Pipe Tracer Flexitrace System - Pipe Tracing Rod

The Flexitrace System is a mechanical pipe tracing rod assembly designed to locate and map the route of non-metallic buried pipes including PVC, HDPE, and clay drainage lines that electromagnetic pipe locators cannot detect due to the absence of metallic content in the pipe wall. The system inserts a flexible fiberglass rod through the pipe bore from an access point, with a battery-powered sonde transmitter attached at the rod tip emitting a detectable electromagnetic signal that a surface receiver tracks as the rod advances through the pipe interior.

The fiberglass rod sections connect end-to-end in 1-meter or 1.5-meter lengths, with each section featuring a push-fit or threaded coupling that maintains a straight and rigid enough column for driving force transmission while retaining sufficient lateral flexibility to navigate bends and directional changes along the pipe run. Standard rod diameter runs between 11mm and 16mm depending on the minimum pipe bore size to be entered, with the sonde transmitter diameter matching or slightly smaller than the rod diameter to pass through the same bore restrictions. Additionally, rod sets typically include between 30 and 60 individual sections, providing total insertion lengths between 30 and 90 meters from a single access point entry.

The sonde transmitter at the rod tip operates at 512 Hz or 33 kHz, emitting a locatable signal that the surface operator’s compatible pipe locator receiver detects and tracks above ground as the rod team advances the assembly through the pipe interior. Furthermore, the operator marks the surface route directly above the detected sonde signal at regular intervals using paint or ground flags, building a complete pipe route map without excavation across the full surveyed length.

Rod retrieval uses a reel or manual pull-back, with rod sections disconnecting sequentially at the access point as the assembly withdraws from the pipe. Moreover, rod construction withstands contact with standing water, silt, and common drain chemical residues without degradation of the fiberglass or coupling hardware during insertion and retrieval operations.

Tactical Supply Pakistan supplies Flexitrace Pipe Tracing Rod systems to drainage contractors, municipal sewerage authorities, civil engineering teams, and utility maintenance operators requiring non-metallic pipe route mapping capability across construction and infrastructure maintenance projects throughout Pakistan.