Yard Hydrant ,,-,, Replacement

[CADplans]

My 25-30 year old yard hydrant refused to shut off,, so, rather than try to fix it, I ordered a new one from Amazon,,

The old one shows lots of corrosion where it was buried in the soil,,

I have the new one connected to the pipe, and the water pressure is back on, and ready to back-fill,,,BUT,,,

I am wondering,,,

SHOULD I slip a one foot length of 4 inch plastic pipe over the new hydrant?
(I would split the 4" pipe to get it on the hydrant)

That would give the discharged water plenty of space to go to,,,
and may slow the corrosion a little,,

I could even fill the 4 inch pipe with gravel.

The surrounding soil is VERY sandy.

The hydrant is plenty deep, it is about 3 feet to the elbow pipe connection,,
(The "TEE" connection shown is being abandoned,, and replaced by an elbow fitting)

Any other hints on back-filling?

 

[RNeumann]

Nothing you are going to do to stop the corrosion on the galvanized pipe. The 4” pipe is an interesting one. I’ve seen an upside down bucket with a hole in it but that’s sort of overkill. If you have bad soil or want to make it “perfect” most just pour a bag of gravel around the weep hole. And backfill the rest with native soil- especially your sandy stuff. I don’t really see an advantage to the 4” pipe. The surface area to drain off the hydrant isn’t that big as it’s too vertical.

 

[rgr33]

I generally cut the bottom out of an old bucket, sink it in the hole, and fill it with rocks. We have some gooey clay around here that does not drain well.

 

[CADplans]

Nothing you are going to do to stop the corrosion on the galvanized pipe. The 4 pipe is an interesting one.

I generally cut the bottom out of an old bucket, sink it in the hole, and fill it with rocks.

Thanks for the replies,, :thumbsup:

Rather than 4 inch pipe,, the bucket comments made me think of an 8" plastic pipe that was a culvert,, that I tore out,,
it is sitting in the woods,,

I will cut a piece of the larger pipe,, bigger is always better,,,, RIGHT!!?? :confused2:

 

[Zerk]

I am just curious.

What new hip lingo am I missing "-"?

Hydrant? Is that some southern term for shut off valve? Up here only people whp own fire hydrants would be the city for the the fire hydrants.

But down south I see they put the water meters right in the front yard. Looks so funny. In north the city water meter meters are in the basement.

 

[Streetcar]

Zerk
Yard hydrant is used in Ohio. We also have water meters in front yard

 

[Streetcar]

Also known as front proof hydrant. Water shut-off is in tee. Vertical pipe drains at tee after water shut off

 

[ning]

General educational FYI - (frost-free) (yard) hydrants are used where you expect hard freezes and want to be able to use water.
The handle is actually a lever which operates a valve which is under ground - below the frost line - and when the hydrant is shut off, the water in the vertical pipe going up to the outlet will drain, so there's no water kept in a closed pipe to freeze and burst the line (or at a minimum block the use of water).

If you shut off your outside water lines and drain them for the winter, you don't need them; but they let you continue using the water line in cold areas.

 

[RNeumann]

Thanks for the replies,, :thumbsup:

Rather than 4 inch pipe,, the bucket comments made me think of an 8" plastic pipe that was a culvert,, that I tore out,,
it is sitting in the woods,,

I will cut a piece of the larger pipe,, bigger is always better,,,, RIGHT!!?? :confused2:

If you use pipe you would need a cap so dirt doesn’t fill it up. That’s the issue with 4” or 8”...........

 

[fried1765]

My 25-30 year old yard hydrant refused to shut off,, so, rather than try to fix it, I ordered a new one from Amazon,,

The old one shows lots of corrosion where it was buried in the soil,,

I have the new one connected to the pipe, and the water pressure is back on, and ready to back-fill,,,BUT,,,

I am wondering,,,

SHOULD I slip a one foot length of 4 inch plastic pipe over the new hydrant?
(I would split the 4" pipe to get it on the hydrant)

That would give the discharged water plenty of space to go to,,,
and may slow the corrosion a little,,

I could even fill the 4 inch pipe with gravel.

The surrounding soil is VERY sandy.

The hydrant is plenty deep, it is about 3 feet to the elbow pipe connection,,
(The "TEE" connection shown is being abandoned,, and replaced by an elbow fitting)

Any other hints on back-filling?

I have three yard hydrants, in the same VERY sandy soil
Two need to be replaced. They are rusting on the inside.
The other one I replaced several years ago.
Coat the exterior of the new hydrant pipe with TWO coats of two part marine epoxy paint.
It will not rust externally.

 

[CADplans]

If you use pipe you would need a cap so dirt doesn稚 fill it up. That痴 the issue with 4 or 8?..........

Here is the pic of the pipe I cut for use with the hydrant,,,

The pipe is 8" ID, 16" tall,, and split to allow it to fit around the pipe,,
the pipe is 1/2" thick, I heated it with a propane torch so I could bend the ears up to allow clearance for the pipe.
I also heated it so that I could get the slot open enough to slip over the pipe.

After I put the pipe on the hydrant, I will fill the pipe with 57's gravel,, and maybe some landscape fabric on the top.
I want gravel around the bottom of the pipe so that it will be less "wiggly"
I added a half dozen saw slots to make sure the water will drain away,,,
I cut the pipe with a regular circular saw.

The pipe was broken from where we ripped it out of the ground with a backhoe,, that is why the end looks "ratty"

 

[Ford850]

I like to drive a t-post down deep with the top just at ground level. Then install the hydrant strapped to the t-post with a few stainless hose clamps. That really stabilizes the hydrant especially in sandy soil. Less stress on the buried pipe and connections.

 

[Ken]

The freeze proof hydrant is quickly repaired since most likely brass and replacement parts and couple of pipe wrenches
old one lasted 25 years replacement parts could give it another 25.
ken

 

[oosik]

I dug a hole about a foot and a half BELOW the elbow fitting. Filled this hole with screened, washed gravel. Drove in a T-133 steel post and strapped the hydrant to the T- post. The gravel filled hole is a place for the water to drain when I turn the hydrant off. Because of our weather - my elbow is five feet down.

I certainly went to a lot of extra work on this thing. I bet I only use the hydrant two or three time during the entire winter.

 

[CADplans]

Well, I put the 8" pipe around the hydrant, filled that pipe with gravel,,
then finished backfilling,,

That 8" pipe was amazing,, the new hydrant is more stable than the old one EVER was,, even after 20 years,,

The pipe locked everything together,, making a firm installation,,

If I ever install another hydrant, I will use that pipe collar,,, :thumbsup:

 

[Gem99ultra]

I wouldn't bother with any of the fixes. I'd just plan on replacing the hydrant again in 30 years. Ha! I should live so long