anyone know about repairing frostfree hydrants?

[CrowinKing]

No I wasn't joking I just didn't read the original post again been a long day!

Sorry! Anyway after reading your post AGAIN like I should of! Its either the plunger at the bottom or the screw at the back of brass fitting is slipping on the rod that pulls the rod up! I'm gonna say its the plunger. I went to TSC and got a repair kit for mine for like $17 I think. It came with everything plunger seals etc. Use 2 pipe wrenches when taking the hydrant off the pipe! And no I'm not kidding I've seen the leak that bad!!! Hope it helps sorry for giving U a heart attack reading my last post!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
no problem, and thanks for the help!

So, boy or girl? ("not telling" is ok too of course)

Pat

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Pat, you seriously need to invest in some drainage tile for your property.

http://www.oxfordplasticsinc.com/drainagetile.htm

In the long run it would make your life much easier around the farm. I couldn't help but notice the rust on your door in the pic. That much moisture around a building & slab is just not good for many reasons...(mold, hydraulic pressure under the slab, high humidity in the building)

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Oh, thank you for being the very first person ever to suggest that, LCRT, she said sarcastically ;> Sorry, but, you know...

Thing is, tiling only works if you have somewhere lower to drain the water TO. We don't. The roadside ditch is HIGHER THAN the part of the property that floods, our western neighbor's field is only inches lower than ours and I'm sure he wouldn't be interested in an accelerated water dump there *anyhow*, and it would take a soakaway completely to *China* to absorb the amount of water that goes through our property.

Some things you have to live with, you know? And we can live with this just fine, especially since it enables us to have land we could not afford otherwise

We're way ahead of previous owners -- I've dug some new ditches to expedite throughput of water and we have a LOT less flooding now. SOMEONE has to live on low ground, may as well be us.

I couldn't help but notice the rust on your door in the pic. That much moisture around a building & slab is just not good for many reasons...(mold, hydraulic pressure under the slab, high humidity in the building)

Actually the door is a freebie replacement for the one that was originally there, which was badly dented and some doofus drilled it full o' holes. Heaven knows where the rust came from, but it wasn't our yard :>

The building's been there for 15-20 years with zero signs of problem, so I am really not concerned about that.

I would just like to get the hydrant working again, is all

Pat​

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Pat, if you are going to live with it, I might suggest making it a postive aspect of your property.

A) Dig a big pond on the lowest portion of your property for the water to run off & collect in. Maybe get a few ducks.

B) Enlarge the ditches you have made to resemble canals. Then you could offer romantic gondola rides around the property to the city folk & make a few bucks.

 

[CrowinKing]

The doc said he'd put a $100 on a girl but he wouldn't bet a paycheck. She kept moving around alot! So its a girl for now!

 

[Dustoff79]

Pat, here is a good pdf for the ritchie hydrant that shows you what the hydrant looks like internally. You should be able to replace the head only but, what concerns me is the "rust" you are getting when you open the valve. It is a good sign the supply line is deteriorating internally.

http://www.ritchiefount.com/pdf/Hydrant/hydrant_troubleshooting.pdf

on a lighter side, could you pipe some of the water our way, have not had any appreciable rain since early spring. I am constantly running soaker hoses to keep my oaks alive and around the foundation to keep it from cracking. Had to "fix" several fence posts due to the dry ground.