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Liz Megerle Liz Megerle is offline
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Default How do I Unthaw yard hydrant underground?

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

We once thawed the line from our well up into our camp (heat tape was
unplugged) by pumping hot water down to the ice through a piece of
rubber tubing. It was a small pump used for cleaning beer lines,
powered by an electric drill.