How to find metal without a metal detector

How to find metal underground without a metal detector?

Ground penetrating radars and metal detectors are expensive devices that you don’t always have the funds to purchase. There are other search methods to find scrap metal in the soil at abandoned landfills, landfills, old factories and storage facilities.

Geographic maps will indicate the locations of scrap deposits

To search for scrap metal without a metal detector, just use old geographical maps indicating the following locations:

1) Sites where there were landfills and dumps of metallurgical waste, abandoned factories and enterprises that have not been operating for a long time. The object of research can be any place with the exception of exclusion zones and places where archaeologists are excavating. Searching is prohibited on any land subject to the Law Protecting Non-Purpose Lands.

2) Territories of abandoned collective farm and village repair shops, machine and tractor stations. Places where technical enterprises, state farms, farms, and crop fields were located.

3) Areas where villages, hamlets, hamlets, and beaches used to be located, now abandoned or flooded after the construction of the reservoir.

4) Areas where military units and shooting ranges were previously located, now relocated or evacuated. The exception is facilities where rocket and space technology and equipment were previously serviced and tested. Scrap metal in this place can be toxic, radioactive, dangerous to humans and the environment.

-FOOTNOTE-

By the way! A hint where to find deposits of scrap in the ground can be the stories of local old-timers, information available on the Internet and the media.

Search without georadar or metal detector

Test pits and metal probes will help you find valuable scrap in the ground without a georadar or a metal detector. An effective search is also possible with the help of a rod, a pendulum, and search magnets.

Soil rustling

Drilling the soil means manually digging a trench using a shovel. The soil on the site is cut to a depth of 1.5-2 m, the direction of the dig can be longitudinal or circular.

The work is carried out in the warm season, since manual labor is very labor-intensive, and it is almost impossible to dig frozen soil by hand. To avoid soil shedding, trenches are dug at a distance of at least 0.5 m from each other.

For ease of searching, the depth of the recess should be 1.5 times the width.

Working with a metal probe

The efficiency of searching for scrap will be increased by a search probe - a moderately light and rigid metal pin up to 2 m long. Scrap is detected by immersion or puncture of a layer of soil.

The method is suitable if the soil is loose and soft, which is typical for swampy lowlands, plowed fields, and areas where excavation work has recently been carried out.

The probe can be made independently or made to order from a hexagon or fittings.

Vine made of metal rods

The vine is a popular tool for finding places to dig wells, which is also used to detect scrap in the thickness of the earth. You can buy the tool or make it yourself. It consists of a pair of thin rods made of aluminum, steel or copper wire, bent in an L shape at an angle of 90°. The parameters of the rods with a wire cross section of 4-6 mm are approximately 340-400 mm by 80-100 mm.

The working principle of the vine:

a) L-shaped rods become an antenna that captures electromagnetic waves, which indicates ground anomalies: voids, metal objects;

b) for work, the rods are picked up so that they are parallel to each other, are not clamped, but can rotate freely in different directions;

c) holding the device in their hands, begin to move along the perimeter or diagonal of the area;

d) if an anomaly is detected in the soil, the ends of the device will rotate 45-60o, no matter in which direction;

e) they begin to dig in the place where the vine indicated.

-FOOTNOTE-

Note! Searching with a vine is effective in summer. Snow covering the ground in winter significantly weakens and screens the signal of electromagnetic radiation.

Search pendulum

A spherical pendulum made of wood, a neutral metal, will tell you how to find scrap metal. A simplified option is to make a product from plastic, thick cardboard, then cover it with foil. A sphere with a diameter of 200-300 mm is suspended on a cotton thread 800-120 mm long. How to work with a pendulum:

A sphere with foil acquires the ability to capture electromagnetic waves. The principle of searching for scrap is based on this.
Before use, check the functionality of the device. The pendulum is placed above the sheet of metal, moving away or bringing it closer until rotation begins.
If you plan to search for scrap steel, take a sheet of steel for inspection. When a pendulum is prepared to detect gold, silver, a gold or silver object is taken and tests are carried out on them.

-FOOTNOTE-

Important! The length of the thread is selected individually, depending on the metal that you plan to search for.

