Posted: 2/20/2015 11:44:25 PM EDT
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I have an exterior hydrant for watering my horses and havent had any problems with it freezing all year.
Now, with the sudden drop in temps, its frozen and I cant get the handle to move up. I asked a friend of mine and he thinks its frozen into the ground. Any advice on how to unfuck this shitty situation? Dont really relish the idea of carrying 5 gallon buckets of water from the house when the hydrant is right freaking there!! 
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Heat gun. Barring that, boil up a big pot of water and slowly pour it over the frozen part, then, once it's unfroze, hose it down with WD-40. Horses like to drink WD-40? http://smile.amazon.com/M-D-Building-Products-64444-Thermostat/dp/B0006VALDE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1424490438&sr=8-2&keywords=pipe+heat+tape |
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get some heat tape, there many different kinds but here is an example, assuming you have power within reach of an exstension cord. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-12-ft-Water-Pipe-Heat-Cable-HC12A/100032792 wrap it around the pipe, plug it in, problem solved. |
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Do they drink from the handle/piston? Quoted:
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Heat gun. Barring that, boil up a big pot of water and slowly pour it over the frozen part, then, once it's unfroze, hose it down with WD-40. Horses like to drink WD-40? Do they drink from the handle/piston? The water in the pipe above ground is most likely frozen. See heat tape above. |
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Quoted: I have heat tape wrapped around it, but the handle wont budge beyond sticking straight out.The heat tape is making the sumbitch nice and toasty though  |
| If this is a deep, self draining hydrant, it didn't drain. Either a hose was left attached or the drain is plugged. Pour boiling water over it, slowly. Forcing it to move will just fuck things up inside. It may take a while to thaw the ice at and below water level. Once it is running, maybe leave it drip? |
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I have heat tape wrapped around it, but the handle wont budge beyond sticking straight out.The heat tape is making the sumbitch nice and toasty though Put a temporary frame around it and cover it up with a tarp. Then use a salamander heater overnight inside the taped in area with the hydrant. If it is an actual fire hydrant take a cover off and stuff a heat gun in there. Pump out water as it melts in either case. |
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The plunger is Down toward the bottom. It's froze down there too. Make sure it drains properly after you get it working. Was it installed in gravel so the drain functions properly? Quoted:
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I have heat tape wrapped around it, but the handle wont budge beyond sticking straight out.The heat tape is making the sumbitch nice and toasty though Don't know if it was installed properly. It came with the house. Knowing the people I bought it from, not likely but there's fuck all I can do about that in the middle of winter |
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Quoted: If this is a deep, self draining hydrant, it didn't drain. Either a hose was left attached or the drain is plugged. Pour boiling water over it, slowly. Forcing it to move will just fuck things up inside. It may take a while to thaw the ice at and below water level. Once it is running, maybe leave it drip? |
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Heat gun. Barring that, boil up a big pot of water and slowly pour it over the frozen part, then, once it's unfroze, hose it down with WD-40. Now you do know hot water freezes faster than cold water! I am not sure if that is a good idea! Fire or heat gun! http://www.iflscience.com/chemistry/hot-water-freezes-faster-cold-and-now-we-know-why |
| Did you leave a hose attached? Do you use it every day? Do you have good percolation in your soil? They are 8' long, so you should have just 4' sticking out of the ground. You mention the handle sticking straight out--that could mean you left the water in the standing tube. You need to turn it all the way off every time, as that is what allows the standing column to drain into the pit. |
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If you have stock, I'm surprised you don't already have one of these. Hardware store, amazon, tractor supply even wallmart used to carry them. http://www.amazon.com/Red-Dragon-VT-2-23-000-BTU/dp/B00004Z2FP/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JWV7BZXWDDTQA8ASQQ5 |
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Quoted: If this is a deep, self draining hydrant, it didn't drain. Either a hose was left attached or the drain is plugged. Pour boiling water over it, slowly. Forcing it to move will just fuck things up inside. It may take a while to thaw the ice at and below water level. Once it is running, maybe leave it drip? This bears repeating. |