Purging water from garden hose

[racerboy]

My wife keeps her horses at her mother’s farm, which means twice a day, every day, we have to go over there to feed and water the horses. Her mother has owned the property for 20+ years, but always refused to invest in putting in a water hydrant near the barn because of cost. And also because she has never had to actually take care of the animals, even though one of the horses is hers. Anyway, the wife has always been dragging a long garden hose down to the troths. In the warm weather, she just leaves the hose on the ground, but in winter, she always rolls it back up to drain it and store it in the garage. We have a small compressor over there and I was thinking that instead of unrolling and rolling it back up, couldn’t we just purge the hose after every use with air so there was no water in it to freeze? Or would the hose itself not survive being left out on frozen ground, and eventual snow?

 

[scooby074]

Blow it out with a rubber tip blowgun or specialty connector.


electric heated hoses are an option to

 

[Jeepster04]

You say 'down to,' is it all down hill?

If not, you'll most likely always end up with just enough water in the sag to freeze and upset the wife.

 

[mike93lx]

This is what I use

Everbilt 1/4 in. x 3/4 in. Quick Connect Brass Garden Hose Irrigation Blow Out Fitting (2-Pack) 860520 - The Home Depot

Control the flow of water pressure in your home with addition of this high quality Everbilt Quick Connect x Brass Garden Hose Irrigation Blow Out Fitting.

www.homedepot.com

Also nice for the pressure washer and I use it to blow out my pool lines

If it's running downhill, adding a y splitter at both ends can give an easy way to let air in uphill and water out downhill

 

[JeepYJ]

You run water twice a day?
Just have one end of the hose higher than the other and it should drain as long as it’s all going downhill. How far of a run is it?

 

[LOW1]

Unless a horse bites it or cuts it somehow leaving the hose out will not hurt it. Mine has been laying out for 20 years.

You could also splice in an air line valve in the hose right after the hose bib which you could then plug the airline into. Easier than connecting and disconnecting the hose.

Just make sure the hose is fully drained of water.

 

[Youngandfree]

Unhook from the spigot, and raise that end over your head. Maybe fashion something to hold it in the up position to help it drain. Zero need to roll it up.

 

[wssix99]

A few thoughts:

- For this much work, I would just buy a cheap hose and replace it when it gets destroyed from leaving it outside. ...Have Mom pay for it.
- This type of thing got me into expandable hoses. High quality ones are available and it's very easy to bunch them up and bring them inside.
- I was always told it was good to find a wife who could **** a golf ball through a garden hose. Maybe this sort of situation is the reason???

 

[Black300zx]

Unhook from the spigot, and raise that end over your head. Maybe fashion something to hold it in the up position to help it drain. Zero need to roll it up.

This. Leave the hose stretched out on the ground from the spigot to the tough. Unhook it from the spigot, lift the end up and over your shoulder, then walk the length of the hose while lifting the hose continuously over your shoulder to force water out the far end.

This is the standard M.O. at my wife's farm once overnight temps get below freezing. Takes 30 seconds and is less effort than coiling it back up.

 

[Rc_Guy]

I had this from when we had a rv, I use this to blow out my hose at home.

 

[Firebrick43]

Show some appreciation for what your MIL is doing by getting a shovel, dig a trench, and put in a hydrant. Ditches/trenches were dug for dozens of millennia before the last 75 years that excavators have been in common use.

It’s ironic that millennials killed manual labor.

I don’t know how far you are going but a 40-50 foot trench can

Why does your mother in law have to provide it when she is apparently letting you keep your horses there?

Also the horses will do just fine being fed and watered once a day. 30 years and one hasn’t suffered yet here. Some could stand to loose some weight.

 

[In The Doghouse]

Good golly. Dig a trench and run water to where you need it.

 

[Maddog3355]

This. Leave the hose scratched out on the ground from the spigot to the tough. Unhook it from the spigot, lift the end up and over your shoulder, then walk the length of the hose while lifting the hose continuously over your shoulder to force water out the far end.

