creative installation ideas for frost free hydrants?

[tommu56]

I woulden't come directly off the main line I would put it 12" or more off to one side with good drainage under hydrant.
This would minimize the water pooling under main line letting it bow or sink in to the ground.

tom

 

[jenkinsph]

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

A word to the wise, do not use a pvc female threaded adaptor on iron pipe as it will soon split and leak, better to use a male adaptor and metal coupling to accomplish the connection.

On my last post about using a regular faucet I should have noted the curb stop and waste valve can drain the faucet down when closed. As long as you close the curbstop and then open the faucet on top it can drain the line.

I would consider using the curbstop and waste valve and install a handle to it that can be easily operated as needed. This should address your needs and would in combination with the regular faucet would be much easier to work with.

 

[2manyrocks]

I don't claim it's pretty, but this is how I installed mine. I used a plastic bottle as a sleeve to keep the pipe from being cemented to the concrete. The 4" drain is tied to the downspout drains so excess water from the hydrant drains out via the downspout drain. I tried to line up the installation so the water would hit in the drain when the hydrant isn't connected to a garden hose.

The white pipe cap to the right is just a cover for a 4" pipe that allows me to reach the water shutoff to the house.