Drat! Hydrant Froze
February 3rd, 2014 · No Comments · Posted in farming
Last year we went to some lengths to have water and electric service installed in three strategic locations on our farm property, mainly to make sure we had easy access to water for the livestock–especially in winter. We really wantws to avoid having to haul water from the kitchen sink in the dead of winter.
Well, it’s dead of winter and we are hauling water from the kitchen sink because the “frost-free” hydrant next to the paddock where the sheep and cow are living has frozen. How, I’m not sure. The way the pump is supposed to function, when you turn it off the water should drain down a pipe whence it came underground where it can’t freeze. But last week as I attempted to fill a bucket I noticed water frozen around the pump nozzle. No water was forthcoming. I melted the water around the nozzle with a propane torch, but still no go. Apparently, the water was frozen the whole length of the pipe.
It could be I had failed to shut the pump completely when I last used it. Or, it could be a mechanical malfunction. The valve is operated by a brass piston that runs down the middle of the pipe and attaches to the handle with a set screw. If the screw wasn’t tight enough, the handle wouldn’t move the piston and the valve wouldn’t close. In that case, the water wouldn’t drain down the pipe. It would continue dripping out the nozzle until it froze. The water coming up behind the blockage would freeze as well.
I called the well drillers who installed the pumps. Their advice? Apply a torch from the pump handle the length of the pipe all the way to the ground and melt the ice inside. I don’t own a torch big enough for the job. So for the moment at least, we are filling buckets in the kitchen and hauling them out to the paddock in the pickup truck. And hoping for a thaw soon.
Bummer.
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