Cable detection by Utili-Finder – the Easy Way


Independent Review by Peter Brett


CAT and Genny sounds like an old music hall double act, like Flanagan and Allen. In fact, it is the most commonly used way of finding buried cables and other utilities on big construction sites. In the right hands (that is well-trained and experienced) the CAT and Genny are a pretty accurate way of utility detection. The key word above is probably “big”, since, mostly, only big construction companies have the required equipment and trained personnel to use the CAT and Genny system. However, the nub of the problem is


that there are many other situations where the CAT and Genny system is not used, simply because the level of training required and the consistent level of experience gained and applied is not available. We are really talking about small contractors who are doing jobs around a small domestic or industrial setting. This might involve fencing, building extensions or conservatories, driveways and such modern requirements like electric gates and signs. What they need is a fairly foolproof system of identifying cables and pipes that will not only prevent accidents, but also help them link up to the pipes and cables should that be required. Enter the Utili-Finder. Made by


Cable Detection Limited, a British company based in Stoke, it is part of the Leica Geosystems group. As a company, Cable Detection has a


long history of making cable detection products and has considerable expertise in the area, so it set about researching and designing a product that would be so easy to use that it would require minimal training, but would also be so accurate that users could be absolutely confident in the results. I had done battle with an expensive hand-held


cable and stud finder in my spare room only a couple of weeks ago, that left me feeling confused, After all, I was only trying to find out if I could hang a set of shelves safely.. ?? While I am aware that the technology in a stud finder is different from CAT, I had my doubts as to whether such a device could really “look into” the ground and under concrete accurately. The Utili-Finder has only two parts, if you


discount the plastic sleeve cover in which the kit is packed. These are the locator itself and the plug-in signal generator. I always try to to use real-life situations to test a


piece of kit, so I wanted to use the Utili-Finder to plot the course of the mains cable going to my garage workshop, since I am thinking of extending it, as I need the extra space. All I had to do was to plug the signal generator (it


is only as big as an old-fashioned phone charger) into one of the sockets in the garage and switch it on. Two lights on top of it then glowed. The green LED indicates that the unit is working and a signal is being sent onto the connected electric cables. The blue LED shows that the signal has been connected to other earth bonded services – in this immediate case, the oil pipe leading from the storage tank to the boiler


26 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE


large loop handle with a trigger and two buttons on each side of a screen. To get started all you do is pull the trigger and hold the locator above the area where the cable or pipe might be.


inside my house. The locator is a simple piece of kit – It is a rectangular plastic extrusion about 80cm long that holds all the software needed. On top of this is a


By following a zig-zag motion above where the


sonic warning indicated I managed to follow the cable exactly. As it happened, this was not what I had anticipated where the cable had been laid. I expected it to go directly underneath the patio, the shortest distance from the mains cable inlet. Instead the cable led along the bottom of a terraced flowerbed and up the fence line of the house, and then closely followed the house foundations. At one stage the cable did a sudden dip side ways where it crossed under the patio, but the locator was easily able to indicate this. I didn’t actually use chalk or pegs to mark the cable line, but if I had, I would have been able to locate the cable to within about 30cm of where it was buried, if not more accurately. The readout on the display combined with the sounds from the Locator indicated the cable direction so that I would have had enough information to be able to dig accurately, and therefore safely, around the cable. An extra safety measure is that a warning sounds if the cable is buried very close to the surface. Being a bit enthused I then managed


to follow the line of my mains supply cable up the fence line in the front garden, and down the path towards the communal car park. I was even able to have an indication of where my neighbours’ cables were too, since they are all connected and the signal generator is powerful enough to send a signal along bonded metal pipes in excess of 100metres distance. If I hadn’t actually done it myself, I


might have been a bit sceptical, but with


a minimum of training (two minutes) a bit of gumption and the Utili-Finder, I was able to have a pretty accurate map of where the key electric and telecoms cables that come into my property lay. I am told, that if incoming metal water and gas pipes have been earth bonded, they too can be located with the Utili-Finder. So how does all of all this compute? As from now,


any builder or contractor worth his money will be able to work safely around buried utilities as long as he has a 13amp plug to plug the generator into. Since this applies to most small domestic building sites, there really is no excuse for any accidents or ignorance. To buy the Utili-Finder will cost a few quid under a£1000(including VAT) but more likely it will be available for hire at the local hire shop. With intelligent use, it would probably only take an hour or two to plot the utilities on a site with pegs or chalk, and then digging could safely begin. Since the training required is minimal and simple,


there is no need for potential users or hire shop staff to feel intimidated by the product either. Neither does the device require expensive recalibrating and servicing – a simple one-button function test on the machine is enough to ensure that the Utili-Finder is serviceable. My feeling is that this product is about to


revolutionize cable detection by making it simpler, more accurate and a whole lot cheaper. Now about that stud finder that confused me with its readings…!


Reply No. 226 www.toolbusiness.co.uk


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