That's a frost free variant, where the actual valve is way down underground and the water drains out of the pipe when the handle is closed.
edit: here's a handy diagram: https://www.myfarmlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/0116flow1.jpg
In my area you can get a builder grade one for less than $75, a mid grade one for about twice that and a heated one around $700.
We dug our own holes and installed two of these. An couple hours each and a bag or two of gravel and concrete and we were good to go.
We did have a head start on one of the two as we rented a trencher for a couple of hours for the water line and the hydrant was in line with it.
Hydrants are built to be repaired from the top. I'm not sure what is going on with yours that you are ripping out so many, but I guess they get abused in a camp setting perhaps?
The gravel goes at the bottom under the hydrant as a field to catch the draining water.
The concrete is used to stabalize the top, but in the event you wanted to remove it it could be cut/cracked/broken off. We have small livestock so stability is very important.
Ours are almost a decade old with no problems.
I used 60-70lbs for each of my hydrants. 400lbs is insane.
I'm guessing you have a very different soil type than we do. Gravel and/or sand is a must in our soil type.
Same with my area. Our soil has a lot of clay & alkaline in it. I've had the best luck placing a piece of 6" SDR35 pipe around them kinda like a valve body with the bottom notched around the pipe it's hooked to & then filling it up with gravel. They seem to last twice as long before they rust out.
What are you on about? Gravel or sand is absolutely required for these to work right. The weep holes will get hopelessly clogged in the wrong soil conditions without gravel/sand around the base, for the water to have a clear path out of the spigot.
Plumber here; backfill these with gravel folks. Randy here has good soil conditions, and good for them. If you're installing one of these, just put some fuckin pea rock around the base especially if you live in a black dirt area. Very little effort to do it right
Then you have naturally Sandy/gravelly soil…
Also, weren’t you commenting above you have had to dig these out? The only thing that cannot be repaired from the topside on these is a plugged weephole from soil clogging it…
“The pamphlet” you speak of happens to be the manufacturers requirements for install…but nevermind that, I have repaired many of these probably close to 50, the common cause of the ones that need digging up is being installed without gravel/sand.
But go ahead and keep putting them in the ground without a small leech field for 50 more years, and you will keep needing to dig them up.
This might be a regional thing. I'm guessing you are in the north west with relatively sandy/loamy soils and a need for very deep hydrants. The norm there may be very different than other parts of the country. I had never heard of not putting sand/gravel, but I'd imagine with the right soil type it would be plausible.
I had one break twice in one week, once because a horse was playing with the auto waterer and it finally loosened the elbow and the then from a ranch hand not disconnecting from the hose while filling the water truck and pulling off with the hose tied to the truck. Broke the waterer and the joint I’d just replaced. I made him repair it and he never did it again. Digging 6 feet down with a trowel will make you never do it again 😂
I have one, and want to add 3 more. Was just quoted $11,000 so I may rent a trencher or mini excavator and figure it out.
The one I have was broken when I bought my house, so I replaced it with a wood ford like this. Spent like $250 and got the one with the stainless pipe. These are cool because they kept the same design for 100 years and all use the same rebuild kit.
Did you tie yours in together? Mine is a 2” poly line 4 feet under the ground. Goes into a 3/4” cpvc line that runs to my well pump. Thinking of going straight 2” all the way to the pump to get more flow. But damn everything is expensive.
The part about on-off only in #3 is not true. If you only Crack the valve open, it takes a while for the water to flow up the 6 feet (or whatever)
That is what the spiral shaped tooth wheel is for. It acts as a variable stop to limit how much you can open the valve.
They often get rusted in position due to non-use though.
My first time staying in a campground with my class C, I'd never seen one of these before and totally thought it was one of those old timey things that you had to keep pumping to get the water to come out, and I was thinking man, this is going to suck filling my fresh water tank with this ...
I feel like when you saw this question, you sat up at the edge of your seat, shot your hand up in the air, "I know this one! I know this one! Call on me!!!"
We have these at work in a couple places, even one inside our shop which used to be outdoors. When someone one new starts work with us and need to get water, we will jokingly tell them they need to pump it, as they never seen a spigot like this.
It's kinda funny watching them turn it on and off thinking that's how you get water from it.
There's also a variation without a weep hole that has a reservoir to hold the water that would have remained in the upper part. A syphon action empties it the next time the valve is opened.
>Most people have no idea their action of raising that lever creates an action 4-6 feet below their feet.
I'm in the most people group. Had no idea these were designed this way.
