You might try (even now) insulation on the out of the ground part of the pipe - or a heater of some sort (and then insulate it). While draining the water out is good enough (assuming it's working) for a while, if you have an iron pipe sticking up out of the ground into truly frigid temperatures, it's going to freeze the ground around itself deeper than would otherwise be the case, as it provides a pathway for heat from the ground to bleed out to the air. Always seemed like a weak point in the design to me. Insulation would slow the heat loss to air, which might let the ground heat catch up. You might also set a 1-2" sheet of foam (XPS) 6" or so down and 4 feet square to "effectively" bury the valve another 2 feet (from the frost perspective.)
If you can find it and protect it (since it won't take the abuse a steel pipe will), schedule 80 PVC threaded pipe might be good to use on those up out of the ground frost-"proof" hydrants, due to the lower thermal conductivity.
This post was edited by Ecnerwal at 06:05:36 03/04/14 2 times.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Identifying Tractor Noises - by Curtis Von Fange. Listening To Your Tractor : Part 3 - In this series we are continuing to learn the fine art of listening to our tractor in hopes of keeping it running longer. One particularly important facet is to hear and identify the particular noises that our
... [Read Article]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.