Saw this going to a friend’s house- they bagged the fire hydrants….one thought was snow; but this is the first year apparently. And snow has been a mild issue this year compared to most.
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Firefighter here:
They’re made from cast iron that likes to rust and the only thing protecting them is the Paint on them.
My guess is that the paint got scratched and they’re bagging it up until they can repaint it.
For safe hydrant sex. Duhhh
Isn’t that what paint’s for? Seems like a lot of unnecessary plastic trash.
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That seems like chump change for something that probably already costs over $1000, won’t take a gallon of paint, and is meant to last for decades.
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You don’t remove them you strip clean and paint in place.
Lol down votes I’ve painted hydrants. You have obviously never. There would be no reason to remove them. Since you would also be disabling the hydrant to do it and what do you do if there is a fire? Here you dumb bastards.
Thats why you paint it with the correct paint before you install it in the first place.
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I imagine a fire hydrant is pretty expensive as well. Can’t imagine covering it in salt resistant paint would be that much of a price increase and even if it is I don’t imagine it would be cost prohibitive if it means a 20 year replacement cycle vs. a 10 year cycle.
If anything this may be protecting them from dog piss.
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Well ya, that’s why you put it on when the thing is being installed. Not talking about a Reno/repair.
If they didn’t put salt resistant paint on it when they first installed the thing because it was a few hundred dollars more that would be stupid.
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Cheaper to do bags than re-paint off-schedule. Usually cities have a schedule for maintenance, and the bag, in this case, is preventative for rust without being off-schedule for painting.
Paint gets scratches, especially where things turn and rub against each other. You don’t want the turning bits becoming seized and finding out at the worst time
Related question. Why are north American hydrants all of the “stick up out of the ground as a permanent fixture” type, rather than the more discreet and less likely to be damaged “pipe fitting concealed beneath a removable plate” type?
Probably because it’s still liable to be damaged (especially by freeze/thaw cycles,), the plate is liable to be lost, it’s harder to find- especially under a foot of snow-
And my personal favorite: tradition.
So dogs can pee on them, dingus.
Just FYI, the striped pole attached to the hydrant is so it can be found under snow.
Why wouldn’t they make the whole thing red?
It works in regular snow and blood snow
I believe there’s some logic in alternating patterns being more attention-grabbing to our brains, which is why you usually see stripes on anything you need to be cautious around.
The pole isn’t for locating the hydrant, per se, as much as it is for avoiding the hydrant. It’s so you don’t drive into it if it’s covered in snow.
it’s also for locating the hydrant when it’s covered in snow. Historically we’d have 3-4 feet of snow and most places are more than somewhat lax about clearing out the hydrant.
Because its easier to see
It’s also why flashing led road signs exist here in Australia around school zones
Not a great analogy for somewhere that has snow
The identify the troublemakers in your neighborhood.
You’ve been added to a list.
I’m on soooo many lists.
one more won’t hurt.
That’s another list, buddy
It’s to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Always bag up your hydrants, boys!
To maintain freshness
Possibly out of service. There are dedicated high visibility bags for this purpose but if whoever did this didn’t have one, this looks like a stopgap to help make it more obvious.
My guess is to keep water from getting into the threads and freezing them shut.