Magnets for detecting scrap metal

To search for ferrous metal scrap in a pond, river, lake, or any aquatic environment, one- and two-sided search magnets are ideal. They are placed in the water, moving on foot or by boat, attracting small and large objects from the bottom.

By the way! Single-sided magnets are convenient for vertical searching from a slope, boat or bridge. Double-sided products are more suitable for casting from the shore, after which the load is pulled back on a cable.

The type and size of search magnets may vary. The holding force, depending on the parameters, is 80-600 kg. The magnet design is the same:

galvanized body, protecting against corrosion and mechanical damage;
the core is made of neodymium, the top is a three-layer nickel-copper coating;
one or two eye bolts.

Note! The cost of a neodymium magnet depends on the size and holding force. The average price of models capable of lifting 300 kg is 3300-3500 rubles, 600 kg – 6300-6500 rubles.

An important aspect of searches is safety precautions.

Compliance with basic safety rules is the key to the success of an enterprise.

1) Before you go looking for scrap metal, choose comfortable clothes that almost completely cover the body, leaving no exposed areas. This is especially important if you are planning a trip to a landfill site, abandoned enterprises and chemical industry storage facilities.

2) Shoes are chosen with thick rubberized soles, with reinforced toes and heels. It will protect against dirt, moisture, reagents and substances that corrode the skin.

3) If you plan to cut scrap locally, it is important to have glasses to protect your eyes from mechanical damage and metal fragments.

When collecting scrap, you must take a first aid kit with antiseptics. The sharp edges of recyclable materials, especially rusty ones, with soil particles and efflorescence, are a breeding ground for dangerous microbes, bacteria and viruses.

How to find coins without a metal detector

Attention! If you want to buy or sell the coins described in the article, write about it in the x below. Our site is visited by thousands of people a day, you are sure to find a buyer or seller.

How to find treasure

Of course, we can only give a few tips that can significantly help in finding a treasure with coins. We cannot guarantee you a find.

For this, in addition to knowledge, you need luck and luck. We will try to help with knowledge, but you will have to bring everything else with you. Although that's not all.

We also need tools and devices with which to search for and dig up treasure.

So, how to find coins without a metal detector? Let's start with where to look for them. And really, where? In the city, village, forest? It’s worth saying here that any old, abandoned house can be a great place for treasure. In cities there are few such houses, but in villages there are plenty.

Of course, the earth also brings a lot of treasures. These are old cemeteries, mounds, temples and many other places. We are armed only with a shovel, a hatchet, a crowbar and a crowbar. It is advisable to also have a flashlight and a small iron scoop.

Let's say that you have in mind an abandoned house in which no one lives.

Scrap metal in the forests

Forest is a rather unexpected source of scrap metal. But this is a fact: landfills are often set up there, where there is a lot of metal waste. In addition, it must be taken into account that in place of the forest there could once have been a field or a village where a forge and sawmill operated. This means that among the trees you can find parts of agricultural machinery, scraps and pieces of metal, and metal tools.

The forest is also a possible cemetery for military equipment left there since the Great Patriotic War. Clearing forests of it helps solve environmental problems. But we must remember that ammunition preserved from the war may turn out to be unused, and therefore dangerous to the life of the finder.

Other places where you can find scrap metal are the outskirts of villages and towns, garage cooperatives, abandoned railways, water areas (including ponds, lakes, port areas). But remember: when collecting scrap metal, you must act within the law and, first of all, know for sure that abandoned objects actually are abandoned. Otherwise (for example, by carrying away a piece of rail from a railway line), you can end up in the dock, because ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

How to find metal without a metal detector – Metallover's Handbook

Factory-made devices designed to search for metal objects underground are quite expensive and are not available to most search engines.

However, there are several ways to search for metals without the use of expensive equipment that can provide good results. VK TK scrap, and in particular R6M5 quick-cutting scrap, is expensive.

But let's first figure out where and how to find any scrap metal.

Determining the places with the highest probability of a successful search

The selection of possible locations for scrap metal should begin with a detailed study of the area. It should be understood that, most likely, we are not talking about a large amount of buried metal. In most cases, these are discarded items of metal utensils, remnants of old equipment, destroyed building structures, or something else in relatively small volumes.