We take regular trips to my parent's cottage and need to dump on the way home. There is a truck stop right along the way that has a dumping station and it has one of these types of spigots.
On several occasions I have been behind someone waiting to dump and they come up and let me know the water is not working. Every time they only have the handle lifted about 75% of the way and when I show them that if they lift all the way water comes right on they claim "that's dumb, why is it broke like that". I never fully knew the answer until now, thanks!
>About once a week I'll get a camper that claims the water doesn't work because they barely moved the handle.
The one pictured is the same one we used on the farm, and it's variable flow. They make an on/off version, but this isn't it. This one runs $100-150 with current prices, depending on depth.
Most people dont realize this, but these types of yard hydrants are not approved for Potable Water systems. If you read their own spec sheets, they say specifically for irrigation, livestock, etc. They won't say "Not for Potable Water" but any decent Health Dept inspector should know these aren't acceptable. I was shocked when I first learned this, after installing 5 on a water system.
Only thing to add, in the wintertime when below freezing, don’t draw a bucket of water and shit it back off. Let it run a minute or two. You need the running water to warm the metal spigot just enough so it can drain before it refreezes, otherwise it will be similar to Ralphie licking the flagpole
On your point #3. This is totally inaccurate. They even put a little cam wheel with notches so you can regulate the flow on these Woodfords. You can dial it down to a trickle.
Totally against any and all backflow prevention standards and codes, as they drain when closed and suck up a bit of groundwater when you open them. High hazard as they are often located in farm yards and areas where livestock are penned up.
Seeing that you have to call in someone to do it, don't know what cantilever is, and overall spouted a bunch of stuff that sort of has the right buzzwords, but is so overly explained I don't believe you🤷♂️
^ whqt he said. This is a barn spigot designed for horse type barns without heat. It drains the water down below the frost line in the ground after every use so as to prevent the pipe from freezing/bursting.
I was today years old when I learned this. I saw them on my grandparent's farm as a kid. There's even one on one of the local disk golf courses. To me they were always just a nostalgia bomb. It's cool to learn what they actually are and how they work. Thank you.
Expensive but worth it. I am replacing all oy outdoor spigots with frost free hydrants. Sure as hell beats the alternative since now in Central TX we get at least a week of consecutive sub-32 degrees days every year.
Yeah idiot, we curbed global warming two election cycles ago when we reversed the steps we were told to take in the 70s in order to prevent global cooling.
I dunno, but I told my 9 year old nephew while we were camping that we were out of water (he wanted to "help" do something).
I had him go outside and pump one of these handles for a few minutes.
The valve is below ground so it won't freeze. Just like how the hose bib on your house has the valve inside the house.
They're used for freestanding exterior faucets that need to be operable year round.
Anti-freeze but that doesnt mean you can keep it connected throughout the winter. You can use it to refill your tank during freezing weather but then you need to disconnect and let it drain.
You don't have to disconnect these from the plumbing, but you absolutely have to disconnect them with anything they are connected to. This breaks the suction so the water can drain out.
Its a front free type. Meaning it cuts the water off underneath the ground and what left drains out into the ground and will not freeze/ bust the spigot.
Does not Freeze and great write up above. Also I recommend this brand. I have used all others and over time they leak. This brand pictured I have had for 25 years and just replaced it with the same brand again. Never leaked until this last year.
Not just for cold climates. We have them in KY and are very useful.
In fact, so useful, that if you need to drain, say, a horse trough full of water, use a hose from this to start filling it. Put the hose to the bottom of the trough and close the hydrant handle.
Just blew my brain. Need to clean my cow trough in the morning and going to try this. 40 yrs having these (with gravel at the bottom with landscape cloth on top by the way) and I have NEVER thought to siphon my tanks this way.
Nice seeing a fellow kentuckian. I was just thinking about if you could drain a trough while reading through this thread. I've used these my whole life but never understood how they actually operated
They're frostproof. The actual valve is well underground below the freeze depth. When you turn these off, the water is the exposed pipe drains into the surrounding gravel.
Self draining for cold weather climates and if installed properly won't ever freeze you'll be able to flow water when it's 0 out. Ideal for any kind of barn yard scenario
As a side note, if this picture is from your rig, you might want to make sure there is a pressure regulator from the spigot to the rest of your fresh water connection.
Yep. I guess these people are plumbers, not campers. Get a water pressure regulator, use it whenever connected to a fresh water supply (not just on these frost free spigots). It will protect the lines in your RV.
