How to Properly Maintain Your Fire Hydrants

 

An article in Forbes magazine claims that you just have seven seconds to make a good impression. Whether it's our looks or the way our houses seem, most of the time we want to create a good impression. You may help improve your community's "first impression" by checking that all fire hydrants are in proper operating condition and repairing those that aren't.

Do any of your fire hydrants seem to be obsolete? Fraying wallpaper? Inoperable?

Fire hydrants are an integral feature of any city's public water system and are sure to catch the eye of visitors making their first drive through your community. Making ensuring they are clearly visible and maintained may help protect homeowners and business owners from suffering extensive damage in the case of a fire. It will also make the neighbourhood seem more welcoming to guests and potential new residents. If fire hydrants in your city are correctly spaced and maintained, you and the individuals who use your water might save money on your insurance premiums. Consulting the fire hydrant specialist Sydney is a perfect idea here.

Color

As an example of a paint colour that satisfies this criterion, Rustoleum's "Safety Yellow" might be used to repaint hydrants installed before 2009. There's also "Fire Engine Red," another colour from Rustoleum.

 

Coating

Do you have fire hydrants that were installed in your city's water system after 2009? In 2010, a two-component polyurethane enamel paint was used as the final coat on fire hydrants during production. This paint, which is sprayed to the hydrant using a hydrostatic method, creates a surface that is both durable and resistant to wear and tear. The coating on this paint makes it very resistant to light, but it is too hard for a conventional gloss enamel paint to be used to recoat it in the field. If the fire hydrant has to be repainted, it means washing and sanding the surface first. This is done to counteract the "shiny" appearance that the polyurethane enamel paint imparts. Polyurethane enamel, such as Sherwin Williams Polane SP, should be used for the re-coating once the requisite surface preparation is complete. This document contains the Mueller Company-provided instructions for re-coating hydrants with a coating that was originally applied using hydrostatic pressure.

 

Hydrant Workout

You should frequently perform flow tests on your hydrants to ensure they are still functioning properly. In the event that water is needed for firefighting operations, you may provide your local fire department with a reliable supply if you routinely open and shut the auxiliary gate valves on your hydrants.

It's a gauge of how much water is flowing through each hydrant in your city's water system at what pressure. This information might be useful to those responsible for planning water services and fire protection in your region. Go for the right fire hydrant specialist here.

 Some items to remember when doing flow measurements on hydrants

Make a schedule for inspecting one-third of the hydrants in your water system every year, and stick to it. The water that is discharged from a hydrant may do significant damage to the surrounding environment, plants, private property, and even structures, thus care must be taken to divert the flow to a safe area. Water main breaches may be prevented by opening and closing hydrant valves carefully to prevent water hammer.