A hydrant wrench is a tool used to remove
fire hydrant
A fire hydrant, waterplug, or firecock (archaic) is a connection point by which firefighters can tap into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection. Underground fire hydrants have been used in Europe and Asia since at least t ...
caps and open the valve of the hydrant. They are usually adjustable so as to fit different sized hydrant nuts.
In France
In
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, The wrench is called "Guillemin wrench" (, pronounced ), but the firefighters call it "tricoise wrench" (''clef tricoise'', ). The curved part applies on the ring, and the hooked part clutches a notch.
Big tricoise wrenches are placed in
fire trucks, and are mainly used to fasten the big hoses, e.g. ∅110 mm hoses to feed the pumper tank from the hydrant (∅100 mm for the clutch). Small tricoise are made of
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wi ...
and hang at the fire belts; they are used to fasten the small hoses, ''e.g.'', ∅70mm to ∅22mm hoses (∅65mm to ∅20mm clutches).
The shape is sometimes adapted so it can be used as a tool for other purposes; it is then called "polycoise wrench" or "Deschamps wrench". These tools are used to
* Open
GDF standard
gas enclosures and
EDF EDF may refer to:
Organisations
* Eclaireurs de France, a French Scouting association
* Education for Development Foundation, a Thai charity
* Électricité de France, a French energy company
** EDF Energy, their British subsidiary
** EDF Luminus ...
standard
electrical
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
enclosures (12mm female triangle wrench);
* Open fire hydrants (15.6mm female triangle);
* Open doors without knobs, ventilation accesses and closets containing firefighting equipment in some public locations (5×5mm to 8×8mm square female wrenches);
* Open
dry risers (12.5×12.5mm square female wrench);
* Open bathroom and toilet doors (
screwdriver
A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for turning screws. A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, ending in a tip the user puts into the screw head before turning the handle. This form of the screwdriver has been repla ...
); and
* Remove
nuts and
bolts (13, 17 and 19mm six-point wrenches).
In the United States
The shape of a hydrant wrench is sometimes adapted so it can be used as a tool for other purposes, such as:
*
Storz and spanner hose couplings
* Rocker lug couplings
*
Water meter
Water metering is the practice of measuring water use. Water meters measure the volume of water used by residential and commercial building units that are supplied with water by a public water supply system. They are also used to determine flow ...
shutoff valves
* Gas cock valves
* Pentagonal nuts
* Square nuts.
See also
*
Birdsill Holly
Birdsill Holly Jr. (November 8, 1820 – April 27, 1894) was an American mechanical engineer and inventor of water hydraulics devices. He is known for inventing mechanical devices that improved city water systems and patented an improved fire hy ...
, noted for his inventions related to city water system equipment and apparatus for fire protection, like the fire hydrant.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hydrant wrench
Firefighter tools
Water industry