That's a leaking frost-free hydrant. It's going to freeze Monday night. I gotta fix it.
The awesome guys at my local little hardware store sold me a repair kit for ff hydrants and answered my questions, so I'm headed out to dig it up and try to turn off the water. G is convinced that the hydrant water comes through the house - and that's the correct way for it to be - but I'm not so sure. I hope I can turn off the water tank thing in the garage and not have to go turn off the well. I am really not confident of my ability to fix this. I will muddle through somehow but it's totally new to me.
Today Banders the King of Fluffy discovered the duck toy and gave us this centerfold shot.
Well, at least it's better than fixing it after it freezes!
ReplyDeleteThe kitty is adorable.
WAIT! Don't dig it up until you try fixing it from the top! Trust me, I know!
ReplyDelete--First, take the handle off. You may actually be able to adjust the push rod enough to stop the leak.
If, in fact the "innards" need replacing, use a pair of pipe wrenches (if you have them) to unscrew the cast iron top, and pull the plunger out from there, and replace. (Use a permanent marker to make a mark on both the pipe and the cast iron part, to give yourself something to line up to when you put it back together.)
The only real reason you would have to dig it up is if the little drain thingy at the bottom is clogged, and not letting the vertical pipe drain properly. If that's the case, when you rebury it, add a [very] little "street ell" (a 90 degree fighting that's a male at one end, that goes on the bottom fitting of the FF, and a female end (of the ell) then gets pointed down, so silt can't get in) at the bottom, to prevent future clogs.
I hope I caught you in time to save some unnecessary manual labor...
Oh, and don't leave the little Y attachment on once things start freezing up--it'll trap water and may not let the standpipe drain correctly (done THAT, too!).
ReplyDeleteCute cat!
ReplyDelete