Dry Hydrant maintenance

[grumpyff 1,159]

I spent a good portion of today going around my response area to locate and test the dry hydrants we have. Some of the hydrants were full of mud/silt, and required us to backflush them utilizing our tank water, and a 5 inch hose into the hydrant. We created several nice geysers of mud and water. Some of the hydrants have not been used in years, we got most to work anyway. Some are in need of repair...seams need to be recaulked, or cracked PVC pipe needs to be replaced. Of the hydrants we got to flow water, we made sure we flowed the water for a minimum of twenty five minutes with the deluge gun sending the water back into the lake/pond it came from. My question is how often do other departments with dry hydrants test them? I know who is responsible to maintain them is depends the situation, some were installed by the department, others installled by home owners/condo associations.

[Dondestro 9]

Flushing the hydrants is a great thing to do on a normal basis. its my understanding that if the dry hydrant was installed on private property such as a condo it would be the association for the condo complex who would have to fix it and/or maintain it.as goes with tanks. if the hydrant was installed by a homeowner (and was required to be there by the town) they must maintain it. if a contractor is required to put a tank in for a devolpment they must make sure it is in working order. if the hydrant was installed by the town and is not on private property the town must maintain. whenever using a dry hydrant make sure you backflush before you pull prime!!!! it dosen't hurt!

In my department we depend on them because its all we have for the most part. we even hire people to dive in the ponds we have hydrants at to clean around the strainers to prevent possible problems.

*also another good thing is make sure , all the driver KNOW where they are just incase they need them! mark them on a map and keep it in the truck......also maybe on the same map mark where house with pools are... just in case there is a major problem and ou need water fast, you can alwasy though a protable pump and a couple lines and you have quick water!

Edited July 15, 2008 by Dondestro

[fireman3484 1]

i believe ISO requires them to be maintained semi annually. Our department takes care of the ones we have no matter who has installed it. this way, we can assure it is done to our standards and in a timely fashion. They are a great resource to have as long as they are installed correctly and maintained on a regular basis. We ran into a situation where one was installed by the "state engineers" and it was a complete disaster. we had to put it out of service and take it out of the ground. We now have a set of plans for people to follow if they propose a dry hydrant so they are all the same.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

I would also recommend taking note of the specifications of each hydrant as well. If there are ones that have cracked PVC and needs to be replaced, take the time to have any tha have 90 degree elbows and have them changed to 45 degree pieces. This will increase the GPM's you can get through it.

[Dondestro 9]

I agree with the past two posts....the only problem is in a vol. dept money can be an issue when it comes to maintance. We have a "Water commite" where they are in charge of making sure the upkeep and maintance are done. They let us know when a repair or new one is installed and we go out and check to make sure it is working properly. if we have to maintain all the tanks and dry hydrants we have in our town that are on private property we would be broke!!!!haha or be spending a good amount of money. we would be happy to fill the tanks and or test them anytime but when new developments come in it is the builders responsibility for everything including filling the tank, but we help with anything we can.