Salt Water Applications
General Information
Salt Water is perhaps the worst environment one can have for Dry Hydrant installations. While it is difficult these concerns can be overcome with good planning. Some of the problems encountered are:
- Barnacles forming on the strainer preventing full flow.
- Corrosion of materials.
- Ultraviolet Rays of the Sun.
- Constant Wave Action and/or Boats.
- Silt and/or suspended debris.
Below we will address how to mitigate each of these issues. You will note some of these have several solutions. You will need to evaluate each one to decide which solution best fits your situation.
1. Barnacles
A. Paint
Anti-fowling Marine paint often works very well. Especially in brackish water. As added insurance you may wish to attach the strainer using threaded adapters, which can be screwed on and off for cleaning. The strainer can then be removed, as needed, cleaned repainted and replaced with minimal effort. To save dive time it may be useful to have a spare strainer already made up and painted. The spare can then just be swapped out with the one being removed. (Use 1 male and 1 female PVC Couplings for attachment. These are available in 6" and 8" sizes.) Anti-fowling Marine Paint can usually be obtained at most large marina's or boat repair locations.
B. Fistular Dry Hydrant Installation - "Patented" -
The Swivel Kit is designed for special applications where the strainer is not desired to be in the water all of the time. Obvious if the strainer is not in the water barnacles will not grow on it. It works like a giant suction straw. It rests in place until needed. To use, you simply pivot the strainer end up, rotate it around and slide it gently into the water. The device uses a 180 Deg Dry Hydrant Head but can use a variety of strainers. The picture below shows a 6" Horizontal Strainer.
The kit includes the Swivel and Pivot Device along with two Cradles. Cradles are used to support the pipe and strainer in both the "at rest" and "in use" positions. System as shown uses one 20 ft section of 6" Schedule 40 PVC Pipe. Great for salt water applications.
| Part No. | Size | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 9182-000 | 6" | Swivel Kit – Fistular Dry Hydrant |
Diagram of Swivel Kit:
C. PVC/Flex Joint - Dry Hydrant Installation
Use of a flexible suction hose provides another solution in keeping the strainer out of the water. The one shown here is designed to glue into a 6" or larger PVC pipe. The 3 ft. section comes complete with 6" PVC Straight Pipe Connections on each end. The collars are the same as used on the suction hoses and can be changed in the field if needed. The black helical hose is translucent and water can be seen as drafting proceeds.
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Female/Female NST, Storz or Cam Lock also available upon request.
Dry Hydrant Design Solutions Menu |
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