Cracked galvanized pipe

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Willl

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Hello everyone,

I just got my watering system going for preparation for the season and unfortunately there is a crack in one of the galvanized pipe. Crack must've been formed by freezing water. The crack is about 2 feet above ground. This galvanized pipe is used for the hydrant so sense I live in a very cold region the galvanized pipe starts about 6" below ground and comes up vertically to about 4 feet above ground with a hydrant head screwed on top. There is really no way for me to remove a section and screw on another. You might recommend that I will have to cut the pipe at the location before the crack, use a die to rethread the pipe and then proceed with some more pipe. Is there anyway that I could cap the crack or do something else that would allow me to plug the crack with some aluminum solder etc. . It will have to hold pressure to about your common 60 psi. Thanks
 

Gardner

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Can't you dig down to the elbow or whatever, unscrew that joint and screw in a new length of pipe?
 

Willl

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elbow or whatever is probably around 6' to 7' below ground because of the frost line depth needed in my area. Would need a backhoe to do that and there goes all the grass in the area. You can see better what I am dealing with these pictures

I was hoping I could somehow bang this dent in and solder it with something that would hold. Thanks
 

Mikey

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A good welder might be able to grind off the galvanized surface, weld the crack, and use a cold-galvanize process to fix up the surface, but your original plan of cutting the pipe, cutting new threads, and using a coupling to attach a new section is probably the easiest. Next winter, drain the pipe.
 

WestcoastPlumber

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cut and re-thread.

When I plumbed in a state with a frost level, I used to install frost free hydrants.

the water is actually turned off at the bottom of the unit, far undergroung where it ties in.

expensive replacement with your depth, but it will be the last time you ever do it.

Or maybe welding could be a temporary fix.
 

Gary Swart

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Westcoast has given you the best advise. Cut and thread is the only way to repair this without digging up to whole thing and putting in a frost free. Welding would not be a good alternative.
 

Redwood

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Are you sure that the hydrant is not a frost proof hydrant? If it is I would replace the hydrant and make sure that it is bedded in gravel properly so you don't get a repeat of the freeze damage.
 

Willl

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It is a frost proof hydrant. I have been using this hydrant for many years and this is the only time this has happened. Perhaps it was used alot last season to really saturate the drain field and then was used late last season to cause drainage to go so slow that it had enough time to freeze on me. The drain field made for it must be mediocre though. For a solutions I am going try to cut down on usage of this hydrant and not use it late in the season.

I am considering renting a pipe cutter and a thread cutter (die). Would this be practical for me to do this. Plumbers are so hard to get out in my area. This web page gave me some good tips on how to do it. http://www.free-ed.net/sweethaven/BldgConst/Plumbing01/lessonmain.asp?iNum=fra0203 . What are your thoughts. Thanks:D
 

Furd

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Understand that you must first disassemble the lever mechanism from the pipe and withdraw the connecting link to the valve that is buried at the end of the pipe. Before you can do this you must turn off the water supply feeding this hydrant.

Then, and only then may you cut the pipe to remove the split section.

After cutting and rethreading the existing pipe you then need to cut a replacement pipe and thread it so that it will exactly the same length after reassembly as is the piece that you cut out. Any other length will affect the operation of the valve.

I strongly suspect that the riser pipe froze and split because this last winter you forgot to remove the hose from the hydrant whereas in previous winters you did remove the hose. The riser pipe will not self-drain unless it can draw air and that air comes in from the hose connection.
 

Mike Swearingen

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If it were me, I would investigate a little farther.
Remove the lever and pull the valve link out to get an idea how long it is.
The split pipe above ground may be screwed into a collar down at about that level, which may not be all that deep necessarily.
If you can unscrew the split part and just replace it, it will be a lot easier than cutting and threading old galvanized pipe.
Good Luck!
Mike
 

Herk

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Of course, the best repair for this is to replace the hydrant. That eliminates the hassle of trying to get the cut and threaded parts to wind up exactly fit to the shaft of the unit. If the end result is too short or too long, the valve won't work.

Additionally, I assume all codes today require an antisiphon protection, which can be added to an existing hydrant. This would protect even with a hose as long as the hydrant is turned off.
 
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