My deepest find ever: 22 inches down! (Septic tank lid)

brianc053

Hero Member
Jan 27, 2015
974
3,371
Morris County, NJ
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
XP Deus 2
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hi everyone. This morning I got a call from the owner of the historic farm property where I have found King Georges, crotal bells, and http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/m...find-1753-spanish-one-real-few-weeks-ago.html
The farmer's friend (His name's Dean, and he works in construction) was trying to locate an old septic tank - or more specifically the lid to the tank - so that it could be pumped out and inspected.
He asked "can you find it with your detector?" and I replied, "I don't know, but I can try!".

I met up with Dean at the property this afternoon. The property owner had an "as built" diagram that gave us some idea of where to look, but it wasn't very precise. The owner had also marked on the outside where they thought the septic line left the basement, so we at least had a starting point.

I have to admit: I had no idea what settings to use on the Equinox 800 (I chose "Park 1" because there's no "Septic Field 1"), so I put it in all metal mode and just started swinging. Of course there were beeps everywhere, but I listened for objects that sounded...larger. You know what I mean?
The first thing I found that wasn't small was a pipe of some sort (we didn't dig it up; I could just tell it was a pipe since it ran in a straight line for a long distance. Probably the gas line to the pool's heater, I was told). I used the pinpoint feature and swung back and forth across the pipe while walking - it was pretty obvious.

And that was when I realized that the pinpointer mode could actually be the way to find the tank lid, so I used that to listen for a signal that was huge. (Side note: we were all counting on the lid having reinforcing rebar or similar.)
Since I've dug plenty of aluminum cans (which, as you know, have a VDI just like a great coin - but are much larger when pinpointed) I knew how to listen for large signals.
It didn't take me much more than 5 minutes to find a pinpointed signal that seemed huge, and I said to Dean, "If I were going to dig a hole, I'd dig right here" and I started to dig with my Predator plug-digging shovel.
Dean had a "real" shovel so he politely told me to move out of the way and started digging. And since he's a pro it didn't take him more than 5 minutes to dig down far enough to hit something that sounded hollow. He used some rebar to tap other areas around it, and declared "I think you found it!"
He and I removed the rest of the dirt from around the cover, and - sure enough - there it was!

Dean insisted on giving me a little money for the effort (I tried to refuse but he pushed it into my pocket), but I was just happy that I learned something and could help him out.

- Brian

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Upvote 17

RatherBeDigging

Sr. Member
Jun 16, 2020
407
2,232
🥇 Banner finds
3
Detector(s) used
Started with a Minelab xterra 505. Then Equinox 600 with stock coil, xl coil and sinper coil depending on circumstances. Now use a manticore.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
All new meaning to finding $hit on your hunt lmao. And testing your machines limits.
 

Rmeav8r

Hero Member
Nov 4, 2004
674
889
NW Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800, Nokta Makro Simplex+, Nokta Pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Glad it worked! A sharpened rod is how you normally find the tank then start making a good guess where the lid or lids are located….then get out the shovel!
 

Lenrac2

Silver Member
Apr 1, 2021
2,788
6,467
Illinois
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Denise-Nokta Legend/Garrett Apex Nox600
Bob-AT Max/ Nox800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
It's always awesome to be able to help someone out!
 

iowamp

Jr. Member
Jul 2, 2012
32
55
eastern iowa
Detector(s) used
Minelab Safari Garrett Propointer
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
two years ago i did the same using all the steps you took and I was happy I had the same outcome you did! It was a good feeling when I dug up the septic tank cover at my inlaws.
 

Sandcrab

Full Member
Jun 14, 2021
103
73
Oceanside CA
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800, Coiltek 10x5 and 15, Garrett Pro-Pointer AT
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
WTG Brian! I like the way figured out how to find the thing.
 

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