Yard Hydrants are a great product used for getting water to different areas. In this Webinar below, Will Bender (Boshart’s QA Analyst) talks in-depth about what these products are, where they are used, some features and benefits to look out for, and some key installation tips.
Transcript
Hello and welcome everybody to our webinar on yard hydrants. We’re happy you decided to join us.
My name is Will Bender. I am the Quality Assurance Analyst here at Boshart Industries & backing me up, I have Paul Erb, who is the Research & Development Manager.
Feel free during the presentation to type out any questions that you have. We will do our best to answer all questions after the presentation.
If you want to type out a question, you should see a side bar on the right hand side of your screen.
If you click on the top button, which looks like an arrow in a box, it will open up a little menu with a question box in which you can type your questions and we will be able to see them.
Please note the slide number if you’re referencing a specific slide. The numbers will be displayed on the bottom right of the slide.
Overview
In this presentation we’ll educate you on what a yard hydrant is, how they work, typical installation, and some features we offer in our yard hydrants.
Boshart’s offers a standard import line that is comparable with most competitive units on the market as well as a premium hydrant. This webinar if focused on the premium series.
In order to differentiate between the two series, look for the unique markings that can identify the hydrant models.
All Boshart premium hydrants have the Boshart “BII” logo cast directly into the head.
The defining feature of the standard series is the water droplet on either side of the head.
What exactly is a yard hydrant?
Yard hydrants are frost free. This means that they can still be operated in the winter when the temperature is below freezing, but there is no risk of freezing in the hydrant or in the service line which would cause damage.
Yard hydrants are just valves at a basic glance. They have a handle that operates the flow of water coming in and out of the hydrant.
They are extremely popular for watering livestock, for outdoor hosing, and for gardening; all at a distance from the main water supply or the house.
But how does a yard hydrant prevent freezing in below freezing temperatures?
When the hydrant handle is opened, the connecting rod raises the plunger off of the valve seat.
The raised plunger closes off the drain port and allows water to flow through the valve port, past the plunger.
The water then flows through flow channels up the stand pipe, and finally out the discharge spout.
When the hydrant handle is closed, the connecting rod lowers the plunger against the valve seat. This stops the water flow from the service line below the frost line where freezing does not occur.
As the plunger is lowered against the valve seat, it opens the drain port and allows the water in the standpipe to drain back down and out of the drain port into the crushed stone drain bed.
For proper draining to occur, air must be able enter in through the spout. Attaching a hose or some other device to the spout can prevent air from getting in and therefore stopping the draining process.
For this reason, a hose should never be left attached when freezing temperatures could occur.
The time it takes to fully drain the standpipe is approximately 45 to 60 seconds for a 4 foot bury hydrant. Depending on the bury depth and the quality of the drain bed prepared, the drain time could take more or less time.
When the standpipe is fully drained only a very small volume off water remains in the valve body as shown by the arrow. All of which is below the frost line where there is not risk of freezing.
All the water above the drain port opening is discharged into the crushed stone drain bed.
Here at Boshart Industries, we offer several benefits and features that create an easy to use hydrant.
Benefits & Features
Each premium hydrant valve body is threaded onto a standpipe using a custom-made power torque wrench to ensure proper torque with precise alignment of the drain port on each and every hydrant.
The hydrants are factory set so they will not need to be adjusted before installing them.
The yard hydrant valve bodies allow full flow from the service line passed the plunger and friction loss is minimized because of a sweeping bend design in the head.
Our models with a ¾” discharge spout have a higher flow rate than some 1” high flow models on the market.
This graph shows the results of flow rate testing done on each of Boshart’s yard hydrant series. You will notice that at 60 psi, every one of our yard hydrants will achieve more than 40 GPM.
Some industrial washdown applications require operation at 70 to 80 psi and all of the Boshart models can reach an excess of 50 gallons per minute at that pressure.
Unlike some hydrants that dip the assembled hydrant in paint, our hydrant heads are coloured using a baked on powder coat paint before the hydrants are assembled. This means that none of the critical moving components of the hydrant are covered with paint which could make operation more difficult.
Each hydrant is equipped with a ¾” garden hose connection for convenient connection to garden hoses or vacuum breakers.
The long hand grip handles are comfortable to use even while wearing heavy winter gloves.
And each hydrant handle can be locked closed using a padlock with the hole in the handle.
The heads have a locking thumb screw which will hold the handle in any position.
This is perfect for regulating flow to a garden hose when full flow is not required, like watering plants.
The pivot connector rotates in the draw strap during operation.
The circumference on Boshart’s pivot connector and draw strap are significantly larger than some brands on the market.
This reduces the rate of wear between the two components and can increase the life expectancy by 3 to 4 times. This is superior to most brands of hydrants including our standard model.
Underneath the packing nut, there is a double O-ring seal between the hydrant head and the operating rod, which is arrow 1. This ensures a positive seal.
This also means that there is no need to overtighten the packing nut in order to get a proper seal. Overtightening can result in breaking the O-rings. Just finger tightening the packing nut can seal up to 125psi.
The O-rings are an American Standard AS568 204 size so they can easily be replaced if required.
The operating rod in the head, as shown by arrow 1, is made of polished stainless steel which reduces wear on the double O-ring seal and has great corrosion resistance against the elements.
Bosharts offers two materials for the stand pipes: galvanized and 304 stainless steel. The stainless steel will be more expensive, however it is more corrosion resistant in aggressive soil and water applications.