First of all, it is necessary to find out what was in the intended search areas before. The most promising areas for organizing the search for scrap metal can be considered:

territories of the former location of villages, hamlets, hamlets, dacha cooperatives and other settlements that were abandoned by people for various reasons;
locations of closed repair shops, machine and tractor stations, agricultural machinery enterprises and other technical units that have ceased their activities;
former agricultural farms, greenhouses, agricultural equipment;
places of former deployment of military units and subunits, with the exception of missile forces, where the metal may be toxic or radioactive;
working areas of suburban landfills and processing sites that do not belong to closed exclusion zones.

You should not start searching for metal objects in areas that are subject to the Law on the Protection of Non-Purpose Lands or are designated as sites for archaeological work. It is prohibited to collect scrap metal in railway exclusion zones. Sources for collecting information can be people's stories, old topographic maps, data from old media.

Indirect signs of the presence of metals in the ground

During their searches, experienced collectors constantly use a number of external signs that determine the level of probability of finding scrap metal in the ground. This helps determine the future viability of searches conducted without a metal detector. These signs include:

small hills among flat terrain, overgrown with grass and bushes;
the remains of old foundations, as confirmation of a former capital building;
Concrete hatches or manholes filled with concrete, asphalt or covered with earth into underground structures.

Going underground on your own can be dangerous. Such structures may be filled with hazardous gases or vapors. Therefore, such checks must be carried out only in the presence of a belaying partner.

Possible options for replacing an electronic metal detector

In folk practice, the technology of dowsing or the use of a pendulum has been used quite successfully for a long time. A more labor-intensive, but also quite effective method is pitting, carried out according to a certain technique, as well as the use of metal pins.

Vine or metal rods for searching

To determine the presence of metals in the surface layers of soil, you can use a wire with a diameter of 5-6 mm bent at a right angle. The length of the short side is approximately 100 mm, the long side is 150 mm.

When conducting a search, the short side of the manufactured frame is rested in the palm of the right hand and, resting the smaller part on the bent index finger of the left hand, it is supported vertically.

If there is metal in the ground, the long part of the bent rod will rotate, changing its position.

The method used is based on the rod’s perception of weak electromagnetic fields that surround metal elements.

However, such a frame can rotate in the presence of voids in the ground, a metal working pipeline and a live cable.

The latter option may pose a certain danger when carrying out excavation work or test pitting. When using a bent rod, you need to remember that the snow cover on the surface of the earth partially screens electromagnetic radiation.

Pendulum for metal detecting

Another indicator for studying soil can be made in the form of a ball of cardboard or plastic with a diameter of 200 mm and covered with metal foil. Such a sphere is suspended on a thread 800-1000 mm long. As a result, it turns out that a metal ball made of foil is used for searching, which makes it possible to provide the pendulum with the ability to capture electromagnetic radiation.

The required thread length is determined experimentally. To do this, the ball is placed above a massive metal object and, gradually increasing the size of the thread, wait until the ball begins to rotate. The main disadvantage of such a homemade device is that it can only be used in calm weather.

Sanding and bayoneting with a metal pin

Effective search results can be obtained as a result of sequential removal of soil to a depth of 200-300 mm. There are two methods of digging holes: longitudinal or circular.

In the first case, search engines dig 2-3 longitudinal trenches and carefully examine everything found and, based on the results, determine the feasibility of further search.

With the circular method, a trench with concentric outlines is dug.

To speed up work and reduce the amount of excavated soil, you can use a thin metal rod. They pierce the soil with it and, if a solid object is found, they dig it up.

If a sufficiently large number of items are found, they proceed to excavation work. Increased strength of the rod can be provided by a hexagonal shape or strong steel metal reinforcement.

Finding scrap metal: where to collect and how to look

You can make a significant contribution to the family budget by taking up what many people think is not a very serious activity - searching for scrap metal. Collecting metal, especially non-ferrous metal, is quite a profitable business.

Where to look for scrap metal?

Only options for additional income that do not conflict with the law will be considered.

It is important to understand that collecting scrap metal is not an easy, and sometimes unsafe, activity.

Landfills

Landfills where waste is stored are a place where old household appliances and various spare parts are dumped, from which a large amount of valuable metals are extracted.

