CobyRupert
Super Member
Need Barn Water Hydrant (Campbell) troubleshooting help.
In unheated barn.
Last night was coldest of year -20F, today's high was single digits and teens. The handle won't move beyond the first 1/4 swing "unlock" (Won't lift the internal rod) . Got a butane torch and heat handle. No go. Heated the bottom of pipe with torch, thought I got it, as I could hear gurgling. Pipe got too warm to the touch. But no water ever came and handle never freed?
1)Anybody ever have one freeze up?
2) How did you unfreeze it? How long would it take propane heat to travel down and unthaw? (Wife had hairdryer on it for 20-30 min, I put butane torch on it for 30+minutes, heard it gurgling for 15+ minutes. Was this not long enough?)
2) How did it freeze? If the valve was leaking by, wouldn't the water leak out the bottom drain? Do I have a ground saturation problem?
3) It's got to be frozen above the valve right? That's why the stem doesn't move?
4 I must of heard water boiling in the pipe right? I understand that water doesn't circulate down in a tube, but if it can boil water down below the flame level, wouldn't conductivity of pipe and stem at least melt the ice? I heard it for a good 15 minutes.
Background info:
Second winter using a Camwater hydrant in the non-heated barn. Never had one before. Last winter had really cold spells of below zero, everything worked fine. Only the wife and daughter use it.
This year when it first got cold (20's and 10's F. lows) wife says "the handle sticks". She goes back with the hair dyer, hits the handle for a "less than a minute" and it would free up and water would flow.
To me that meant somehow some residual water in the handle, maybe where the stem comes through to the handle, turned to ice. I don't think this is related to today's problem right?
A week ago (a quick 20's/10's F drop right after a wet 40/50's F. water-soaked spell) the handle won't move again, she says putting heat on handle doesn't work. I go down to the barn, about 15 seconds of hairdryer at the bottom of the pipe (floor penetration) gets water dripping.
I wrote it off as maybe the soil was so wet/saturated , the tube didn't drain and the quick temp drop froze it.
In unheated barn.
Last night was coldest of year -20F, today's high was single digits and teens. The handle won't move beyond the first 1/4 swing "unlock" (Won't lift the internal rod) . Got a butane torch and heat handle. No go. Heated the bottom of pipe with torch, thought I got it, as I could hear gurgling. Pipe got too warm to the touch. But no water ever came and handle never freed?
1)Anybody ever have one freeze up?
2) How did you unfreeze it? How long would it take propane heat to travel down and unthaw? (Wife had hairdryer on it for 20-30 min, I put butane torch on it for 30+minutes, heard it gurgling for 15+ minutes. Was this not long enough?)
2) How did it freeze? If the valve was leaking by, wouldn't the water leak out the bottom drain? Do I have a ground saturation problem?
3) It's got to be frozen above the valve right? That's why the stem doesn't move?
4 I must of heard water boiling in the pipe right? I understand that water doesn't circulate down in a tube, but if it can boil water down below the flame level, wouldn't conductivity of pipe and stem at least melt the ice? I heard it for a good 15 minutes.
Background info:
Second winter using a Camwater hydrant in the non-heated barn. Never had one before. Last winter had really cold spells of below zero, everything worked fine. Only the wife and daughter use it.
This year when it first got cold (20's and 10's F. lows) wife says "the handle sticks". She goes back with the hair dyer, hits the handle for a "less than a minute" and it would free up and water would flow.
To me that meant somehow some residual water in the handle, maybe where the stem comes through to the handle, turned to ice. I don't think this is related to today's problem right?
A week ago (a quick 20's/10's F drop right after a wet 40/50's F. water-soaked spell) the handle won't move again, she says putting heat on handle doesn't work. I go down to the barn, about 15 seconds of hairdryer at the bottom of the pipe (floor penetration) gets water dripping.
I wrote it off as maybe the soil was so wet/saturated , the tube didn't drain and the quick temp drop froze it.
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