in the well at about 15-20 feet.
 
I don't know about water lines, but a guy with an excavator up the road found the sewer line.
 
dmar said:
My friend growing up had a gift for finding water/water lines through what were called, “divining rods.” Hadn’t heard them referred to as “dowsing” rods, but sounds like the same thing.

My friend’s father owned a large construction company, and my friend used this skill quite often. I’ll never forget the first time I saw him do it, it was amazing/unreal, but it really worked.

Ivan, interesting story about your experience with the “water witches,” and their fate. Unfortunately my friend with this ability was killed in a construction-site accident when he was 24, crushed by a slab of concrete that came off the back of a truck. When we were little, he said that he wouldn’t live to be 25. Still miss him terribly, he was an all around great guy…
Click to expand...

I'm with you on divining rods. That's what they are known as in TN, and other places. The professional well company used it to find water on my Franklin County property. The guy had to bring the older owner to divine how deep it would be. He was prettty darned close. I was sceptical at first.
 
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