I managed to bump one of our outdoor hydrants with the tractor, and the pipe is now tilted at a 10-20 degree angle. There’s some water pooling at the base, so clearly I’ve done some damage. Freaking out a bit because the only means of shutting off the water is at the house and takes down the whole system. I don’t live there, so it’s a bit of a problem… how screwed am I if it stays like this overnight until I can get a plumber down to the barn? :eek: 
-
If you’re on a water meter and pay a water bill, it will go up substantially.
-
If you’re in a well, the pump might keep running and possibly burn up, or if the well is low to begin with, the pump could lose its prime.
-
Keep your fingers crossed nothing happens and get someone ASAP to make repairs. While you’re at it, have them install a shutoff valve between the house and the barn so the house doesn’t have to suffer, should this happen again.
3 Likes
Take your evening shower and turn the water off. AS Walkin said, the consequences are bad if you leave it overnight.
I missed you don’t live there … Still … TURN the water off. Tell anybody that does live there how to turn the water on. Then, they can take their evening shower and turn it back off.
I had this problem. The fitting at the bottom broke. (We think the propane delivery truck hit the hydrant.)
Water flowing underground is not just wasteful, it can do quite a bit of damage. We had quite the large area of soil erosion to deal with.
For this issue right now turn off the water.
Not quite enough details to tell you how to handle that. If the house has a tenant and they are not easy going and willing to deal with turning the water on and off then put them up in a hotel for the night.
Then call the plumber. While the plumber is there fixing the hydrant have them add a shut off valve in the house so that next time there is a problem outside the house you can shut off just the outside water and leave the house operational.
If the horses typical have auto waterers, hang buckets for the night.
1 Like
This falls under sh*t happens. Usually at the end of the day.
I find it hard to believe that a simple shut off value wasn’t installed inside the house where the supply line exits the wall.
If water is not gushing out around the pipe you most likely just cracked the the elbow joint that the hydrant screws into. A lot of people/plumbers use the cheap plastic/nylon type. I did ONCE and never again after doing what you did. I advise people to only use the much stronger brass elbows made specifically for the purpose. I have bent a hydrant 90 and it didn’t break/crack the elbow. That’s not to say they can and do break but they are MUCH stronger. They can withstand freezing solid without cracking.
It is real easy to fix the broken elbow. It is a total PITA to dig it out and get to it depending on how deep your frost line is. Around here it is 30-36". A LOT of digging. A lot of digging. The hole has to be wide enough to work in, about 2+ feet in diameter. So if you are not doing this yourself you will be paying a plumber their hourly rate $$$$ a lot of money to to dig a hole, install a $5 elbow which takes about 15 minutes and fill the hole back in. Good chance the hydrant can be straightened and still work. But if in doubt install a new one and keep the old one for parts.
You can save yourself a lot of money by doing the digging yourself. The whole job is an easy DIY other than the digging part.
The bright side of this, its summer, nice working conditions. I did the same to one of the hydrants in the dead of winter not long ago. That REALLY sucked!!! As the saying goes my ass was as cold as a well digger’s. My hands and fingers also.
2 Likes
There probably is, but no one seems to know where it is/what it looks like. (The widower who lives there had nothing to do with the barn - it was his wife’s - so he was exactly zero help to me.) I went down into the basement and couldn’t find anything that was glaringly obvious (e.g., a valve with a sign that said “water shutoff to barn HERE” :lol:). Plumber will come out today to take a look.
This week just keeps getting worse and worse… :sigh:
Can you figure out where the water leaves the building to go out to the barn? That is step one of finding the shut off valve.
1 Like
If you are on a well, the water may split to the exterior water before it gets to the house. That’s how my system is.
Good luck. Plumbing problems suck.
Agree with gumtree on the digging. Don’t agree with him on his love for brass fittings. For one thing, a lot of brass contains lead. For another, depending upon your water quality, the plastic may be a better choice. Our water is acidic and eats thru/thoughtfully leaches metal pipes like a $%$$%. So I deliberately replumbed the house with pex and the exterior lines with high quality plastic pipe when we had to replace it all.
The level of lead currently allowed in things allowed to be put into potable water piping now is ridiculously low so it is unlikely any fitting (certified for use in potable water) will have any lead in it.
Most manufacturers switched all their fittings over to no lead so they did not have to keep track of non-potable versus potable.
1 Like
Your hardware stores are different from mine. I am constantly coming across brass fittings for exterior uses that are specifically labeled as not safe for drinking water due to lead content.
I assume the OP is not going to buy a brass fitting that says it is not safe for drinking water use.
I personally was not talking about hardware stores either, but you are right that is probably where the OP will go.
I honestly and sadly have not found brass to be more durable either. Ask me about the few-year-old brass fitting that sprung a pinhole and flooded my kitchen.
In particular, I find that plumbing tends to be happiest when transitions between materials are minimized. So if you’re using brass pipe, mate it to brass fittings. If you’re using plastic pipe, mate it to plastic fittings.
All that said, I’m an engineer, not a plumber. 
@poltroon to agree with your theories, the fitting at the bottom of ours that was cracked and no longer attached to the pipe was metal, I assume brass though I did not exam it. (Mr. Trub did all the digging and replacing and I only glanced at the broken bit.)
“Our water is acidic and eats thru/thoughtfully leaches metal pipes like a $%$$%”
I agree with this to a certain extend. Especially with properties that have “vintage plumping”. Especially if galvanized pipe was used. Which years ago was the standard for running buried supply lines around the farm. Any found in many old houses before copper became the standard.
Little to no “brass” was used in residential house plumbing, now or in the past. Too expensive was the main reason. Galvanized pipe and fitting, later copper pipe and fittings.
Though “plastic” PCVC for water supply lines is used, was used for residential house on wells it is not the best choice these days. Well water with high mineral content and or “acidic” can and does “break down” the lines over time. They become brittle, crack easily etc.
Love Pex, easy peasy to work with and install. Quick and easy to repair a leak or tap a line with a snap on “shark bite” connector.
Black Poly pipe is pretty much the standard for running buried water supply lines around a farm. In expensive and can be easily had in very long continuous lengths, 500’ to over 1000’. The less splices used when running long underground lines the less likelihood of leak developing. Less “moving parts” to break or fail.
As to the use of a brass fitting on a hydrant I am just not one to worry about leaching “lead issues”. We are talking about an incredibility low content from one or just a couple of fitting in a system that has lots of “moving parts”. A brass coupling has far superior strength than a plastic/nylon one. Too each their own on this.
The labeling does state;
“Hydrant Elbow, Brass, 3/4 x 1-In. 3/4” x 1", Brass, Hydrant Elbow, Designed For Ground Hydrant Installation, 3/4" NPT For Installation Into Hydrant, 1" Barbed End For Plastic Pipe, Complies With Lead Free Laws"
