DannyD. posted for all of us...

And I know how to SNIP


Stormin Mormon wrote, on Tue, 01 Jul 2014 07:42:20 -0400:

Interesting. That's a dry pipe hydrant. I thought
you were / are in California? Does it get cold and
freeze in the winter? North part of the state?

I don't know what you mean by a "dry pipe hydrant", so,
googling for that term, Wikipedia says it's a non-pressurized
hydrant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_hydrant).

But this "Guide to planning & installing dry hydrants"
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/forestmanage...pub/fr-044.pdf
implies that it's for sucking water out of a lake or pond.

I can call the San Jose Water Company to be sure, but,
what do you mean by a dry hydrant (and how can you tell
just by looking at the photo)?
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3867/1...cd625d51_b.jpg

Stumped got to you... Dry hydrants are like you describe, are designed to
use a farmers pond to provide water for firefighting purposes. It must use
the pumps suction to work. I was not familiar with "wharf hydrant" until you
used it. If my logic is correct it is basically a drain from the the tank to
the hydrant and is a gravity feed. From your pix I would "exercise" the
hydrant at least once a year. Not now since water is in short supply. You
could pose this question to the fire district.

You will not get potable water in return for ff use. Trust me on this. Only
if provided by emergency management in a tanker so marked.

--
Tekkie