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Hank[_6_] Hank[_6_] is offline
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Default How do I Unthaw yard hydrant underground?

On Jan 23, 9:28*am, wrote:
I have a yard hydrant in my barn. *It had heat tape on it, and the top
part above the ground was not frozen (I took off the head and put a
wire down). *Its frozen under the ground. *I know it's not to the
bottom, because its down at least 5 feet into the ground. *Its frozen
below the surface. *I have concrete around it, but there's a 1 inck
gap around the pipe, and I did have the heat tape down a few inches,
but I found that right below that tape the ground is frozen because I
tried to drive a piece of steel rebar into the soil. *

I put a propane torch on the pipe right above the concrete level and
got water to boil out the top, but it's still not working and cant
lift the plunger. *Is there some sort of electrical rod that I could
drive melt into the ground or anything made for that? *I did dump some
boiling water around it too. *I capped the top so I can use the rest
of the water on the property. and have an electric heater next to the
pipe, (heat tape is off now, so I could use torch). *This hydrant is
in a small room, so that electric heater should heat the room but it's
not going to get what is underground. *Anyone have any ideas what to
do? *

Then, when I do get it unthawed, what can I do under the concrete
level to keep it thawed? *They say not to put that heat tape
underground. *I did have it down abiut 2 inches into the concrete, but
not more. *I sure cant think of any other way to do it. *

IDEAS NEEDED????

Thanks

Jake


I can't physically see your problem, so this is just a guess. If the
hydrant is 5 feet below ground, inside a room, it is highly unlikely
it is frozen due to cold temps. I think you have bigger problems and
should investigate the possibility of having to repair whatever the
mechanical problem is.

Hank