creative installation ideas for frost free hydrants?

[ampsucker]

just found the main leak. it is a PVC union. looks like the genious who installed it tried to wedge it up a bit with a piece of clay tile but the weight of the ground finally bowed the pipe enough it started to leak.

is this the best method to use to make the repair? another 1" PVC union? i do not want to have to dig this up again..... will try to straighten the pipe as best as i can and fill under it to keep it from bowing.

i attached a pic that kind of shows what i found although the perspective is lacking a bit..... my understanding is the main in from the street meter is at the top of the photo, it goes through the union, Ts off and the top of the T goes to our barn and the leg continuing on to the bottom of the photo goes to our house which also T'd off to form the connection for the hydrant that used to be there.

i'm thinking this: replace all pipe between the unions, put in a new valve, then use only one union and all the rest solvent glue joints (T's and couplings) and possibly do away with the shut off valve. i have a shut off for the whole property at the meter and the barn has it's own shutoff further down the line. just another point of failure. if i do use a valve, it will be a brass ball valve.

does that sound right? like a decent plan?

amp

 

[dex3361]

just found the main leak. it is a PVC union. looks like the genious who installed it tried to wedge it up a bit with a piece of clay tile but the weight of the ground finally bowed the pipe enough it started to leak.

is this the best method to use to make the repair? another 1" PVC union? i do not want to have to dig this up again..... will try to straighten the pipe as best as i can and fill under it to keep it from bowing.

i attached a pic that kind of shows what i found although the perspective is lacking a bit..... my understanding is the main in from the street meter is at the top of the photo, it goes through the union, Ts off and the top of the T goes to our barn and the leg continuing on to the bottom of the photo goes to our house which also T'd off to form the connection for the hydrant that used to be there.

i'm thinking this: replace all pipe between the unions, put in a new valve, then use only one union and all the rest solvent glue joints (T's and couplings) and possibly do away with the shut off valve. i have a shut off for the whole property at the meter and the barn has it's own shutoff further down the line. just another point of failure. if i do use a valve, it will be a brass ball valve.

does that sound right? like a decent plan?

amp

I would use the compression type coupling because it allows for more movement and it can be slipped into a cut without a bunch of splices. Like this KING BROTHERS CPC-0500 "KBI" IPS SCH 40 PVC COMPRESSION COUPLING (B000H5Q1CY).
Like one of these keep in mind that they do not offer restraint. If you need restraining there are brass ones with restraining clamps. Agood place to look for good quality water supplies is USA BLUEBOOK

 

[ampsucker]

my apologies on the terminology. i MEANT compression coupling but my fingers typed pvc union.

what is shown in the photos and what i have are compressioin couplings. i agree they would be better in this application than a glue joint union because the compression couplings will allow small amounts of contraction/expansion, hopefully, without leaking.

i've been getting all my pvc parts at the local ace hardware. we don't have a lot of plumbing supply stores in our little town and this kinda needs to be fixed tomorrow. hopefully, the quality of their pvc is up to par or i'll be digging her up again in a few years!

thanks for clarifying what i meant!

amp

 

[jenkinsph]

I would use a telescopic union before a compression union. It allows for some expansion and contraction and can be installed in the middle of a line. I prefer the black polyethelene tubing in cts sizes and use pex crimp fittings for connections.

one pic of telescopic union in top left corner of pvc line
second pic is of a good curbstop and waste
third pic is of pvc to polyethelene tubing
fourth pic is of marking tape lay out about a foot above the new line

 

[ampsucker]

thanks, i'll ask about the telescopic union at the plumbing supply store.

and definitely using marking or caution tape to mark these lines!

i did purchase a piece of culvert pipe for surrounding the hydrant and mounting some above ground bits to make it a nicer family place to hang out when all finished.

still looking for any good pics or ideas of how to finish out a frost free hydrant into a sink or table area??? anybody done something like this?

amp

 

[jenkinsph]

ampsucker,
Instead of usig a hydrant with a sink I would use the stop and waste valve pictured in above post to feed a regular faucet. You could leave it on in the warmer months and close it in the winter. This can still drain the faucet to keep from freezing, and a standard faucet is much easier to use turning on and off.

 

[ampsucker]

here is the repair as completed so far.

 

[ampsucker]

thanks for the idea of using a regular faucet. i think that would be good for most folks, but i do tend to need water quite often in the winter and this is my main yard source for mixing fruit tree spray, washing salt off the tractor, etc. i need it off and on all winter long! (wifey doesn't like me using the kitchen sink and water is off in the barn in the winter months)

i'm forming some ideas in my head how a simple rectangular planter can be made into a trough for catching water and as a support for my buckets and sprayer tank.

still appreciate all the ideas and would love to see some pics of anybody's projects.

amp

 

[ampsucker]

the defective apparatus.

note the curvature of the pipe as compared to the relatively straight sidewalk edge. no, it's not possible to keep a pipe from sagging by using three bricks in clay and a little gravel.

the main leak was from the compression union at the bottom of the photo. appeared to have been a combination of the sagging plus a small tree root that was starting to make it's way in past the rubber gasket.

amp

 

[radioman]

sounds like you had alot of fun figuring things out and having fun digging wuth BX