Locating a waterline leak.

[Birdhunter1]

If it is a frost proof hydrant I would check there first, possibly the valve below grade that allows the water to drain has corroded/rusted and it is leaking there all the time. My dad had that happen once at his place, of course we also thought there was a leak near the house since water was seeping in around the water line entering the basement wall. Dug down to the water line and sure enough it was leaking there too.

Eddie had the best idea though, since it has been problematc over the years just replace it, it won't take half a day probably.

 

[zzvyb6]

Thank you all. I believe I'll get Mis Dig out here to mark the line. Then, I'll pressurize the line and count to see how quickly it builds. This will tell be about how far out the break is. I like the 50/50 idea because it WILL get me there. I can use my PH digger to get the site narrowed down if I'm lucky. I am worried about the proximity to the foundation, though. I will try 'witching' for it, too. This actually worked for me for the same problem once before! It was between the hydrant and the barn. The sonic deal seems the most appealing because it ought to put me right on top of it. BTW the line is 2" plastic and is about 30 years old. The barn is somewhat down hill from the house so there is a pressure regulator at the house to reduce the internal pressure in the line at the barn. This is to reduce the pressure surge from the momentum of the wate when a hydrant or hose is turned off. I have some time off this week. I'll post the solution to this problem when it comes in. I'm not ready yet to throw in the towel and replace the entire run of pipe. The conduit suggestion is really good. I did that myself for the electrical. Wouldn't you know it, a lightning strike took out the main feed 3 weeks later. Rerunning the #4 was a breeze.
Happy Holidays. (it was 54 degrees here today. Might take the snow plow off and put the mowers back on. Saw quite a few Blue Bird scouts on site today, too...

 

[Dusty]

I cut the grass for the last time 4 times, and last night, I dreamed that it was time to cut the grass again. Tonight while walking the dog, I realized that the grass has been growing again, and it really could use a trim. There is no way that I am going to drag out the mower deck. I intend to put the snowblower on tomorrow, but if it is a nice warm day, I will probably find some other project to do. My wife calls me the cold weather procrastinator. I don't ever think about snow, until I see the fluffy white stuff accumulation on the driveway. Prior to that, it is just another cool fall day.
Dusty

 

[drssg]

Maybe you already know this, but it wouldn't hurt to test that it is not an adjustment issue with the hydrant, before breaking out the excavating equipment. Fill a bucket of water from the hydrant, then turn off the water and stick the hydrant nozzle below the water level in the bucket. If it doesn't suck water out of the bucket, then it's not draining properly, and you may be able to fix it by adjusting the nuts that control the shutoff position.

I learned this AFTER I dug up our hydrant. I saw that water was constantly leaking out of the drain hole. I replaced the hydrant with another one that I happened to have on hand, and it did the same then. So I finally had to break down and read the directions. That's when I learned that I could have fixed the problem with a wrench, instead of a backhoe!

So this is probably different from your situation, but it's not a bad thing to rule out, before starting a BIG project.

Rick

 

[zzvyb6]

It was the back hydrant, just like drssg said. I shut off each leg until I got the barn back on-line without the well pump staying on. I might have bashed it a bit as I backed up mowing. I pushed the water trough into it just enough to release the hydrant lever. This is an unused pasture so It never got any attention. I suspect the draining water leached into the windmill pump so it just got ignored. Anyways, its ok to get cold and snowy now. My outside work is done for this year.

Great ideas, guys, but the leaking hydrant footvalve gets the gold star.