water hydrant project

this is the well pit,the plumber came last fall to do some repairs,he discovered the hydrant in the shed is leaking,He turned off the valve for it in the pit.He suggested that since the is a line that used to be used for the shed out back to dig outside and put a new hydrant,it would be a lot easier than tying to dig up the hydrant that is in the building.I dug down and found the line, I was going to get a hydrant from tractor supply,but my plumber friend said they are junk,he is ordering me one from his supplier.

I agree that the TSC ones are junk. I prefer the Redyflow red ones.
What brand does your guy like?
Richard in NW SC

I bought a cheap one at Menards and when it broke after 10 years thank goodness I was able to buy parts at L&M! The brass extension in the packing broke, I think it's important to keep all the hinge points on top lubricated.

I believe it is the red one,he said much better to adjust and they are trouble free.Its an unusual situation at the old farm,the water line goes under the road to the farmhouse.We have the old farmhouse rented,so I Dont have to bother the renters for water if I Keep this hydrant working.

yes,he told me on the cheap one there are plates on the top that wear out.There is always something to do at the farm,being I Didnt hook up the hydrant, I went back to scraping and patching,the building ,were I didnt get finished last fall as cold set in.

You want to dig down about sixteen inches below the bottom and put in 3/4 stone, in order to have a good reservoir for the water to drain into. Otherwise dirty water could get into the drain. I also put geo-textile or something similar around the bottom above the drain and stone to keep dirt out.

The red one is sold as "Iowa" brand around here. A little more expensive, but better quality. Roughly 130 bucks for a 4' bury.

yes,thats just what he told me!

Iowa or Woodford.

Paul

I had a hydrant in the yard for years, no problems. Then I started using the barn more in the winters, and plowed out a path to the barn. The water line froze up where I plowed it clear.

I feel your pain. My well pit sits outside with a cover over it and it feeds the house, a barn and a garage.

I had a leak in a pipe to an indoor (a barn) hydrant where the lines are buried under the slab. I put it right near an automatic waterer that sits on a separate slab before they poured the floor. Not near enough as it turned out. Luckily my concrete guy just ran the new pour up to the slab and left it separate. I had to remove the waterer, crack the separate slab in half to pull it out (did I mention it straddles a pen divider?), dig down then perhaps tunnel over to the hydrant. What I found however was the leak was unreachable from such a small hole, so I just replaced the T fitting from the main line with a straight connector and abandoned the hydrant. I did plumb a faucet to the side of the waterer so I still had a way to fill buckets when needed. Unfortunately it does freeze up when really cold but a heat gun makes quick work of it. This was all in the early spring when the ground water was high and it was a miserable job, so I wanted to get it done as quick as possible. I dread the day when a leak happens under another part of the slab.

I will second that!

Iowa hydrants have lasted over 50 years for us. Woodford are good too.

(quoted from post at 08:48:40 04/22/16) I had a hydrant in the yard for years, no problems. Then I started using the barn more in the winters, and plowed out a path to the barn. The water line froze up where I plowed it clear.

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Yep, In Gunnison county they put the lines 6' deep BUT they will freeze if the snow-cover is lost (driveways in particular. Many said that traffic would 'drive the frost down'). Most of the old-tmers always used conductive pipe (iron or copper) and put in 'taps' ( #2 or bigger direct-burial cable from above ground down to and attached to the pipe) every 100' or so on the longer runs so that the line could be thawed with a DC portable welder in case it froze anyway. :shock: Your line won't freeze again UNLESS you plow over it again.