Stewart Creek Somethings

Second time around is the real deal.

I went out first thing Thursday morning and installed the new piece of pipe and hydrant.  Ideally I would have had some end to end connectors and I could have glued this monstrosity differently, but I do not live next to a hardware store and I did not want to wait all day again for the glue to set up.  So I used what I had on hand.  The old pipe to the side used to supply the hydrant.  It was four feet to the east.  I decided that this was just one more thing to break and would just put it over the main line.  It also gives me a visual marker if I need to dig up the line.  I at least know exactly where one spot is located. 
After that quick assembly I went to the dreaded metal pipe in the backyard.  I crawled down into the hole and started digging away from the exposed pipe so I could get a wrench down low when I looked up and noticed that the spigot was on.  Not only was it on but its handle had become bent sometime in the last two years laying around.  I bent the handle back in place and actually closed the valve.  Could it be that the reason the hole filled up was because I did not shut the valve?  Could it be that I actually installed it correctly the first time?  I called down to the house and got the pump turned on.  No Leaks, NONE!  I had done it, I had successfully installed to outside hydrants in 1.5 days.  Luckily, labor is free when I do plumbing.  I used the tractor and placed 1/3 yard of gravel at the base of each hydrant to allow them to drain after closing the hydrant even in winter.  We don’t use these much in the winter but they sure are nice if you do because they work and don’t freeze afterwards. 

Side yard frost free hydrant.

Backyard frost free hydrant

I spread some more gravel over the new culvert in the barn lot.  I don’t want it to become a mud pit in the winter.  I would like to put some more gravel on the back yard deck but I don’t have enough.  I am waiting for another 10 yards to be delivered.  I was hoping it would show up while I was still on vacation but no luck.  Hopefully, it will show up next week or I will bug the supplier.  I always make sure I have lots of time available for these things.  When you live in a small town/country area there are only so many people to provide services and they are usually busy.  You cannot just get things the same day or even the next, 1-2 weeks is more often the likely time frame.