It made it to 100 degrees today, according to Weatherbug. At 8:45 it is still 96.
Yesterday when we got here I noticed that the frost proof hydrant by the barn was dripping. I played with it a little but couldn't get it to stop dripping. I noticed that it was loose in the ground and looked like it had been hit. It was only dripping so it wasn't high on my priority list.
This morning I got up early and when I stepped out of the RV I stepped in mud. The hydrant had leaked a lot during the night. I looked for a shut off valve but could not find one. I then looked in the electrical panel to find the breaker for the pump. None of the breakers are marked. Kathy had the idea of standing by with pressure tank while I turned breakers on and off to find the one that started the pump.
After shutting off the pump I dug up the hydrant and then turned the pump back on to see if what else I could find out. By the time I got back out by the barn the hole was full of water. We went to town and bought a new hydrant and pipe wrenches, mine are in Tennessee. After we returned home I enlarged the hole so that it was large enough to detach the existing hydrant. I got the old hydrant off and realized that the guy at the hardware store had given me a fitting that would not fit the new hydrant, so back to Jefferson City for more parts. I also picked up some bags of sand so that I could backfill the hole with sand, instead of the clay and rocks I had removed, in case I had to dig it up again.
I had let my tools lay in the sun and when I returned they were so hot I couldn't hold them. I finally got the new hydrant installed and had Kathy turn the pump back on. Water sprayed out of the fitting where the plastic pipe clamped over the ribbed fitting that screwed into the elbow that attaches to the hydrant. ( I had not taken this fitting apart.) By then I was getting pretty disgusted/discouraged.
Earlier Kathy had called Carl, and left a message, asking if there was a shut off for the outside hydrants that are around the property. Shortly after finding the leaking clamped fitting he called back to and told us that there is no shut off. He also told us that they guy he loaned the skid steer to had backed into the hydrant and damaged it. They thought they had it fixed. He said he would call the guy and have him come fix it. Less than a half hour later the guy and a buddy of his showed up. They took the leaking fitting apart, cut off a few inches of the plastic line and reconnected it. No leaks. The guy was very apologetic about not getting it fixed right after he had hit it. Carl was supposed to tell me that it had been hit and give me this guys phone number so that I could call him if it still leaked, but he forgot.
It was around 3 PM, and hotter than heck, by the time we finished partially refilling the hole. We only filled it part way so that I could pack it more tomorrow before finishing filling it.
Kelsey, Andy and Lydia came for supper. We enjoyed their company for the couple of hours that they were here.
Tomorrows high is only supposed to be 92, 8 degrees cooler than today. On Tuesday the high is supposed to be clear down to 87. After that the highs for the rest of the week are 98, 101, and then 100 on Friday. No rain in sight.
Good night to all and may God bless you and yours.
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