I want to rotate my water hydrant well head 90 degrees. Can I just take a pipe wrench to it?
its the good on Depends answer… if you go the wrong way its 270 degrees
but what did rather than risk breaking something was to take an eighteen inch section of garden hose, attached that to the hydrant then can direct water where I need… several water troughs -one low for the big horses and one high for the miniatures-- yeah just backwards of what one would think but that what they prefer
Yes, one wrench to hold the pipe and one to turn the head.
Assuming we are talking about a frost free hydrant like Bluey posted.
As Bluey said 2 wrenches, a crescent/adjustable wrench should work on head. But a large pipe wrench should work also. You will need a pretty large pipe wrench to hold the riser pipe. IME the heads are pretty tight esp if it is an older, been installed for a while.
As Bluey said if a nylon/plastic elbow joint was used at the bottom in stead of a heavy duty brass elbow. It doesn’t take much twisting of the riser pipe to crack it. Ask me how I know. One of those jobs that should have only taken 5 to 10 minutes that turns into hours of digging out the hydrant.
You want to turn the head counter clockwise because they are usually wrenched on to the bottom of the treads on the riser pipe and most likely won’t turn any further. Thread sealer is used to keep it water tight. If it should leak after adjusting it. You will have to take the head off and use/aply new thread sealer.
Again, IME 2 big wrenches are usually needed. to make it easy. One to crack the head loose and a large pipe wrench to hold the riser pipe firmly so it won’t twist while loosening the head. 2 people will make it easier, one to hold the wrench on the riser pipe and the other person to work the head lose.
Most people don’t have large pipe wrenches in their tool box they aren’t needed very much. So if you can’t borrow 2 from a friend this is where Harbor Freight is your friend. An 18" or 24" can be had for $9 to $12. IMO and experience spending $20-$25 for this job is worth every penny. They’re not the best made but plenty good enough for the odd times needed. I have found plenty of other uses on the farm than just wrenching pipe.
Great info!!! This is a newer hydrant and inside the barn. I’m adding a stall and it would be easier to maneuver around the hydrant if it was turned. I’ll try living with it first and see how it goes.