The big disadvantages of working at such facilities: unsanitary conditions, an abundance of garbage in which you have to dig, and a not very pleasant smell.

To visit landfills, you need to stock up on shoes with thick soles and high insteps, otherwise there is a risk of injury from protruding nails.

Abandoned fields

It is recommended to search for scrap metal in early spring, after the snow has melted, but before the grass has had time to grow. Unusable spare parts for large-sized agricultural machinery and faulty machines still remain in the fields.

Searching for scrap metal in abandoned fields

Abandoned bases, enterprises

When choosing where to collect scrap metal, you should pay attention to these facilities, especially repair depots. They often contain remnants of equipment, spare parts, and cable sections. But unattended, idle businesses are not so easy to find today.

Shooting ranges

At abandoned firing ranges, there is a high probability of profiting from large-caliber gun casings.

Metal detecting at abandoned shooting ranges

Area near power plants

If circumstances are successful, it is possible to find unusable cables or transformers.

What can you find near power plants?

Where can you get ferrous and non-ferrous metals?

Ferrous metals, which include iron and cast iron, are not so difficult to find. Collecting various types of pipes, fittings, radiators, bathtubs or risers does not present any particular problems.

All you need is physical strength to carry them and transport. Reception points will also be happy to purchase stainless steel.

Drums of washing machines, heating elements or old-style freezers are made from it.

With the search for non-ferrous metals, the situation is much more complicated.

Copper

This metal is one of the most valuable. Its sources are starters and generators, relays, magnetic starters, refrigerator compressors, and tube TV transformers. Copper can be extracted from the fittings of fluorescent lamps discarded in factories.

Aluminum

Washing machines and freezers produce large amounts of aluminum.

Lead

This metal is found in batteries or cable braids.

Bronze and brass

These alloys are used to make gears for gearboxes, shower pipes, water valves, etc.

If you have an expensive metal detector, you have the opportunity to try your hand not only at finding buried copper, but also precious metals, for example, on beaches, where cases of lost rings and chains are not uncommon. It’s even more fun to use such a tool to look for treasures in abandoned estates or fortresses. This rather exotic type of activity will allow you to earn considerable income.

Indirect signs of the presence of metals in the ground

small hills among flat terrain, overgrown with grass and bushes;
the remains of old foundations, as confirmation of a former capital building;
Concrete hatches or manholes filled with concrete, asphalt or covered with earth into underground structures.

Going underground on your own can be dangerous. Such structures may be filled with hazardous gases or vapors. Therefore, such checks must be carried out only in the presence of a belaying partner.

How to find metal without a metal detector

Places to check

Usually these are walls, a leaky roof, windows without glass and openings without doors. It happens that there are no genders. And where to look here? No matter who lived here before, bookmarks are very likely. People are so designed that they have the habit of hiding coins for a rainy day.

We always had enough days like this. And how to look for coins without a metal detector? To be honest, in such places this device will not be very helpful, since there is a high probability that this house has already been examined with its help.

Our task is to carefully check certain places in the house. Where were treasures usually hidden?

Under the floor;
In the corners;
Under the window sills;
Between walls and window openings.

Most often, in such abandoned houses you come across treasures with silver coins. Gold treasures are rare here. But both silver and copper also have a certain value, and sometimes not at all small.

It all depends on the degree of preservation of the treasure and the time it was laid. You need to work in such places carefully and preferably without much noise. Don't be upset if you come across dirty copper in a half-rotted rag.

It is quite possible that after restoration it will be more valuable than gold.

Where to look for coins in the ground

How to find coins in the ground without a metal detector? Of course, it is more difficult to navigate on the ground. Of course, you should not look for treasure in a field or forest.

You need to look for treasure in the ground, in places where people once lived. Most often, these are villages and small towns, wiped off the face of the earth by the will of fate.

It is clear that finds of great antiquity are found in the ground much more often. But you will have to work harder.

Finding the place where there was a village or settlement is also not so easy. But with modern sources of information and the Internet, this is quite possible. Found it and what to do next? Naturally, dig up the top layer of soil. This is where finds and treasures await you.