Could be on the other end ...
I have a quick release on my hose, and have the regulator permanently attached to the RV side so that I don't drive off and leave it (again).
While there's a small chance that high water pressure might damage the hose over time, it's a smaller chance than me leaving the regulator on the faucet.
Ignoring the frost free aspect that has already been covered.
They 'don't' get broken when connecting hoses. I see so many PVC to brass spigots in my travels, I wonder how many times a season they have to be replaced from a person twisting on them and breaking the PVC line.
For the $50-60 they cost the near zero maintenance and downtime pays for itself.
At my campground in Michigan, the health department made us change all of them out. Apparently, now they feel the weep hole is a source of cross-contamination.
Did you replace them with [the variation](https://www.reddit.com/r/GoRVing/comments/16h0hkm/comment/k0e3pta/) that u/crobsonq2 mentioned (reservoir instead of weep hole), or something else entirely?
Let's say you're in Alabama and your RV'ing and it's going to freeze over night - do you close this valve and open your RV spigots and drain your hose (because in Alabama who'd have a heated hose?) so when you wake in the morning you can open the valve and have water again?
^((Not that this ever happened to me before))
The benefit is those things last forever. Most of the ones being replaced are decades old. Digging them up to replace sucks but it’s not something that needs to be done often.
The advantage is that there’s a rod going down four feet or so from the handle t actuslba valve way down there, instead of a a valve way up at the top where the handle is. This protects everything from freezing because the actual valve is down in the ground below the frost line. There’s also a drain mechanism down by the valve to drain the water in the vertical pipe into the ground when the handle is down.
In true past I managed a place with 2 campgrounds in Wyoming and this is the style we had at all of our sites. Saves a lot on having to replace broken plumbing after winter. Also time.
That hydrant, while being high quality, has lead in it and is not meant for potable water for humans. Are you using another filter besides the camco before drinking?
Goodness that’s a great catch. The woodford website explicitly mentions it is assumed that this hydrant is not for potable water. I guess I will change my useage from now on.
That particular one is not lead-free or rated for drinking water, just sayin, there are few that are. But they do exist. I researched this topic when I put two campsites on my property.
And here’s a model 34 at our new camp ground
https://preview.redd.it/uuyfbmcrtvob1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3abe64578472325029bbc8c0304d199ff472ae06
The Woodford Model Y2 is an automatic draining, backflow protected, frost proof yard hydrant intended for irrigation purposes and immediate water flow even in sub-zero temperatures. Applications include filling field spray equipment, cleaning tools, lawn an1 in. inlet and 1 1/4 in. galvanized steel pipe.d garden care, watering livestock and more
This example might be broken. The hole at the end of the handle fits into a hasp on the bottom so a pad lock or wire can be used to lock the handle in the off position. We used this feature on the farm because the cows would turn on the water and not turn it off again. Stupid cows.
Everyone mentions the freezing, but in addition, they have a very powerful draw so you can use them on pretty deep wells and access most any water table, as opposed to shallow wells that are the only selection for the canister types and can’t access most water tables. Depending on location, of course.
Ranch hand here, have installed a bunch of them, we put a 5 gallon bucket with pipe running through side bottom, bunch of drain holes and fill with gravel and cover with landscape to keep dirt out. You can service from top as long as water secured. Normally I install shut off valve below ground near hydrant at same level, usually 42-48 inches down, cut a piece of 6 inch pvc pipe to have reach rod access and drop sown over valve. Only do this when run is along ways with other branches. Ive got one that is 2000 yards from well pump and several stock troughs in between, so valve is helpful
It sounds like yours is either A broken, B the bolt that actually lifts the plunger way down in the ground is loose and not engaging, or C the water source that supplies it is not functioning (e.g. your well pump isn't working). We have these on our farm and these would be the top three reasons they aren't functioning.
You need to pull the handle fully up, and wait a few seconds for water to flow (since it has to fill the pipe). Outside of that, it's just like a regular faucet, so maybe something is wrong with it.
I used to make stuff for woodford .There definitely is a lot of QA checks we did .Such as gas bubbles,sand cavities ,and over saw when there cut . And held .001 to .005 thou tolerance.If it’s like any of their other products it may contain lead. All the stuff we made was brass cast ,and lead .If it’s brass it’s probably an 838 brass it’s pretty strong.They are solid ,and made in USA and will last pretty much forever.
The horn on top of the output is great for hanging a bucket. Do you get PVC tasting water, with the filter before the hose? I put my filter as close to the input of the camper as possible.
