Well, it arrived today
And it is 1 inch, so no go…
grrrrrrr
Well 
Exchange for the high flow head?
That seems to be the only option… I’m waiting to hear back from supplier. I’m afraid the High Flow won’t match on the connections… but maybe I can use old connections and just the new head?
This is annoying! And the company has not been responsive. No answer to last message.
there are insert adapters to convert to a smaller diameter …what is you old pipe size?
The pipe is too big for the head. The pipe is 1 1/4 and the head is 1 inch. The description on the web site was wrong as they claimed it was 1 1/4.
Adding an adapter won’t work as the rod will then be too short.
What I don’t get is that NONE of the straight up Anyflow hydrants use a 1 1/4" pipe. I’ve got to think that you’ve got an early high flow one, from before they added the outside threads?
Do you know about when that hydrant went in?
Yeah, check this out:
https://web.archive.org/web/20010430200344/http://www.merrillmfg.com/anyspecs.htm
That’s their site from 2001. Even then, the regular Anyflow sat on a 1" standpipe and the 1 1/4" was for the high flow one. It doesn’t look like the regular Anyflow was ever offered for 1 1/4"?
(This is a dumb question, but you’ve pulled the bad head and just confirmed that’s a 1 1/4" stand pipe, right?)
1-1/4-in x 1-in dia Galvanized Bushing Fittings
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Mueller-Proline-1-1-4-in-x-1-in-dia-Galvanized-Bushing-Fittings/3425002
insert fittings are fairly small,
yeah, it’s weird. And the Merrill guy got back to me and said the high flow have always had the threads on the spout. He even questioned if I had a Merrill at all, so I sent him a picture. He responded with “yeah, that’s the standard model”. So I went out and measured the base and it is externally 2 1/4 inches compared to the 2 inches on the one I got, so it is definitely bigger. The hydrant is no older than the shop I think, which was 2012, but who knows if they put in a used hydrant or where they found it.
The whole thing is weird!
The company is officially “baffled”. They have suggested trying the High Cap head…
I’m worried the connections to the rod won’t match.
That’s crazy! I can’t wait to see how this resolves for you. They should send you the high flow head for free, since you apparently have a product that doesn’t exist!
Maybe you wound up with some weird prototype 
I was poking around on the site trying to see if the high flow head was different where it meets the down rod, and I don’t think so. On the “maintenance” tab, there’s no special note about the high capacity, and it shows how the rod threads in:
https://www.merrillmfg.com/shop/frost-proof-hydrants/any-flow
It goes through the pivot piece, so it’s not like it meets and has to be EXACT.
That said, buying the down rod (do you know how deep it is?) might be good insurance…
Yeah, I looked at the parts list and it appears the top components are the same…
Need to pull it out to know how long the rod is. It is Minnesota, so I know it’s deep!
@foggybok thought I’d resurrect this thread to see if you ever got resolution, mainly because I want to know if Merrill will answer questions on replacement parts/instructions. 
Did they ever figure out what model you have and were you able to repair/replace it?
I’ve got a Woodford IOWA in my main paddock that I’ve become an expert with, but turns out the hydrant out in my pasture is a Merrill (both were already here when we bought the place).
I don’t use the pasture hydrant very much much but I’m thinking of adding a garden out there so will need to use it more often. There is a small leak at the packing nut, so I likely need new packing and possibly a new packing nut.
Per my research and the video on how to identify your yard hydrant, I have a Anyflow Hi-Capacity made prior to 2000. I think that is the same thing as the Merrill Industrial Anyflow from the parts site, but who knows. It would be nice to get confirmation before ordering!
https://merrillparts.com/collections/merrill-industrial-anyflow-hydrant
Oh man, I’m glad you brought this back up, Leather! I’d love to know how this turned out!
1 Like
We have almost solved the issue, but it’s not their fault. We successfully got he head replaced, so that’s a start! We unfortunately are now dealing with an issue that might mean digging up the hydrant, something that I don’t want to do given that it is in a shop with a concrete floor. I’m hoping a few more adjustments will take care of the issue! We’re just waiting for the ground to dry up a bit more…
Merrill has a great set of videos, so most of the work is easy due to that. They have also been very responsive to my messages. They are available by phone or by facebook, so give a call if you have any concerns.
The packing nut should be easy to fix, you can try just tightening it, or order the replacement.
Thanks for the update! I had found their videos and it seemed pretty straightforward - thanks for the tip that they will respond to Facebook messages.
Hope you don’t have to dig things up! I was worried about that when my Woodford kept freezing up. Long story short when we finally got the hydrant head removed and pulled the operating rod out to check the plunger we realized that the operating rod was bent/warped! That meant that it wouldn’t ever seat properly in the valve body and allow things to drain properly. It also explained why the paddock area was always SO DAMN WET even in the driest of conditions - it was constantly leaking.
Thankfully we found somebody locally to cut/thread a new operating rod because it’s pretty much impossible to ship the size we need (ours is something like 8-10 ft deep - we’re also in MN). With the new rubber plunger, operating rod, and repair kit knock on wood no problems since!
Ah yes, the joys of Minnesota. When we pulled the operating rod out of the hydrant I was worried because it was so long it almost did not make it out of the pipe without running into the shop ceiling! It just barely made it. We replaced the plunger as it was cracked and hoped that would fix our issue, but we still aren’t draining properly. We were able to get the new head on, but not to the same place as the old one, so we have been lowering the rod to try to get the plunger to properly align with the drain hole. So far, still not draining… ugh
If you need to go deeper, are you sure of that?) to clear the weep hole at the bottom, you can cut what you need off the pipe at the top and re-thread it.
Cut it with a hand pipe cutter and use a tap and die set to re-thread it.
Most any handy old timey neighbor that used to have metal pipes, not PVC, should have those in their shop.
Or weld an extension to your rod?
thanks, we still have room for adjustment the way it is, so no need to cut pipe at this point. My worry is that the drain hole is somehow blocked and that’s why it is not draining. You can feel the spring compressing, so we know the rod is hitting the bottom…