True, you should not delude yourself and think that if you work for half an hour, you will certainly stumble upon a treasure. Usually they look for treasures in the ground, focusing on the old foundations of houses. Sometimes they are found in abandoned wells covered with earth.

Safety regulations

Digging for scrap metal with a metal detector requires compliance with certain safety rules. First of all, this concerns places where battles took place during the Second World War. There is a high probability of finding dangerous ammunition, unexploded shells, and aerial bombs.

Regardless of the region where search work is carried out, you should use gloves; when using cutting tools, safety glasses will not interfere.

Having designated a search area for yourself, you should pay attention to the presence of signs informing about the location of a gas pipeline, oil or water pipelines, and telephone lines in the ground.

To the above we should add a couple more useful recommendations.

When digging, thick clothing is appropriate, as well as insect protection. This primarily applies to ticks, which are active not only in summer, but also in spring and autumn.
Shoes with thick soles are required, which are selected taking into account the current season.
When working on the site of former garbage dumps or chemical plants (including mineral fertilizer warehouses), clothing should be covered as much as possible. Sometimes a mask to protect your respiratory system wouldn't hurt either.
Experienced searchers strongly recommend burying holes behind you, regardless of their size. Children and adults get caught in them, and pets break their limbs because of them. As a result, the local population, aggressive towards visiting search engines, can cause serious trouble.
Polite communication with local residents will make the search for ferrous metal easier, since you can get a lot of useful information from them about potential search locations.

How to look for scrap metal without a metal detector: places and methods of searching

Selling scrap metal is a profitable business option: brass radiators cost about 230 rubles per kg, and for a heavy cast-iron radiator or bathtub you can get up to 500 rubles. In order for the search for scrap metal to generate a constant income, you need to constantly search for and hand over it in large quantities (preferably in bulk, since the price per 1 kg increases).

You can look for scrap metal in garbage containers, city trash cans, and spontaneous city landfills, where residents take out unnecessary refrigerators, batteries, pipes, and radiators. But the effectiveness of such searches is not always high: there are many people who want to earn extra money, and the garbage is regularly removed.

You’ll have to get up early and do the not-so-pleasant task of checking the contents of trash cans. With an average price of aluminum cans of about 60 rubles/kg, for a decent daily income you need to collect 10–15 kg of waste. To do this, you have to examine not a single garbage collection container.

Where is the best place to look for scrap metal?

Where to look for scrap ferrous and non-ferrous metals in such quantities? The best places to gather are:

abandoned production workshops, in which unusable equipment, parts from it, all kinds of pipes and rail tracks remained;
city landfills, where aluminum cans, old household appliances, radiators, and broken plumbing are found;
unused repair bases where body parts, auto parts, and abandoned equipment are found;
former state farms and agricultural lands.

Searching in the ground gives good results, because under the soil layer you can find harrows, parts of agricultural machines, gardening tools, etc. But it's important to know where they are. To make their task easier, scrap hunters buy old maps indicating the location of collective farms, factories, warehouses, etc. Interactive maps of unauthorized landfills are also available on the Internet.

Necessary equipment

But the area of crop fields reaches 150 hectares, and the average Soviet motor vehicle depot is from 3 thousand square meters. km. Therefore, you can’t act at random, and additional tools are needed for search accuracy.

Typically, a metal detector is used for these purposes - an electrical device for detecting metal products in a neutral or weakly conductive environment. Depending on the model, search is possible at a depth of 20 cm to 3 m. But the cost of highly sensitive equipment is significant - from 30,000 rubles.

, and such an initial investment is beyond the means of most first-time seekers.

But you can find scrap metal in the ground without expensive devices. As an alternative, use powerful magnets

, which can be used even in water, as well as metal
rods
,
probes
,
foil
, etc. Improvised tools will cost a maximum of 100 rubles, although they can be found for free in your own garage, closet or in a trash can near your house.

How to use magnets

Search magnets are great for ferrous scrap collectors. A strong rope will help you make a reliable metal detector from a large round magnet.

The scrap collection method is extremely simple: a single- or double-sided magnet is firmly tied to a long rope, dropped to the bottom of a river or lake, and then slowly floated across a body of water in a boat while a simple device collects metal debris from the bottom.