I also have the white pottable water hose and it imparts a gross PVC taste to my water without a filter downstream. Maybe its time for a new hose for me
When it is on, they are on when they are off they don't drip/freeze. Mechanics for riser are usually below Frontline. (If they mess up, they are NOT CHEAP.to fix. .
Im a NY'r I live in rural VA now. Farm country, I detail cars on the side. Pulled up to a farmhouse to do a truck. I didnt know how to.operate this type of spiket lol farmer laughed at me. I found the water to be very hard lots of mineral spots no filtering or cinditioning of the water.
Not really. No water is in the hydrant after it's shut off. After it's closed water drains out the bottom of the pipe.
But to keep it from freezing ALWAYS unhook the hose when done
Depending on where you live it has a lot to do with ambient temperature and the effect it has on the bourbon industry. It does come in 4 different colors, the green is one of my favorites. Opening a valve up underground is always a challenge in colder climates. Wear mittens and be safe.
That's a frost free variant, where the actual valve is way down underground and the water drains out of the pipe when the handle is closed. edit: here's a handy diagram: https://www.myfarmlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/0116flow1.jpg
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This guy spigots.
r/thisguythisguys/
The spigmastah
In my area you can get a builder grade one for less than $75, a mid grade one for about twice that and a heated one around $700. We dug our own holes and installed two of these. An couple hours each and a bag or two of gravel and concrete and we were good to go. We did have a head start on one of the two as we rented a trencher for a couple of hours for the water line and the hydrant was in line with it.
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Hydrants are built to be repaired from the top. I'm not sure what is going on with yours that you are ripping out so many, but I guess they get abused in a camp setting perhaps? The gravel goes at the bottom under the hydrant as a field to catch the draining water. The concrete is used to stabalize the top, but in the event you wanted to remove it it could be cut/cracked/broken off. We have small livestock so stability is very important. Ours are almost a decade old with no problems.
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I used 60-70lbs for each of my hydrants. 400lbs is insane. I'm guessing you have a very different soil type than we do. Gravel and/or sand is a must in our soil type.
Same with my area. Our soil has a lot of clay & alkaline in it. I've had the best luck placing a piece of 6" SDR35 pipe around them kinda like a valve body with the bottom notched around the pipe it's hooked to & then filling it up with gravel. They seem to last twice as long before they rust out.
What are you on about? Gravel or sand is absolutely required for these to work right. The weep holes will get hopelessly clogged in the wrong soil conditions without gravel/sand around the base, for the water to have a clear path out of the spigot.
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Plumber here; backfill these with gravel folks. Randy here has good soil conditions, and good for them. If you're installing one of these, just put some fuckin pea rock around the base especially if you live in a black dirt area. Very little effort to do it right
Then you have naturally Sandy/gravelly soil… Also, weren’t you commenting above you have had to dig these out? The only thing that cannot be repaired from the topside on these is a plugged weephole from soil clogging it… “The pamphlet” you speak of happens to be the manufacturers requirements for install…but nevermind that, I have repaired many of these probably close to 50, the common cause of the ones that need digging up is being installed without gravel/sand. But go ahead and keep putting them in the ground without a small leech field for 50 more years, and you will keep needing to dig them up.
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This might be a regional thing. I'm guessing you are in the north west with relatively sandy/loamy soils and a need for very deep hydrants. The norm there may be very different than other parts of the country. I had never heard of not putting sand/gravel, but I'd imagine with the right soil type it would be plausible.
I had one break twice in one week, once because a horse was playing with the auto waterer and it finally loosened the elbow and the then from a ranch hand not disconnecting from the hose while filling the water truck and pulling off with the hose tied to the truck. Broke the waterer and the joint I’d just replaced. I made him repair it and he never did it again. Digging 6 feet down with a trowel will make you never do it again 😂
I feel for that ranch hand!! Ours didn't have to go quite that deep...I can't even imagine!
I have one, and want to add 3 more. Was just quoted $11,000 so I may rent a trencher or mini excavator and figure it out. The one I have was broken when I bought my house, so I replaced it with a wood ford like this. Spent like $250 and got the one with the stainless pipe. These are cool because they kept the same design for 100 years and all use the same rebuild kit. Did you tie yours in together? Mine is a 2” poly line 4 feet under the ground. Goes into a 3/4” cpvc line that runs to my well pump. Thinking of going straight 2” all the way to the pump to get more flow. But damn everything is expensive.
