Well we're behind schedule (caught a summer chest cold), but we're almost ready.
I've got what may be a dumb question: I've got a yard hydrant at my barn that I've never used in the winter, but will need it now. What happens to the water in the vertical pipe above the underground valve, and why doesn't it freeze?
Thanks.
If you have a frost - free hydrant, there is a weep hole that allows the water to drain after use. The Woodford "Iowa" hydrant is an example. There are many others.
Hopefully, if it is a frost free hydrant, it was installed properly with a layer of sand and rocks under the weep hole. On my old farm, I had a few that did not have enough drainage (from the sand and rocks) and they did freeze in the winter.
Thanks, Soilsailor and RichZ.
The previous owners lived here for four or five years and had horses for at least part of that time. I'll have to assume that they used it over the winter and it was installed properly.
It's probably installed properly. If it isn't and it does freeze, if it's near an electrical outlet, you can wrap heat tape around it (you'll have to dig as far as you can below the surface and wrap as deep as you can). One of my hydrants in one of my barns froze and I did that, and it worked fine, just PIA to set it up.
Would probably be easier and surely cheaper to just dig down to the hydrant valve and then refill the very bottom (about 6-10") with some coarse gravel. A one-time but permanent fix. I line the hole around my gravel bed with some landscape fabric to minimize silt filling in the gravel.