This is the standard M.O. at my wife's farm once overnight temps get below freezing. Takes 30 seconds and is less effort than coiling it back up.

This is what I do and has worked for me, sometimes might have a small piece of ice in it but the water flowing through it will melt it out pretty fast.

 

[Maddog3355]

Good golly. Dig a trench and run water to where you need it.

Wait awhile then after you finally do it you can say why didn’t I do that 20 years ago!!!

 

[racerboy]

Thanks for all the feedback. It’s mostly downhill from the spigot to the troths. I’ll consider some of the different options suggested (except I won’t be permitted to dig a trench).

 

[Steve W.]

Sorry, have to ask.

What’s a “troth”?

.

 

[JRC3]

Sorry, have to ask.

What’s a “troth”?

You ever been to the mensroom at a NASCAR race?

 

[JeepYJ]

Sorry, have to ask.

What’s a “troth”?

.

I’m assuming water trough. Big tank for livestock water.

 

[charbar]

Leave the hose scratched out on the ground from the spigot to the tough. Unhook it from the spigot, lift the end up and over your shoulder, then walk the length of the hose while lifting the hose continuously over your shoulder to force water out the far end.

Yep. And if it's too hard to unscrew the hose from the spigot every time then put a quick connect on it.

 

[hans109h]

If your going to rely on gravity or blow the water out with air, I would suggest installing a stop and waste valve between your spigot and hose, this way you will can simply remove the cap/plug to break the vacuum without having to remove the hose. You can also use the vent to blow compressed air into.

Hans

 

[Firebrick43]

 

[mike93lx]

If your going to rely on gravity or blow the water out with air, I would suggest installing a stop and waste valve between your spigot and hose, this way you will can simply remove the cap/plug to break the vacuum without having to remove the hose. You can also use the vent to blow compressed air into.

Hans

Or just a splitter with valves

 

[niget2002]

Personally, I'm lazy AF about stuff like this...

I'd get the heated hose. They have a built-in thermostat and will only turn on when the outside temp drops below freezing and only heats the hose enough to keep the water from freezing.

 

[larry4406]

If the hose truly runs downhill from the tap to the point of use, put a wye at the tap.

One leg of the wye connects to your hose as normal. Other leg put a 1/4 turn valve on.

With the 1/4 turn valve closed, you get water from the tap via the hose at its outfall.

As the water is flowing, abruptly turn off the water while simultaneously opening the 1/4 turn. You’re now using the momentum of the flowing water and the created air vent to drain the hose.

I have a similar arrangement inside my house to drain hose bibs and works like a dream.

 

[kbeefy]

How cold does it get?

I agree with putting a vent tee at the upper end and just letting it drain.
Some water in the hose wont hurt to freeze. It's the metal parts you want dry.

If it doesn't get terribly cold you could just leave it on at a reduced rate all night. The flowing water won't freeze as quickly. If your already filling the trough(s) twice a day maybe a constant flow is doable. Also, a float valve on the trough end will reduce the work for you by alot.
You can turn it on and forget it, if you can manage the freezing bit.

We would leave lines running down to 20 degrees without freezing.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Most garden hoses are a ****** to coil up when it's below freezing. I'd leave it stretched out on the ground, so any water will drain out at the low end.

 

[The Cobbler]

sounds to me like OP is not happy enough they have a place to store their horse... probably free of charge. what a shame

 

[GrayFlattop]

Simple. Just train the horses to fetch their own water. Problem solved.

Seriously, man up and bury some tubing in a trench, rent a trencher if you must. Your cash investment will reap benefits in terms of domestic tranquility. Wife is happy, mil is happy, horses are happy.

 

[GrayFlattop]

Most garden hoses are a ****** to coil up when it's below freezing. I'd leave it stretched out on the ground, so any water will drain out at the low end.

Buy a good quality rubber hose. I’ve left a black rubber Goodyear hose out for decades, pressurized except when I’m out of town. Amortized, that investment cost me about $0.65/ year.