The purpose of a hydrant is to be ready in the case of an emergency. Fortunately, those emergencies do not occur on a regular basis. What does need to happen regularly is maintenance to ensure they will be ready when the time comes. Basic hydrant maintenance and flushing is vital to keeping your hydrants at the ready, and maintaining proper records of that maintenance is an important and essential responsibility.

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During maintenance, the steps taken must be documented and logged, along with any repairs that have taken place with that particular hydrant. Properly tracking this information can be a very complex and errors must be avoided. One way to simplify the process is by installing a hydrant tag with a unique identification number. These tags are easy to apply using a crimping tool to pinch the fastener shut, creating a long-term identification method for that particular hydrant.

When a hydrant isn't working properly or is pending replacement, it's vital that it is clearly marked as being out of service. The winter months increase the frequency of house fires due to the use of space heaters, wood stoves and the presence of Christmas trees in the home. When a fire engine hooks up to an unmarked out of service hydrant, valuable minutes are lost as the fire fighters attempt to troubleshoot the hydrant problem, not realizing that it's out of service. To save those valuable minutes, Out of Service signs that mount on the hydrant itself create a clear message to first responders during an emergency. This allows them to switch to another hydrant for an effective water supply.

By tracking and marking your hydrants properly, you can ensure that your customers will have the water they need when it's most critical to their health and safety. New Concept Tools is dedicated to developing tools for the waterworks industry that provide real-world results. Please feel free to contact us today to learn how we can help you keep the water flowing and your community safer.