Your plumbing system is filled with so many different components. Some of them, you may find yourself using on a daily basis, while others may not be utilized nearly as often. Nonetheless, each of them serves a unique purpose. With this being the case, there are a few factors that can be applied across the board. First off, it’s always smart to purchase products made by reliable brands and have them installed by an experienced plumbing professional. Luckily, with there being a number of quality brands currently on the market, this one shouldn’t be a huge challenge! The second part of the equation is going to be reliant on you and that pertains to the importance of routine maintenance. While some plumbing products are undoubtedly better than others, it goes without saying that maintenance is extremely important when it comes to getting a solid return on your investment. After all, the last thing you want to find yourself doing is replacing pieces of your plumbing system earlier than expected!
With that introduction in-place, we can now introduce the topic of this week’s blog post and that happens to be wall hydrants. Wall hydrants certainly have a rather straightforward purpose, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any interesting tidbits that we can share about them! Throughout this week’s blog post, we’ll discuss a few of these items and hopefully shed some light on yet another important plumbing piece!
All the Basics
As we begin this blog post, I first want to highlight some general points of wall hydrants. The primary purpose of a wall hydrant is to provide easy access to water outside of your home or commercial facility. Simple enough, right?
Furthermore, just as we mentioned in the opening paragraph, a terrific way to limit the amount of plumbing headaches that you have to deal with is going to revolve around ensuring you stay consistent with the routine maintenance needed. Even though no plumbing component is built to last forever, maintenance is a proven way to extend the lifespan of various plumbing components. Fortunately, wall hydrants have a limited amount of maintenance that they require. A major reason for this being the case is the availability of freeze-less, or frost-free, wall hydrants. Considering the Kansas City area experiences its fair share of winter weather, we often discuss how these cold temperatures can affect your plumbing system. A frost-free wall hydrant is constructed to require very little winterizing. These hydrants have a longer pipe that goes into your house or building. The shut-off valve is towards the end of this pipe, thus in the warmer inside air and able to prevent the water from being susceptible to the frigid temps outside. Not to mention, with the hydrant having a slight-downward slope, the excess water can easily exit the line.
That all being said, we strongly recommend going with a frost-free faucet so you have one less thing to worry about once the temperatures start dropping! However, there is one task that you’ll want to complete before the winter weather arrives and that happens to be disconnecting any outdoor hoses and storing them in your garage. Failure to do this can lead to some issues, so make sure to add this to your fall maintenance list!
Commercial Wall Hydrants
Here at Stine-Nichols Plumbing, we provide plumbing services in both residential and commercial settings. Whether that be retail stores, restaurants, warehouses or any other type of commercial facility, it’s important to acknowledge how certain commercial settings may require a different approach to some plumbing projects in comparison to the residential world. Having said that, if you do manage a commercial building and are needing to hire a plumber, it’s worth inquiring about their commercial experience when calling local plumbing companies in your area!
In terms of wall hydrants, there are other options available that are specifically designed for the commercial world. Although many of the wall hydrants on the market can be used in both residential and commercial settings, there are some characteristics that you see more often solely on the commercial side of things. One of these qualities is the ability for a hydrant to supply both hot and cold water. While this likely isn’t something everyone is familiar with, it can prove to be useful for certain situations. Another quality you’ll notice is fairly common with commercial wall hydrants is having a key requirement to open and close the hydrant. As you can likely guess, the main purpose of this is to ensure only authorized personnel can utilize the hydrant. To sum it up, every situation is different and it’s important to find the right product (made by a reliable manufacturer) that provides a solution to those needs!
Backflow
If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen the term “backflow” mentioned on a few occasions. Essentially, you may need a “backflow preventer” installed to ensure water is only flowing in one direction. Clean water should flow from the city’s supply into your home or commercial facility and that pathway should be a one-way street! When this isn’t the case, various issues can arise, including contaminated drinking water. A backflow preventer is designed to ensure this doesn’t happen!
Nonetheless, the reason we’re mentioning it on a blog post all about wall hydrants is fairly simple. Earlier in this blog post, we mentioned how one quality that has become a must for hydrants nowadays is the presence of a “frost-free” capability. Well…another must-have quality is backflow protection. With a backflow check valve and vacuum breaker, wall hydrants are able to do just that!
Common Problems
When it comes to managing a plumbing system, an invaluable skill to possess is the ability to understand when something isn’t working properly and to avoid procrastination in scheduling the repairs! Being able to do these two things is always going to be well worth it. As we’ve mentioned throughout this blog post, modern day wall hydrants have a number of features designed to make them as stress-free as possible. Despite this, they aren’t built to last forever and will need to eventually be replaced at one time or another (even if that is simply a result of gradual wear and tear). The most obvious issue that can arise is when you notice there is a leak with your wall hydrant. Even if it’s a small leak, we recommend investigating the issue and figuring out what is causing the problems. No matter what the issue may be, avoid putting off the repairs. Sometimes you may notice the issue first with the wall hydrant (such as low water pressure) and the problem could end up residing elsewhere, but it’s important to get to the bottom of it sooner rather than later!
Wall Hydrant Installation and Repair Services in Kansas City
Without a doubt, wall hydrants serve a straightforward (and important) purpose. Fortunately, they don’t require a ton of maintenance and having a little bit of knowledge about the particular wall hydrant you have installed can go a long way! We hope you learned a thing or two about wall hydrants after reading this blog post and feel more confident in managing the wall hydrant(s) installed at your home or commercial facility.
Our team at Stine-Nichols Plumbing has years of experience working with wall hydrants, both at residential houses and commercial facilities. Whether it be installing new ones, repairing existing ones or diagnosing various other problems, we have you covered for all things related to wall hydrants. If you live in or near the KC area and need some help with a wall hydrant project, don’t hesitate to give us a call at (816) 348-3481.