There is no doubt about the fact that Yard hydrants are amazing solutions for your backyard. But a common issue a lot of people face is yard hydrant leaking underground when off.
This is something you may come across in your experience with yard hydrants as well.
So, I will be getting a bit in-depth into this matter and telling you why this happens and how you can fix the issue. Whether you are facing a problem right now or you are thinking of getting a yard hydrant, having this knowledge can help you a lot.
Reasons For The Yard Hydrant Leaking
First, let’s talk about the reasons that cause your yard hydrant to start leaking. Because the solutions you can take for this issue highly depend on what’s causing them in the first place.
Here are several situations that you may come across with the leaking:
- Faulty Installation
A common reason for yard hydrant leaking can be faulty installation. If you have made any kind of mistake while installing the hydrant, you will have leaking issues.
Several things can go wrong with the installation, and you have to be aware of them.
- Damaged Plunger
One of the most common and concerning issues is a damaged plunger. A damaged or worn-out plunger can cause your yard hydrant to leak without any stops.
It’s not something that you will come across right after installing the system, but it happens over time.
- Rubber Stopper Is Going Bad
A rubber stopper on your yard hydrant keeps the components in place and provides a sealant. When that goes bad or wears out over time, you will face leaking issues from the hydrant.
Most of the time, this leak is noticeable on the surface around the hydrant. So, when you notice wet areas around the hydrant, that can be a clear indication of leaks.
- Damaged Drain Valve Or Pipe
Sometimes, the drain valve getting damaged can also cause this issue to happen.
A damaged pipe can also cause severe leaking issues underground. This can happen if you are using low-quality pipes or pipes without any corrosion resistance on them.
- Problems With The Set Screw
Have you ever noticed a set screw on your yard hydrant?
Often, this part goes unnoticed and somehow turns out to be the reason for causing a leak. The set screw getting too tight or too loose can leak the yard hydrant.
Typically, these are the causes that make the yard hydrant leak. To figure out which one is in your case, I recommend going through yard hydrant troubleshooting.
Once you do that, you can try out the solutions that I am about to discuss right now.
Solutions For Yard Hydrant Leaking
Some of these solutions that I am about to discuss will require some experience in plumbing. In some cases, you may not even be able to solve the issues by yourself.
So, let’s check out the solutions and see how you can go about these things.
- Follow The Proper Installation Method
The first thing you have to do is make sure you follow the proper installation.
Most of the time, the wrong installation of the yard hydrant is the core cause of leaking problems.
That’s why you will need to follow the proper installation procedure to avoid this from happening at all.
A lot of the time, installation lacks proper concrete support, which in turn causes leaking problems.
So, when you are installing the yard hydrant, you have to make sure that you are using proper concrete support as the manufacturer recommends.
If you are not confident in doing it yourself, I would suggest hiring a professional plumber to get the job done. When you are getting a professional, make sure to get someone capable of doing the job correctly.
- Replacing The Rubber Stopper
Well, if you find out that the rubber stopper in your yard hydrant has gone bad or damaged, then the only solution is to replace it.
First, you have to find a replacement for the rubber stopper on the hydrant. Try searching for that based on the yard hydrant you are using.
Also, you will need a little bit of plumbing experience to solve the issue for the replacement. Once again, you take just take help from a professional plumber to get a fix for this.
- Replacing The Plunger
A worn-out or damaged plunger is the worst-case scenario for you as a yard hydrant owner. When you have this issue, you will notice a lot of leaking underground from your yard hydrant.
Just like the rubber stopper, the only way to fix this problem is to replace the plunger. But with this one, you have to be much more careful, as the plunger you choose has to fit your yard hydrant perfectly.
Otherwise, it won’t even properly work.
Also, replacing the plunger can be much more difficult and technical than replacing a rubber stopper. So, I would highly recommend getting a professional plumber to get this replacement job done.
- Using New Pipes
Well, if you see a lot of water leaking through the yard hydrant, that’s a big sign of damaged pipes. In that case, you will need to replace the pipes completely to fix the leaking issue.
You can consider it as pretty much a complete replacement since you will be taking out the whole thing to replace the pipes anyways. Also, this is pretty severe plumbing work that will require some expertise.
So, if you are not experienced enough to do this, you will need to opt for professional help.
- Tightening Or Loosening The Set Screw
This is the solution that doesn’t require you to rely on any professionals whatsoever. So, before you can try anything else, I would recommend you try this one first.
You start with cutting off the water supply to the yard hydrant. Then, you raise the handle of your hydrant, so the water pressure gets relieved.
After that, get the handle to the off position once again.
Take a wrench and loosen the set screw a little bit. Then, raise the handle around 5 inches and tighten the set screw again. Then, once again, place the handle in its off position and turn on the water supply.
If you are not having any other issues like the ones I mentioned above, your yard hydrant should stop leaking from the underground.
As you can see, most of the solutions just require you to replace damaged stuff. So, if tweaking the set screw doesn’t help you out, then your best bet is to call a professional and get rid of all the trouble easily.
Lastly, I want you to watch this excellent troubleshooting video.
Conclusion
In summary, the yard hydrant leaking underground when off can be an annoying problem. Because if you can’t see the leaks happening in front of you, then it’s hard to determine the problem.
However, now that you know the causes of the problem, you can act based on them.
You even know the solutions now. Whether you want to try them out or you want to get professional help is entirely up to you.
Either way, the problems are solvable, so there is nothing to worry about at all.
This is great, so easy to understand.
Hello, my yard hydrant is leaking underground when on. There is water bubbling up through the ground and I can hear the hissing of water from the hydrant when it is on. The hydrant is close to ten years old. Any suggestions on fixing this?
Thanks
Bruce