How to find lost items in your yard Tag | The Ring Finders

Sprinkler Solenoid Valve Found Carolina Shores NC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

I got a call last Wednesday from a repeat customer asking if I could help him find a sprinkler solenoid valve in his yard. We agreed that I’d meet him today, Thursday, Oct 29th. When I arrived, Jim was waiting for me in the yard. He showed me the suspected area where the solenoid was buried. He told me that he had had some landscaping done and the protective boxes had been covered up with dirt and rocks. When I turned on my Equinox 800, I was getting all kinds of EMI (electromagnetic interference), so I turned down the sensitivity. Luckily, Jim had another solenoid that he had already found that I used to test. I knew I was looking for negative numbers and probably in the -4 to -5 range on the VDI. The valves are mainly plastic with very little metal (basically screws, a spring, and some copper wire) in them. When I ran the coil over the exposed solenoid, I wasn’t getting much of a signal. I cranked the sensitivity back up to 25 (max) and was able to get enough of a signal I could distinguish the signal from the interference. After checking a different signal that turned out to be nothing, I swung over an area more into the bushes. I got the low grunt sound and the numbers I was looking for. Jim started digging and after a few inches of dirt and rocks, he spotted the cover protecting the solenoid.  We found exactly what he was looking for. Jim for holding on to my number and giving me a call. So glad I could help.

Jim -Thanks, for holding on to my number and giving me a call!

Jim

       

Water Main Meter and Shut off Box Covered and Lost, Found in Longs, SC

  • from North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina, United States)

I got a call shortly before 2:30 pm on Sunday, June 30th from Perry asking if I could help find the Water Meter and shut off that had been covered up with dirt and new grass. I asked him to send me the address and I’d be there in about 15 minutes. Before I left my house, I ran my detector over my own water box to see what numbers on the Nox 800 I was looking for.

When I arrived, I met Perry in the driveway, and he showed me the suspected area. He also filled in the details as to what happened. Back in October of 2023, a local telephone and cable company was installing cable optics and broke the water line in the process. The company fixed the water line but drug their feet on fixing the yard. During the course of repair, the company brought in heavy equipment that sat idle for a couple of days. During those two days, the machine sank in the soil adding additional damage to the yard. Fast forward 8 months and the yard looks good with nice green grass. Within the last week or so, Perry’s neighbor asked if he knew where her water shut off box was. Perry had taken a picture of the area and thought he knew where it was. After probing the area with a 6 ft pole, he wasn’t able to find it. In the process of my search, Perry’s wife Shelley joined us and we were trying to figure out where this target was. I did the small area that was in the picture and nothing. I expanded out about two feet from the street and got the signal I was looking for. Perry dug the dirt and grass off the top of the meter, and everything was good again.

Perry/Shelley – thanks for allowing me to help find the lost water meter box.

Jim