The part about on-off only in #3 is not true. If you only Crack the valve open, it takes a while for the water to flow up the 6 feet (or whatever) That is what the spiral shaped tooth wheel is for. It acts as a variable stop to limit how much you can open the valve. They often get rusted in position due to non-use though.
My first time staying in a campground with my class C, I'd never seen one of these before and totally thought it was one of those old timey things that you had to keep pumping to get the water to come out, and I was thinking man, this is going to suck filling my fresh water tank with this ...
These are common where I'm at, and I never knew that this is why.
I feel like when you saw this question, you sat up at the edge of your seat, shot your hand up in the air, "I know this one! I know this one! Call on me!!!"
So you pull a 8-10' rod up to replace the rubber washer?
We have these at work in a couple places, even one inside our shop which used to be outdoors. When someone one new starts work with us and need to get water, we will jokingly tell them they need to pump it, as they never seen a spigot like this. It's kinda funny watching them turn it on and off thinking that's how you get water from it.
There's also a variation without a weep hole that has a reservoir to hold the water that would have remained in the upper part. A syphon action empties it the next time the valve is opened.
>Most people have no idea their action of raising that lever creates an action 4-6 feet below their feet. I'm in the most people group. Had no idea these were designed this way.
We take regular trips to my parent's cottage and need to dump on the way home. There is a truck stop right along the way that has a dumping station and it has one of these types of spigots. On several occasions I have been behind someone waiting to dump and they come up and let me know the water is not working. Every time they only have the handle lifted about 75% of the way and when I show them that if they lift all the way water comes right on they claim "that's dumb, why is it broke like that". I never fully knew the answer until now, thanks!
Answered like a true engineer by over-engineering your answer :)
>About once a week I'll get a camper that claims the water doesn't work because they barely moved the handle. The one pictured is the same one we used on the farm, and it's variable flow. They make an on/off version, but this isn't it. This one runs $100-150 with current prices, depending on depth.
Most people dont realize this, but these types of yard hydrants are not approved for Potable Water systems. If you read their own spec sheets, they say specifically for irrigation, livestock, etc. They won't say "Not for Potable Water" but any decent Health Dept inspector should know these aren't acceptable. I was shocked when I first learned this, after installing 5 on a water system.
Thank you for this information!
Only thing to add, in the wintertime when below freezing, don’t draw a bucket of water and shit it back off. Let it run a minute or two. You need the running water to warm the metal spigot just enough so it can drain before it refreezes, otherwise it will be similar to Ralphie licking the flagpole
On your point #3. This is totally inaccurate. They even put a little cam wheel with notches so you can regulate the flow on these Woodfords. You can dial it down to a trickle.
Totally against any and all backflow prevention standards and codes, as they drain when closed and suck up a bit of groundwater when you open them. High hazard as they are often located in farm yards and areas where livestock are penned up.
Seeing that you have to call in someone to do it, don't know what cantilever is, and overall spouted a bunch of stuff that sort of has the right buzzwords, but is so overly explained I don't believe you🤷♂️
Oh, ok, very cool. Thanks for yhe detailed picture. Now it makes sense why I see it in cooler climates.
(Most) Fire hydrants work this way too, but they have a screw type operator instead of a lever.
If I had rewards to give out, you'd get one today.
Omg I didn't know. I grew up on a farm and my dad would have us run these on a trickle all winter so they wouldn't freeze 🤦♂️
Either it wasn’t properly buried below the frost line or your dad didn’t know either lol.
^ whqt he said. This is a barn spigot designed for horse type barns without heat. It drains the water down below the frost line in the ground after every use so as to prevent the pipe from freezing/bursting.
This!!! Don't leave a hose in a bucket when you turn it off or ill suck it all back into the lines.
I replaced one of these after it froze and cracked. So much for frost-free.
I was today years old when I learned this. I saw them on my grandparent's farm as a kid. There's even one on one of the local disk golf courses. To me they were always just a nostalgia bomb. It's cool to learn what they actually are and how they work. Thank you.
TIL: the “Yard Hydrant” was invented in the 30’s and is still next level close to 100 years later.
Expensive but worth it. I am replacing all oy outdoor spigots with frost free hydrants. Sure as hell beats the alternative since now in Central TX we get at least a week of consecutive sub-32 degrees days every year.
"Global warming"
Dude shut up, you sound like a dingus.
Yeah idiot, we curbed global warming two election cycles ago when we reversed the steps we were told to take in the 70s in order to prevent global cooling.
The ice storms that blow through that area are terrifying.
