Frequently Asked Questions

Hydrants in areas were temperatures are consistently below freezing, have a higher tendency to freeze. These hydrants are dry barrel type, where the water should not remain in the barrel after use.  Hydrants that have water in the barrels after use need to be pumped out to avoid freezing in the winter.  The reasons for water remaining in the barrel could be, a leaking main valve, clogged drain plugs or high water table.  Monitoring these hydrants with the Hydrant drain meter, allows cities and municipalities to avoid safety issues of non functioning hydrants due to freezing.

The water level readings are taken from the end of the measuring wire at the sensor. The Sensor incorporates a small gap between the electrodes, which is the zero mark of the measurement.  When the electrodes are in contact with water, the circuit is complete which triggers the 3 LED's to turn on. 

The measuring wire has 1 foot incremental marks. When taking a measurement make note of the exact location of depth on the wire, and find closest foot measurement. To get the Inches measurement either a) place the wire up against the rubber gasket , each raised line is 1/2" and the ridges between the LEDs are 4" b) place the wire up against the magnet base and use the ruler provided to measure for Inches.

Yes, the drill nut driver will work on any cordless drill.  We recommend a smaller drill that has a speed adjustment on it which is set to the slowest setting.  We also recommend unscrewing the handle and replacing it with the wing nut provided to give it a better balance when using the cordless  drill. The measuring wire can also be reeled manually by grabbing the handle and winding it.

There are 2 x 9 Volt batteries already installed in the unit.   We have decided to design our units to hold 2 of the 9 Volt batteries, which makes the unit last longer.  The batteries are housed inside the cover under the handle and can be accessed by unscrewing the handle and flipping the cap.  

We recommend to turn off the unit to conserve the battery. 

Yes, all of our tools are made locally in Canada.

We currently are only shipping within Canada, but will offer shipping to the USA and Europe in the coming year.

The strong magnet (80 lb holding force) at the base of the meter can be used to hold it to any metal surface, at any angle.  The tool can be held on any Hydrant, metal well casing or side of well. The Holding Magnet can prevent fatigue by not needing to bend down to grab tool which makes the job faster and more efficient.  The tool can be also held on any metal surface of work van or truck for easy access to and from locations.  The metal base is also used for extra tool holding power when using the nut driver drill attachment. The Metal Sensor can be held magnetically on the base magnet and will not move when not in use.