OK, it's cold enough, thanks...

[altivo]

We're at -6°F and dropping. The "freezeless" hydrant in one barn is frozen. Oddly, that has never happened before, even when we had temperatures of -20 a few years back. The animals are not complaining much, actually, as long as they get fed and preferably extra rations.

I'm complaining though. I'm getting old enough for this to make my joints stiff. We have the woodstove going 24 hours a day, which we haven't done at all in recent years. The house is comfortable enough, but going outside to do animal chores is painful.

Supposed to be worse tomorrow, then gradually improving. No long posts from here for a day or two. It's too cold to sit at the computer (far end of the house from the woodstove.)

Comments

[altivo.livejournal.com]

No insulation at all. These hydrants use a long pipe that extends down three to five feet underground, where they are attached to a water supply line. That's deep enough that it isn't supposed to freeze. The actual valve is located there. When you turn it on (by tripping a long vertical lever) the water rises in the vertical pipe until it comes out the spout. When you turn it off, the water in the vertical line drains back out underground, leaving nothing to freeze.

The problem is likely occasioned by the exceedingly warm weather we had in December and January, with lots of rain. The ground is saturated to considerable depth, and then froze in the cold. Water did not drain from the vertical line because it had nowhere to go, and then froze there.

[marzolan.livejournal.com]

Ah. I see. Yes, that does sound quite likely then.