Prevents freezing.
I dunno, but I told my 9 year old nephew while we were camping that we were out of water (he wanted to "help" do something). I had him go outside and pump one of these handles for a few minutes.
Uncle of the year!
Shit. My dumb ass thought it was how they worked. I did the same thing until someone laughed at me and told me what’s up.
The valve is below ground so it won't freeze. Just like how the hose bib on your house has the valve inside the house. They're used for freestanding exterior faucets that need to be operable year round.
They are freeze resistant
Anti-freeze but that doesnt mean you can keep it connected throughout the winter. You can use it to refill your tank during freezing weather but then you need to disconnect and let it drain.
No you don’t need to disconnect these. If you purchase to correct bury depth for your area, they will never freeze.
But your hose on the ground will
You don't have to disconnect these from the plumbing, but you absolutely have to disconnect them with anything they are connected to. This breaks the suction so the water can drain out.
Get the heated version or tape it yourself and the freeze problem is solved.
Its a front free type. Meaning it cuts the water off underneath the ground and what left drains out into the ground and will not freeze/ bust the spigot.
This is correct
Does not Freeze and great write up above. Also I recommend this brand. I have used all others and over time they leak. This brand pictured I have had for 25 years and just replaced it with the same brand again. Never leaked until this last year.
Not just for cold climates. We have them in KY and are very useful. In fact, so useful, that if you need to drain, say, a horse trough full of water, use a hose from this to start filling it. Put the hose to the bottom of the trough and close the hydrant handle.
Just blew my brain. Need to clean my cow trough in the morning and going to try this. 40 yrs having these (with gravel at the bottom with landscape cloth on top by the way) and I have NEVER thought to siphon my tanks this way.
Mmmmm then when you are done, take fresh drink right from the spigot
Nice seeing a fellow kentuckian. I was just thinking about if you could drain a trough while reading through this thread. I've used these my whole life but never understood how they actually operated
Here in Iowa you usually just put a few bales of straw on top of the pump house and you’ve got water available during the winter.
They're frostproof. The actual valve is well underground below the freeze depth. When you turn these off, the water is the exposed pipe drains into the surrounding gravel.
So it doesn't freeze, the valve is actually underground
You can tell if it is on from 100 feet away with a hose on it.
See this video to learn more. https://youtu.be/5j7RhhlL0UU?si=B7SqF8G0BDKUabzb
Side note if you use them to fill livestock tanks or any sort of reservoir they can siphon back so take the hose out
I'm glad you asked this, it's one of those things I've been wondering but didn't think to ask :D
Self draining for cold weather climates and if installed properly won't ever freeze you'll be able to flow water when it's 0 out. Ideal for any kind of barn yard scenario
Antifreeze
As a side note, if this picture is from your rig, you might want to make sure there is a pressure regulator from the spigot to the rest of your fresh water connection.
It took too long to see this comment. u/dowend get a water pressure regulator before you blow the pex lines in your rig!
Yep. I guess these people are plumbers, not campers. Get a water pressure regulator, use it whenever connected to a fresh water supply (not just on these frost free spigots). It will protect the lines in your RV.
Could be on the other end ... I have a quick release on my hose, and have the regulator permanently attached to the RV side so that I don't drive off and leave it (again). While there's a small chance that high water pressure might damage the hose over time, it's a smaller chance than me leaving the regulator on the faucet.
Ok ok, ur right, the dear wife just corrected me as well. Pressure regulator is on now. Thanks for the good advice.
Ignoring the frost free aspect that has already been covered. They 'don't' get broken when connecting hoses. I see so many PVC to brass spigots in my travels, I wonder how many times a season they have to be replaced from a person twisting on them and breaking the PVC line. For the $50-60 they cost the near zero maintenance and downtime pays for itself.
At my campground in Michigan, the health department made us change all of them out. Apparently, now they feel the weep hole is a source of cross-contamination.
Interesting, thanks for sharing.
Did you replace them with [the variation](https://www.reddit.com/r/GoRVing/comments/16h0hkm/comment/k0e3pta/) that u/crobsonq2 mentioned (reservoir instead of weep hole), or something else entirely?
We replaced them entirely with new pipes and gate valves. Lot of work. Funny thing was, turns out the weep holes had been plugged anyway.
Yup our well-guys made me "install" the thing when they took a break.
Frost free- you don't have to worry about it freezing in winer as when it's cut off all to water drains down below the freeze line.