Be careful of some hydrant brands that don’t have true ASTM specification pipe. Bosharts uses true sched 40 pipe for both premium and standard models which can have up to 10% thicker wall.
The leaded bronze valve bodied hydrants are suitable for washdown applications or where the water won’t be consumed.
No-Lead Yard Hydrants
The non-leaded hydrants are a great choice for livestock and gardening or where the water could potentially be consumed. On all our no-lead yard hydrants, we use a longer valve body with longer female threads so that the stand pipe threads are fully concealed inside the valve body when assembled.
This feature combined with rust inhibiting compound on the threads ensures optimum corrosion resistance for the galvanized pipe.
A benefit of the no-lead valve bodies is that the threads are made longer so that the threads of the stand pipe are completely concealed helping with corrosion resistance.
As you can see, with the no-lead valve body, the full wall thickness is exposed to the soil significantly increasing the life expectancy.
The plungers seal positively against the angled valve body seat and the cores are made from stainless steel for increased corrosion resistance.
The Boshart hydrants work on a smooth straight pull system. This means that when operating the handle, the draw strap pulls the operating rod at 0° vertically.
This ensures that there is minimal wear on the operating components.
When the handle is fully closed, the draw strap is 5° over centre which allows system pressure to actually push the down to remain closed. When fully open, the handle is 5° over centre again so system pressure pushes the handle to stay open.
Something that is not very well known is that it does not take very much force to seal the plunger against the valve body seat. The hydrants are factory set to seal and will not require any adjusting before installation.
Over the course of time and parts inevitably wear, readjusting the plunger may need to be done.
If that is the case, there is no need to dig the hydrant up. Adjustment and repair to the hydrants internal components can be done above ground.
Replacements & Warranty
Replacement parts are also available and interchangeable between all Boshart premium models.
The hydrants with a galvanized stand pipe are covered by a 5 year warranty and the hydrants with a stainless steel stand pipe are covered by a 7 year warranty.
The standard YHS series hydrants are covered by our standard 1 year warranty.
After 2017 the manufacturing date was added into the head casting as well for a quick and easy way to tell how old a hydrant is.
Best Practices for Installation
This diagram shows a typical installation of the yard hydrants on a well system. They can also be installed on a municipal system.
Make sure that the water line is flushed before install to remove any foreign particles. The prepared hole should be about 2 feet in diameter and must be below the frost line.
A cement block or patio stone under the hydrant will stop the hydrant from settling.
On the service line between the water system and the yard hydrants, it is recommended to install a dual check valve for backflow prevention. I will touch on this again in a bit.
Be sure that the hydrant valve body is installed below the frost line and that a significant amount of gravel, crushed rock or some coarse material below and around the valve body. This will permit proper drainage.
Connect hydrant to water line using appropriate fittings, elbows and tees which are all available through Boshart’s.
The purpose of a raised pads is so that the pipe and clamps do not contact the cement blocks.
When tightening the fitting, be sure to hold the valve body with a pipe wrench so it does not screw further into the hydrant stand pipe. This would change the factory adjustment of the plunger.
The adjustment and repair instructions will be posted on the BoshartU website.
Each hydrant is packaged with installation instructions as well.
Installation of a 90° street elbow installed in the 1/8” FPT drain port will greatly reduce the change of dirt getting into the port and blocking the drain.
After installing, test to make sure that the line is flushed and that the hydrant is fully operational before backfilling. Failure to do so could result in an issue with the hydrant and will void warranty.
Codes can vary widely depending on the State or Province and local Plumbing codes. I will give an example that is code in some jurisdictions but is still a good idea even in areas where it is not required by code:
A yard hydrant with a threaded spout to accept a garden hose need to have an approved vacuum breaker installed. Approved vacuum breakers comply with the ASSE 1011 standard or the ASSE 1052. These standards can be found stamped on all Boshart vacuum breakers.
It is very important to check with your local governing body to find the codes that apply to yard hydrants in your area.
Vacuum Breaker
The use of an vacuum breaker will prevent back siphonage through the hydrant. The garden hose must be removed in order to allow the vacuum breakers to drain.
Typical vacuum breakers need to be manually drained by moving the internal check valve from the bottom in order to allow air to enter. Not allowing enough time for the hydrant to drain can result in the hydrant freezing.
The auto drain vacuum breakers eliminate the need to manually drain the hydrant. Just make sure that the hose is removed to allow the hydrant to drain.
Siphoning is a phenomenon when a vacuum is created in the system. This can be from excess use such as firefighting. The system will pull from open outlets.
This would be dangerous if a hose connected to a hydrant is dunked in water with harmful organic matter or into a tank filled with a chemical solution. The siphoning can pull that liquid back into a system.
For this reason, it is highly recommended that a backflow preventer is installed. A vacuum breaker attached to a hydrant, as shown by arrow 1, is a type of backflow prevention.
Another type would be a back flow preventer valve such as a Flomatic Dual check valve / back-flow preventer as shown by arrow 2.
As I had said previously, Bosharts does carries a standard import option for a more competitive model. We also carry accessories that can be used with the hydrants such: as hydrant elbows, street elbows, vacuum breakers, and more.
Conclusion
That is the end of the presentation today. You can learn more about the features we offer at Boshart’s as well as other useful information on plumbing and water well products.
Stay connected with us by following Boshart Industries on Instagram, Linked in, and Facebook to see any upcoming blogs or webinars.
We regularly publish new blogs and content that will help you become more comfortable and confident with our products.
Thanks.
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