To search for ferrous metal in the water you need to make a minimum of effort: it’s only difficult to pull out a heavy “catch” and drag it on board. It is better to look for scrap in ponds near abandoned villages, in old blocks, and reservoirs near idle factories.

At the bottom of rivers and ponds there is a huge amount of metal debris: hooks and spoons lost by fishermen, spare parts, old horseshoes, buckets, etc. If you're lucky, you might find a sunken boat.

The key to success in this matter is the correct choice of location and search magnet.

Which magnet to choose

The optimal choice for searching for scrap in water is neodymium magnets. They are made from an alloy of the rare earth metal neodymium with iron and boron. The magnetic induction strength of products on sale averages 2,000 - 5,000 Gauss, but can reach 10 - 12,000 Gauss. Various holding forces - from 80 to 800 kg. These characteristics directly affect the price.

Neodymium magnets demagnetize at a rate of no more than 0.1% within 10 years. Buying them is a good investment in a scrap metal collection business. You just need to choose one that is convenient and safe to use: pay attention to models with an eyebolt mount.

Single-sided magnets are equipped with fasteners from the top and are suitable for vertical searching, including from a bridge. For double-sided options, an additional ring is located on the side: 2 working surfaces increase the chance of catching metal products.

And to increase the capture area, magnetic trawls are used.

How to use rods

Novice seekers are interested in the question: how to find scrap metal without a metal detector? To do this, you can use available means, including precise metal wire with a diameter of about 2–4 mm and a length of approximately 20–25 cm. Take two rods and bend them at an angle of 900 so that one part is 1.5 times longer than the other. During search work, place short sections in your palms, and carefully monitor the movement of the latter.

In a similar way, hundreds of years ago, dowsers looked for minerals in the ground, calling the movement of the rods the dowsing effect. In fact, the wire perceives weak electromagnetic fields emanating from metal objects.

But the method cannot be called accurate: the rods begin to move near places where existing electrical wiring and pipelines are laid, as well as in the presence of voids in the ground.

The method is not suitable for winter searches, because snow reflects up to 85% of radiation of different types.

Use of metal probes

To search and dig for ferrous metal, metal pins approximately 2 m long are often used.

When indirect signs of the presence of metal are detected (small hills on flat areas, as well as abandoned buildings and concrete foundations), probes are used to increase the accuracy of actions.

They are used to pierce the soil, and if the pin encounters a solid object, they begin to excavate the soil.

Choose rods of moderate rigidity (hexagon or steel reinforcement), high strength and small thickness (about 0.5 - 1 cm).

It is recommended to carry out search work using a probe from April to May and in mid-autumn, when the soil is softened by rain and is quite soft.

It will not be possible to pierce frozen or too dry soil, or you will have to spend a lot of time and effort. The easiest way to look for scrap metal is with a probe in swampy areas.

Other tools for finding scrap metal

A metal detector is not the only type of equipment that is used when searching for scrap. There are types of equipment that cannot be replaced with improvised means:

reciprocating saws for cutting pipes;
metal scissors for cutting sheet materials and cutting thin wire;
gas cutter or grinder with a power of at least 2 kW for cutting large types of scrap.

The following cutting tools will help you cut large items for ease of transportation and compact storage. They are especially necessary if you are transporting your finds in the trunk of a car.

Before going to the collection point, carefully prepare the scrap: clean the wires from the winding using a stripper or side cutter, clean the surfaces and remove dirt using a grinder.

This way you will improve the appearance of the items being handed over and reduce the percentage of blockage, which is often determined by eye and the presence of which significantly reduces the price of scrap metal.

Sanding and bayoneting with a metal pin

Effective search results can be obtained as a result of sequential removal of soil to a depth of 200-300 mm. There are two methods of digging holes: longitudinal or circular. In the first case, search engines dig 2-3 longitudinal trenches and carefully examine everything found and, based on the results, determine the feasibility of further search. With the circular method, a trench with concentric outlines is dug.

To speed up work and reduce the amount of excavated soil, you can use a thin metal rod. They pierce the soil with it and, if a solid object is found, they dig it up. If a sufficiently large number of items are found, they proceed to excavation work. Increased strength of the rod can be provided by a hexagonal shape or strong steel metal reinforcement.