In Ohio – what is this thing?

[TillaMurphs]

I measured from this to use it as a reference object.

 

Now that I am back in Oregon , writing up my logs, I realized, that even though I saw a lot of these, I don’t know what they are.

 

What is this rusty iron vertical pipe-thing?

 

[68-eldo]

I believe it is a pipe valve stem. The handle padlocked to the side is used to turn the valve on or off. It maybe related to a fire hydrant which would explain its red paint.

 

If I am wrong someone will correct me.

[AZcachemeister]

I believe it is a pipe valve stem. The handle padlocked to the side is used to turn the valve on or off. It maybe related to a fire hydrant which would explain its red paint.

 

If I am wrong someone will correct me.

 

Essentially correct ( I think).

If I'm not mistaken, it controls the fire sprinkler system inside the building.

They are all keyed alike, and the fire department has the keys.

The (apparently broken) electrical box on the side is an alarm system to detect operation of the valve, and alert the FD and/or the building occupants.

 

Not common here in AZ, but there are a few around.

[+jwahl]

Using previous clues, I think they are called "post indicator" valves (PIV). The little window is to allow quick indication of whether the thing is open or closed.

 

There are still many models made

 

http://www.acipco.com/afc/ip-71/

[TillaMurphs]

You guys are AWESOME! Thanks! You nailed the identification.

 

Using your diagnosis, I did some searching. I found a site has a good explanation and pictures of models by various manufacturers: FireHydrant.org

 

Hah. A website where people spend time researching and taking photos of old obscure things that most people would not be interested in. What a bunch of nuts. Oh - wait...

[+Klemmer]

Thanks for the chuckle, TillaMurphs. Unfortunately, how very true....

[mloser]

I used a similar fire hydrant enthusiast website to prove that a bench mark that was the top nut on a hydrant was destroyed. I took pictures of the hydrant model number and proved that the hydrant was made AFTER the mark was described so it could NOT be the mark.

[+TheBeanTeam]

I used a similar fire hydrant enthusiast website to prove that a bench mark that was the top nut on a hydrant was destroyed. I took pictures of the hydrant model number and proved that the hydrant was made AFTER the mark was described so it could NOT be the mark.

 

This is dedication folks.....

 

Well done.

[mloser]

You gotta do what you gotta do. The little voices told me I had to.

 

This was a perfect project for my ADD and OCD.

[AZcachemeister]

You gotta do what you gotta do. The little voices told me I had to.

 

This was a perfect project for my ADD and OCD.

 

What puzzles me is how would you suspect something was amiss?

 

Ya, I know...the OCD...