Introduction
The Hydrant Assist Kit is a great product that can help solve your hydrant headaches. However, it can only do that if installed properly. Luckily, we are here to help you with that! In this blog we will explain what you need for the entire installing a Hydrant Assist Kit process, along with a few tips to help simplify the process.
Installing a Hydrant Assist Kit (HAK) with a hydrant is simple. Before you start you will need a few parts/materials in addition to what comes in the kit, along with some simple tools. We make kits for any size hydrant, if you need help picking out the correct kit for the hydrant you want to use, click here.
Materials / Supplies / Tools Required for Installing a Hydrant Assist Kit
Adapter
Our kits have a 1’’ female thread in the bottom of the brass housing. You will need an adapter to connect to whatever size and material your waterline is. We recommend also extending it with a brass nipple before connecting to the waterline. Our kit includes a staple that stabilizes the waterline, it can accommodate any size up to 2-inch waterline.
PVC Pipe
You will need a piece of 3’’ Sch 40 PVC pipe. You can cut the pipe to fit, but as a guideline we recommend taking your hydrant’s bury depth and adding 1 foot to the length. For example, a 6 foot bury hydrant would need a 7 foot piece of pipe.
Washed Rock
Washed rock is essential to help your hydrant drain. We recommend at least two 5-gallon buckets filled with clean rock to put around the base. If you know your soils don’t drain well, it’s strongly suggested that you use more. Remember, you won’t need to dig your hydrant back up, so you want to install a drainage base that will outlast you!
Tools
As far as tools to have available, a hammer or rubber mallet is sometimes needed to install the staple, and our caps have 9/16’’ nuts on them, so a box wrench or crescent wrench can help to tighten them up after the hydrant is installed. You will also need PVC glue and cleaner, and pipe sealant for the connections.
Installing a Hydrant Assist Kit
Start with Glue
We typically start by gluing the 3’’ PVC pipe into the adapter that is screwed into the brass housing. Letting that connection dry before attaching anything else prevents stray glue from getting onto things it shouldn’t be on.
Once you have your trench dug to the correct depth for your hydrant, it’s time to make the connections at the bottom. Screw a 1’’x 4’’ brass nipple into the female thread on the brass housing using pipe sealant to make a watertight connection. Add your adapter on, and make the connection to your waterline. Install the staple so that it has two contact points. Ensure the staple isn’t covering the drain hole in the brass housing.
Make Adjustments and Connect the Hydrant
Be sure to make any final adjustments to the length of the PVC pipe before gluing the remaining adapter onto the top. This should be the adapter with the green locking ring attached. Once you have this on, put pipe sealant on the female threads of the hydrant and slide it into the PVC pipe. The hydrant will self align onto the threads on the brass housing, if you slowly turn it until you feel it catch on them. The bottom housing is designed so that the hydrant can’t be wedged between the edge and the male threads that it’s connecting to. Screw the hydrant in by hand until snug. At this point, we recommend turning the water on and to make sure nothing is leaking.
Finishing Up
When all your connections are watertight, put your drainage rock around the base of the kit. Make sure that you have enough rock so that the drain hole on the brass housing is covered. It is better to have too much rock than to skimp on drainage rock. This is especially important in silty or clay-based soils.
Next, bolt the two-piece cap over the locking ring. Use a 9/16’’ box wrench or crescent wrench to tighten up the nuts. After this is secure it’s time to fill the trench back in with dirt. We use a small hand level to make sure that everything is level during the backfilling process.
If properly measured, most hydrants will discharge water about 24-30’’ above ground. The 3’’ PVC pipe will stick 6-12’’ above finished grade so that no dirt or debris can get down into the pipe.
Upgrade Your Hydrant
If you are thinking about installing a hydrant assist kit, or are simply repairing or replacing your old hydrant, check out our “All About the HAK” page to find out more about how to upgrade your hydrant!
If you enjoyed this blog, we do our best to post one every other Friday! Check back in two weeks for more posts just like this.
