"Steve Barker" wrote in news:oaGdnWq66-l8v1vYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
She. IF SHE... City girl.
And if it hadn't been at the end of a very long and tiring day, the handle would have been down. In two years, I never used it and forgot to close it before. But, as my luck would have it, it happened when it was six degrees outside. :(
why?
Sure you do: it's "Frost Free" (or "Freeze Proof") Hydrant.
Yep.
i said this hoping it would be used w/ the tent the OP was referring to setting up. as far as i know new electric blankets are water resistant and i'm assuming that the OP would shut the power off so there shouldn't be any puddling or pouring of water. using a power cord w/ outlets that trips off would be good too.
mike.......
so sorry for the gender mistake. What are you having to water hourly?
"Steve Barker" wrote in news:OJqdndqdD8mWs1vYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
Until now, nothing. I watered once a day into an old bathtub.
Now that I'm reduced to running out with 5 gallon buckets of water, I'm checking hourly, refilling maybe every three or four hours.
I have a draft and two mini horses.
Sounds like you're in the same deep freeze I am. (eastern kansas)
"Steve Barker" wrote in news:cfudnfQ9yr4b1VvYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
Central Indiana. The water I'm spilling on the barn (cement) floor is freezing as soon as it hits.
Nice time to freeze a well spigot up, huh?
Which is precisely why you heat the upper part, boil out some water and remove the head. Then you pour table salt in the pipe and it will melt thru the ice below the ground. I have done it, it works and works well !!!
Actually, if someone is handy they should be able to use compressed air or even something like a turkey baster to inject the salt into the spigot opening without removing the head. Of course the upper water needs to be boiled out first, which and decent torch can do, but it has to be a powerful one. Use the electric heater first to get things thawed.
Sure, it can sit till spring, but animals need water and the harder the freeze, the more likely the hydrant will crack. I can prove this point just by putting water in a plastic pitcher. When I water our pet rabbits I carry a plastic pitcher of water to the shed. On a partial freeze, the pitcher remains it's normal shape with ice in it. On a full freeze, the bottom of the pitcher bulges. This hydrant should be thawed as soon as possible.
On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 17:19:40 +0000 (UTC), FragileWarrior
On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 16:48:31 +0000 (UTC), FragileWarrior
Be prepared to blast a torch at the soil at the base of the hydrant after the top thaws. (Remove heat tape first). Its likely frozen under the soil, If you can, take a turkey baster and make a thick paste of table salt and water. See if you can inject that into the part where the hose connects.
By the way, what state are you in? This midwest cold spell is horrid.
Gerry Atrick wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Central Indiana, and, yes, doesn't it figure that THIS is the first time I made this mistake??
I'll try the saline injection tomorrow if the heat tape/insulation/garbage can-shed didn't work.
Oh, btw, my draft horse thinks it is REALLY COOL that I'm running out there with 5 gallon buckets of water for him every couple of hours. Apparently he figures it is his duty to drink it all upon delivery.
If I didn't love him to death, I'd shoot him. :)
Yeah, I hear you. We are trying to keep 30 chickens, two dogs, and a cat in water at a place where we don't live yet.
In article , FragileWarrior freezing as soon as it hits.
Hey, Warrior, greetings from a fellow Hoosier! What part, exactly, of central Indiana are you in? I'm in Indianapolis right now... used to be in rural Pendleton until mid-'99.
It's a PITA, all right. I certainly sympathize.
The OP just posted that she's in central Indiana. So am I, and have been for the last 34 years. So trust me on a couple of things:
1) She definitely will not have to wait for spring to get a thaw. Two weeks, at most, before the ambient temp is high enough to thaw it. Extended periods of below-freezing weather here are very rare. 2) It's as cold tonight as it's likely to get. Any damage has already been done, and will not be made worse by waiting.That's the difference between freezing only around the edges, and freezing solid.
Doesn't matter -- it's only an inch or so thick, and at the temps the OP is experiencing, it froze solid all the way through on the first night. The damage (if any) is already done.
It wouldn't matter if the hydrant was shut off after the pump -- the only thing that matters is if the hydrant is shut off at all.
If the hydrant is in the ON position, the entire stand-pipe is filled with water. It can not drain down into the soil when the handle is in the UP (or ON) position. They operate like a 2-way valve. When the handle is UP, the water comes out the hose fitting. When the handle is DOWN, it shuts off the water that enters the hydrant (below the ground), and opens a drain hole to allow the water to drain out of the stand-pipe. If she left the handle UP, the pump was off so no water could flow, but the drain hole was never opened to allow the water to drain out of the stand-pipe. That water froze.
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