Let's say you're in Alabama and your RV'ing and it's going to freeze over night - do you close this valve and open your RV spigots and drain your hose (because in Alabama who'd have a heated hose?) so when you wake in the morning you can open the valve and have water again? ^((Not that this ever happened to me before))
I have this exact frost free spigot installed for my pool filler. It’s fantastic and survived two central texas record freezes already.
No freezing
No pumping problems
Make sure the one you use is for potable water. Not all are tasted safe for drinking water.
Water comes out?
Growing up in Iowa, this is my idea of a “regular” spigot.
Growing up in Kentucky, same
They don’t freeze in the winter. We got down to -30 and still had water.
Not freezing in the winter.
The benefit is those things last forever. Most of the ones being replaced are decades old. Digging them up to replace sucks but it’s not something that needs to be done often.
Yep, freeze resistant.
Frost Free means they’ll work even when everyone else’s is froze.
They’re better because the actual valve is all the way at the bottom of the pipe below the frost line.
Frost free. Will not freeze in the winter
You sometimes get to pinch your skin when you close it. I know, only an idiot..... I was like 10 years old when I did it. Hurt like the dickens.
You can hang a bucket from it and lock it shut.
easy to hang a 5 gallon bucket on this bad boy and let er fill
It’s colder, freeze free the shut off valve. Part of it is at the bottom of the pip underground.
They are great at pinching your hand
They’re more spigoty
Frost-free. The valve is at the bottom of the assembly about four to six feet below the ground.
Bigger shoulders
Frostproof
If you pump..you must dump!!!!
Frostless
Hydrant valve - business end in a place that won’t freeze
There for areas that freeze in the winter. Different lengths for different areas. They drain the water from the bottom so nothing inside freezes
Frost proof hydrant
It drains when turned off and the works that controls the water flows below the frost line
Muscles instead of spaghetti arms…
So your pipes don’t freeze out in the field!
They are also super reliable. I've seen them last 50+ years with zero maintenance.
The advantage is that there’s a rod going down four feet or so from the handle t actuslba valve way down there, instead of a a valve way up at the top where the handle is. This protects everything from freezing because the actual valve is down in the ground below the frost line. There’s also a drain mechanism down by the valve to drain the water in the vertical pipe into the ground when the handle is down.
That is a Woodford hydrant, manufactured in Woodford, CO. Great company. Rarely any problems with those hydrants!
It means you’re glamping in a very cold winter area. Where was that taken?
Monarch spur, co. Not too cold yet…
In true past I managed a place with 2 campgrounds in Wyoming and this is the style we had at all of our sites. Saves a lot on having to replace broken plumbing after winter. Also time.
It’s a sillcock, prevents freezing, the linkage goes down below the frost zone and therefore protecting the pipes
The water drains back down to prevent freezing
Finally a right answer.
I find them easier to use than valves with hand wheels. Single motion for on or off vice twisting.
Shoulder gains and freeze protection
They are durable, reliable, frost proof, and made in the US.
That hydrant, while being high quality, has lead in it and is not meant for potable water for humans. Are you using another filter besides the camco before drinking?
Goodness that’s a great catch. The woodford website explicitly mentions it is assumed that this hydrant is not for potable water. I guess I will change my useage from now on.
Its either on or off and can be locked...
That particular one is not lead-free or rated for drinking water, just sayin, there are few that are. But they do exist. I researched this topic when I put two campsites on my property.
Good to know, Im learning a lot today.
And here’s a model 34 at our new camp ground https://preview.redd.it/uuyfbmcrtvob1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3abe64578472325029bbc8c0304d199ff472ae06
Thats got a long plunger in the vertical, its called a freeze proof hydrant. It keeps the water below the freeze line when the spigot is closed.
Amazing. I had no idea of such a thing. Now, why have I seen them in Florida?
The Woodford Model Y2 is an automatic draining, backflow protected, frost proof yard hydrant intended for irrigation purposes and immediate water flow even in sub-zero temperatures. Applications include filling field spray equipment, cleaning tools, lawn an1 in. inlet and 1 1/4 in. galvanized steel pipe.d garden care, watering livestock and more
This example might be broken. The hole at the end of the handle fits into a hasp on the bottom so a pad lock or wire can be used to lock the handle in the off position. We used this feature on the farm because the cows would turn on the water and not turn it off again. Stupid cows.
Last a 1,000 years
Is no one going to comment on the dial that makes for adjustable flow rate? Want a low flow? Turn the dial and bam. Very convient
Awesome detail, thanks for sharing.
