Frost Free Hydrant Repair Questions

[Hotflashjr]

I have a frost-free hydrant that is two years old and leaking underground. It was been slowly getting worse all summer. Last winter during the only cold spell a hose got left on the hydrant however the
water was not on. I am guessing this did damage. Does anyone have experience with repairing one of these? I am hoping I can just turn off the line and repair it without digging up the hydrant. Is
there any way to tell where the problem may be? The hydrant only leaks when it is on. When the hydrant is off no leaks. I did verify this at the water meter it is hooked to that water is not running
when this hydrant is off.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Texasmark]

I never repaired one but did help a neighbor install one. Prior to the installation I was looking at the design and the seal was at the bottom of the vertical pipe, on top of the right angle. I didn't inspect that interface to see if it could be repaired just by removing the pipe.....probably not as getting the assembly out of the hole would be an interference fit with the dirt that is around the pipe and one would expect that the seal's mounting surface would be a larger diameter than the pipe.

Why don't you go to a hardware store and have a look at one to possibly get an answer to your question.

 

[paul]

When a hose stays on and they freeze, they remain full of water. It cant drain back the hose doesnt allow drain back the vertical pipe stays full.

One possibility is the vertical pipe froze and split, and there is no fixing that easy from the top have to replace the vertical pipe.

Sounds like the valve is still working properly, it was below the frost line and not affected of course.

Paul

 

[lastcowboy32]

(quoted from post at 06:37:03 09/19/23) I have a frost-free hydrant that is two years old and leaking underground. It was been slowly getting worse all summer. Last winter during the only cold spell a hose got left on the hydrant however the
water was not on. I am guessing this did damage. Does anyone have experience with repairing one of these? I am hoping I can just turn off the line and repair it without digging up the hydrant. Is
there any way to tell where the problem may be? The hydrant only leaks when it is on. When the hydrant is off no leaks. I did verify this at the water meter it is hooked to that water is not running
when this hydrant is off.

Thanks in advance for any help!

I can't answer your question, but I have experience with these.

When we moved onto our farm nine years ago, we found that somebody had piped water underground to a few frost free waterers located around the property.

The well is in the milkhouse of the barn (well was drilled first, then the milkhouse built over the top). From there, one of the previous owners, who had an excavator handy, due to their other business... set about putting in three different hydrants. One was fed directly from the well, and buried in the dirt under the milkhouse dirt floor. One was tapped off of the underground line between the barn and the house. One was fed off of the house.

All three of these developed leaks.

We simply shut off the valve to the one fed from the house.

We dug up the one in the yard when the leak got too bad and capped the pipe underground.

The one buried under the milkhouse dirt floor? We should have cut that one and capped it when we moved in; because we put concrete in the milkhouse. We just live with the leak.

We have found these things to be a liability, unless you have an excavator practically on call.

I know this is anecdotal, and there will probably be somebody else that will say they have a bunch of them that have lasted 30 years without an issue...

 

[Loosehandle]

Ive had too much experience with these, most are poor quality now from the start. Is water bubbling up around it when on?

 

[Hotflashjr]

Yes - that is exactly what is happening.

I installed this myself two years ago. Bought it from a municipal supply company that does pipes, fittings, drainage, etc - EJ Prescott. My only other option was Tractor Supply and they are hit and miss if they even have them in stock. I am not in a part of the country where there are tons of these hydrants so finding one locally was part of my issue. The one I installed was much beefier quality then the one I found at Tractor Supply.

 

[rrlund]

Where the handle fastens to the rod that moves up and down, loosen the set screw, lift up a little bit on the handle then tighten the screw again. Push the handle back down and see if that does it.

 

[Loosehandle]

It sounds like your pipe is split probably slightly below grade and the valve is still working

 

[Cash4Toys]

If you haven't done so, you could try readjusting the lever to make sure it snaps down in the off position. Assuming the rubber stopper is leaking, you can shutoff the water supply to the hydrant. Then remove the handle linkage and handle and you should be able to pull the head off the upright pipe. Use a pipe wrench to hold the pipe and remove the head, don't let the pipe turn or you will wreck your water line connection. The rod can then be pulled up and out of the pipe and the rubbers replaced. And yes, if rubber is leaking it will allow water to flow through the drain hole, and eventually flood the area. If you did not buy a quality hydrant, you won't be able to get the parts.
The rod on a quality hydrant is also replaceable.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I'm with Paul on this and digging is the only fix. Now we put them inside of a PVC piep and can get them out without digging to replace. We also have a plug that fits just inside the top of the pipe and has a ledge so it doesn't go down the pipe. We put a hose on our hydrants for about 10 feet with stone,gravel or sand away from the hydrant so the water can get away from the hydrant and not make a soak spot on top since we have a heavy yellow clay dirt. Never have a problem with hydrants unless somebody leaves a hose on the hydrant in freezing weather ]. did have one that froze many years ago. We dug it up and replaced it with a new one other wise we seem to not have trouble with them and a couple have been in for 20 or more years. I do have one to dig up that dad ran over with the tractor and bent so it will not work.

 

[lastcowboy32]

(quoted from post at 08:36:46 09/19/23) Yes - that is exactly what is happening.

I installed this myself two years ago. Bought it from a municipal supply company that does pipes, fittings, drainage, etc - EJ Prescott. My only other option was Tractor Supply and they are hit and miss if they even have them in stock. I am not in a part of the country where there are tons of these hydrants so finding one locally was part of my issue. The one I installed was much beefier quality then the one I found at Tractor Supply.

So, my disdain for these notwithstanding... It sounds like you tried to do the right thing, and I hope you can get parts for yours.

One other aspect of "doing the right thing", if you do want to use these frost free hydrants is to make sure there is a place to shut off the water to them, otherwise how can you repair them?

The ones on our farm? The one that was connected to the house was no problem. We just shut it off.

The one that I had to dig up? It was T-ed off of the waterline from the well in the barn to the house. Shutting off water to this one shuts off water to the house. OK, if it can be fixed in a hurry...not so OK if it can't.

The third one under the dirt floor in the milkhouse? They tried to install some kind of underground valve with an access tube, kind of like what the city water department uses to connect water from the mains to your house.

I did leave access to the top of this tube when we put concrete in the milkhouse...so when it started leaking... I thought... no problem... just shut off the valve.

Nope... poor quality valve.

So, it sounds as though you were thinking..."If I do bury something, it should be high quality..."

I hope that works out for you, because I'm living proof of what happens when you bury low quality stuff.

 

[Northvale PA]

Ive had three over the years and the last one replaced with a Woodford brand. Dont go Chinese. We have hard water and they corroded eventually.

 

[DoubleR]

I second the Woodford brand too if you end up digging it up, Sounds to me its going to be your best option.