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Where can I purchase an old fire hydrant?
Please read the 4 precautions listed below.
There are several sources of old hydrants that come to mind: city water departments, salvage yards, and the contractors/excavators in your area that do hydrant installation. Water departments are perhaps the best source, but policies vary from city to city regarding hydrant sales, so ask around. Hydrants are inexpensive, typically costing no more than $20 - $35.
The main thing is persistence. You may have to call many municipalities,
and/or you may have to wait patiently, as hydrants can last more than a hundred years in service, and are not always available.
4 precautions:
1) Old hydrants may have been coated with lead-based paint, and
this must be taken into account. The greatest danger of lead poisoning is to small children, and the route of exposure is almost always oral (eating the paint chips). Therefore, peeling paint from old hydrants is NOT OK around children. IF the paint is peeling, total removal is the best way to eliminate the hazard. The people doing this work must be trained in lead paint abatement. The dust from sand blasting of lead-base paint is extremely dangerous. Proper disposal of the hazardous waste associated with the removal of lead base paint is mandatory.
2) Some children find climbing on hydrants irresistible. Old hydrants
can be dangerous around children if they are not secured in some fashion,
because they tip over easily and are very heavy. For display outside, a
portion of the below ground standpipe can be left attached and buried
to secure the hydrant. The place you purchase your hydrant may have
the tools to cut-off the hydrant below the ground line. Leave approximately
2 1/2 to 3 feet of the below ground pipe to bury. As an alternative, one collector we know pounds a large diameter stake into the ground with a sledge hammer, and sets the hydrant body atop so that the aboveground portion of the stake is contained within the
hydrant itself, so that the hydrant cannot tip over.
3) Your hydrants will be very heavy. Unless you are a weight-lifter, or are otherwise familiar with handling heavy objects, be sure to educate yourself about good body posture for lifting, and have enough help, before moving and installing your hydrants.
4) If you are displaying the hydrant out of doors, be sure to locate it in such a manner that firefighters cannot in any way confuse it with an operational hydrant. Ask your local fire chief for advice.
Plastic replica hydrants are sometimes a better choice. For replica hydrant information,
Click Here.
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