A method for identifying an underground pipe containing a leak at a property, comprising:
- identifying and detecting a first manifold having a starting pipeline (Point A) that enters a slab or foundation of the property and is directly connected to a beginning inlet of the underground pipe containing the leak and identifying and detecting a second manifold having an exiting pipeline (Point B) that exits the slab or foundation and is directly connected to the underground pipe containing the leak, wherein there is no intermediate manifold between the Point A and the Point B, further comprising:
- a. ensuring that a main water inlet valve to the property is not shut off and that potable water is able to flow to the property and that any pipes for transporting the potable water are pressurized;
- b. ensuring the potable water is not running through any of fixtures and creating a controlled environment in which individual fixtures on the property are selectively turned on or off as needed to identify which pipes are running to those individual fixtures and to identify the underground pipe containing the leak, wherein the underground pipe containing the leak connects to one or more manifolds on the property that protrude above a slab or other type of foundation of the property, wherein the underground pipe containing the leak is below a surface or is level with the surface of the slab or other type of foundation of the property;
- c. determining whether the leak is likely present on a hot side or a cold side, wherein the hot side refers to when the underground pipe containing the leak is a pipe for transporting hot water and wherein the cold side refers to when the underground pipe containing the leak is a pipe for transporting cold water;
- d. identifying a first test manifold, wherein the first test manifold comprises one or more first test manifold pipelines to begin testing to identify a location of and detect the underground leaking pipe;
- e. optionally cleaning the one or more first test manifold pipe lines;
- f. performing a time based temperature check on each pipeline of the first test manifold while a first test fixture associated with the first test manifold is off during the time based temperature check, further comprising:
- i. based on the determination made at step (c) that the leak is determined to be on the hot side, cooling each pipeline of the first test manifold by applying a cooling element to each pipeline to cool each pipeline of the first test manifold;
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- ii. based on the determination made at step (c) that the leak is determined to be on the cold side, heating each pipeline of the first test manifold by applying a heating element to each pipeline to heat each pipeline of the first test manifold;
- g. reading a new temperature of each pipe line in the first test manifold further comprising:
- i. if there was not a change in temperature of any one of the one or more first test manifold pipe lines, determining that this first test manifold is located after or past the underground pipe containing the leak;
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- ii. if there was a change in temperature of any one of the one or more first manifold pipelines, determining that this first test manifold is located before the underground pipe containing the leak, further comprising:
- 1)—if each pipeline of the first test manifold was cooled, determining if one or more pipelines of the first test manifold appears to be heating up or appears to be staying room temperature or appears to be cold from the cooling, and comparing a rate of change in temperature between the various pipelines of the first test manifold, wherein if a particular pipeline of the first test manifold appears to be heating up, this is an indication that hot water is flowing through this particular pipeline toward the leak, and wherein if another pipeline appears to be cold from the cooling, this is an indication that hot water is not flowing through this pipeline towards the leak;
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- 2)—if each pipeline of the first test manifold was heated, determining if each pipeline appears to be cooling down or appears to be staying room temperature or appears to be staying hot from the heating element, and comparing the rate of change in temperature change between the various pipelines of the first test manifold, wherein if a particular pipeline of the first test manifold appears to be cooling down, this is an indication that cold water is flowing through this particular pipeline toward the leak, and wherein if another pipeline appears to be hot from the heating, this is an indication that cold water is not flowing through this pipeline towards the leak;
- h. determining which pipelines of the first test manifold are distribution lines and which pipeline of the first test manifold is a feedline;
- i. determining which fixture each distribution pipeline of the first test manifold is directed to, further comprising, performing a process of elimination test to determine which fixture the distribution pipelines of the first test manifold are going to;
- j. identifying the second test manifold to perform additional temperature checks on to determine whether the second test manifold comprises the Point A or the Point B;
- k. if it cannot conclusively be determined that the second test manifold comprises the Point A or the Point B, determining where each pipeline of the second test manifold is going by repeating step i1) to identify a third test manifold;
- l. Repeating steps (h)-(k) on as many test manifolds as needed to conclusively identify the Point A or the Point B and narrowing down the test manifolds to the first manifold containing the Point A and to the second manifold containing the Point B wherein there is no intermediate manifold between the Point A and the Point B;
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- m. marking the Point A and marking the Point B, wherein the Point A is a distribution line on the first manifold and the Point B is a feed line on the second manifold.