Editing Fire hydrant (section)

==Inspection and maintenance==
In most areas, fire hydrants require annual inspections and maintenance; they normally only have a one-year warranty, but some have 5- or even 10-year warranties, although the longer warranty does not remove the need for periodic inspections or maintenance. These inspections are generally performed by the local municipalities or fire departments, but they often do not inspect hydrants that are identified as private. Private hydrants are usually located on larger properties to adequately protect large buildings in case of a fire and in order to comply with the [[fire code]]. Such hydrants have met the requirements of insurance underwriters and are often referred to as UL/FM hydrants. Usually, companies are contracted out to inspect private fire hydrants, unless the [[municipality]] has undertaken that task. 

Some fire hydrant manufacturers recommend lubricating the head mechanism and restoring the [[Head gasket|head gaskets]] and [[O-ring|O-rings]] annually in order that the fire hydrant perform the service expected of them, while others have incorporated proprietary features to provide long-term lubrication of the hydrant's operating mechanism. In any case, periodic inspection of lubricants is recommended. [[Lubrication]] is generally done with a food-grade non-petroleum lubricant to avoid contamination of the distribution system.

Occasionally a stone or foreign object will mar the seat gasket. In this case, most hydrants have a special seat wrench that allows removal of the seat to replace the gasket or other broken parts without removing the hydrant from the ground. Hydrant extensions are also available for raising a hydrant if the grade around the hydrant changes. Without extending the height, the wrenches to remove caps would not clear and the break flanges for traffic models would not be located correctly in case they were hit. Hydrant repair kits are also available to repair sacrificial parts designed to break when hit by a vehicle.

Many [[Fire department|fire departments]] use the hydrants for flushing out water line sediments. When doing so, they often use a hydrant diffuser, a device that diffuses the water so that it does not damage property and is less dangerous to bystanders than a solid stream. Some diffusers also [[dechlorinate]] the water to avoid ground contamination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Portals/0/city-documents/Water/Hydrant_Flushing_FAQ%281%29.pdf|title=Hydrant Flushing FAQ, United States of America|access-date=12 March 2012|archive-date=6 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006125858/http://ashevillenc.gov/Portals/0/city-documents/Water/Hydrant_Flushing_FAQ(1).pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hydrants are also sometimes used as entry or exit points for [[pigging|pipe cleaning pigs]].

In 2011, [[Code for America]] developed an "Adopt a Hydrant" website, which enables volunteers to sign up to shovel out fire hydrants after snowstorms. As of 2014, the system has been implemented in [[Boston]]; [[Providence, Rhode Island]]; [[Anchorage, Alaska]]; and [[Chicago]].<ref>{{Cite news| last = Raja| first = Tasneem| title = Is Coding the New Literacy?| work = [[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]| access-date = 2014-06-21| date = 2014| url = https://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/06/computer-science-programming-code-diversity-sexism-education}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Hydrantenschluessel Oberflur gross.jpg|Fire hydrant wrench ([[Germany]])
File:Fire hydrant knocked over.jpg|A fire hydrant that was hit by a snowplow and knocked over, damaging only the sacrificial bolts
File:2011-02-12 Fire hydrant flushing 1.jpg|A fire hydrant flushing water through a diffuser in [[Durham, North Carolina]]
File:Fire hydrant flushing rusty water.jpg|A fire hydrant without a diffuser, flushing discolored water
File:Fire hydrant inspection by firefighters in Oklahoma.jpg|Hydrant testing by firefighters
</gallery>