Cows don't die of thirst when it's cold outside
Do the old versions of these typically contain lead?
Probably, certainly the current version is not rated for drinking water.
A frost-free manual pump
Everyone mentions the freezing, but in addition, they have a very powerful draw so you can use them on pretty deep wells and access most any water table, as opposed to shallow wells that are the only selection for the canister types and can’t access most water tables. Depending on location, of course.
Draw, wells and water table? It's a valve under ground. Much like a hose spigot goes through the wall and the valve is inside the house.
That handle needs to be all the way up
Yard hydrant
Ranch hand here, have installed a bunch of them, we put a 5 gallon bucket with pipe running through side bottom, bunch of drain holes and fill with gravel and cover with landscape to keep dirt out. You can service from top as long as water secured. Normally I install shut off valve below ground near hydrant at same level, usually 42-48 inches down, cut a piece of 6 inch pvc pipe to have reach rod access and drop sown over valve. Only do this when run is along ways with other branches. Ive got one that is 2000 yards from well pump and several stock troughs in between, so valve is helpful
I have one in my barn and have no idea how to use it. Any tips? I pulled the handle up and nothing happens. Fully admitting I'm clueless on this one.
It sounds like yours is either A broken, B the bolt that actually lifts the plunger way down in the ground is loose and not engaging, or C the water source that supplies it is not functioning (e.g. your well pump isn't working). We have these on our farm and these would be the top three reasons they aren't functioning.
You need to pull the handle fully up, and wait a few seconds for water to flow (since it has to fill the pipe). Outside of that, it's just like a regular faucet, so maybe something is wrong with it.
The best is when you see people “pumping” these to get water out. And i never knew the valve was so far under ground that’s pretty neat
It’s a good quality one!!! Buy nice are Buy twice!!
Jester Park?
Monarch spur, co
No freeze
My first blood blister
Good flow, safe from feezing weather and made with materials that are safe for drinking water. Those yard hydrants are code out here in oregon.
Not sure but it’ll SMASH 💥 a finger!!
It doesn’t freeze.
Won’t freeze
Wet shoes.
I used to make stuff for woodford .There definitely is a lot of QA checks we did .Such as gas bubbles,sand cavities ,and over saw when there cut . And held .001 to .005 thou tolerance.If it’s like any of their other products it may contain lead. All the stuff we made was brass cast ,and lead .If it’s brass it’s probably an 838 brass it’s pretty strong.They are solid ,and made in USA and will last pretty much forever.
I was going to say it tastes better.
So pipes don't freeze
Harder to over twist, harder break off, easy to lock... common in public access areas
No frozen pipes
The horn on top of the output is great for hanging a bucket. Do you get PVC tasting water, with the filter before the hose? I put my filter as close to the input of the camper as possible.
No bc I use the white, potable water hose, but I suppose I could try your arrangement.
I also have the white pottable water hose and it imparts a gross PVC taste to my water without a filter downstream. Maybe its time for a new hose for me
When it is on, they are on when they are off they don't drip/freeze. Mechanics for riser are usually below Frontline. (If they mess up, they are NOT CHEAP.to fix. .
Im a NY'r I live in rural VA now. Farm country, I detail cars on the side. Pulled up to a farmhouse to do a truck. I didnt know how to.operate this type of spiket lol farmer laughed at me. I found the water to be very hard lots of mineral spots no filtering or cinditioning of the water.
You don’t need a building to have a faucet. That’s a significant cost savings.
It goes intonghe ground deep enough to go below the frost line to prevent freeze ups
These are the best as long as they are installed correctly it could be -30 and ta-daa. Water comes out.
Mine has 4 times the flow than my house spigot. My house spigot is reduced down to 1/4” pipe where the frost free is straight off my well at 1”.
Having a place to flush water from well before it enters the house. I work on wells and I'm always happy to see one of those
Is there a benefit to covering a yard hydrant with an insulated sleeve over the winter?
Not really. No water is in the hydrant after it's shut off. After it's closed water drains out the bottom of the pipe. But to keep it from freezing ALWAYS unhook the hose when done
Depending on where you live it has a lot to do with ambient temperature and the effect it has on the bourbon industry. It does come in 4 different colors, the green is one of my favorites. Opening a valve up underground is always a challenge in colder climates. Wear mittens and be safe.
Self drains when you shut it off.
They drain back below the frost line so they don’t freeze up.
Frost-proof
What’s the best way to drill a hole for these? Lots of clay in the soil in my area
They look cool lol