Safety Notice - August 2006 (pdf)

Safety Notice - October 2007 (pdf)

Safety Notice - August 2008 (pdf)

Hydrant Upper Stem Replacement page

How do I know if my hydrants have been repaired?

In August 2006, Clow Valve Company issued an important Safety Notice alerting its clients that it will replace the lubricant and upper stem assemblies in Medallion and F2500 hydrants with cast years 02 2002, 2003, and 2004 nationwide. Approximately 113,000 fire hydrants may be affected.

Since the safety notice was mailed, more than 53,000 upper stems have been returned to Clow.

However, Clow still has not heard from some clients in response to the Safety Notice. Other clients have responded to the notice, but have not yet completed replacement of the affected lubricant and upper stem.

Clow is committed to finding every hydrant that is affected by this issue and replacing every upper stem that is affected. An approved contractor can be provided free of charge to municipalities, contact Clow Inside Sales Office for details. For municipalities that prefer to handle repairs internally, Clow offers a $40 labor allowance, free parts kit and covers shipping costs for every stem that is returned. The kit contains all necessary replacement parts, utensils to remove the existing grease, and a Replacement Procedure Manual. Clow recommends replacing upper stems in conjunction with scheduled inspection and maintenance procedures as outlined in the American Water Works Association standards and Clow fire hydrant product catalogs.

Clow re-emphasizes that it will provide, at no cost, a contractor to do the inspection and replacement, or a labor allowance along with free parts for each stem returned.

Clow has confirmed that the grease used to lubricate the upper stem threads from mid 2002 to mid 2004 causes corrosion of the thread material. If left unimpeded the corrosion will eventually result in a hard or, in extreme cases, impossible-to-operate hydrant. This potential threat to public safety is unacceptable for a Clow product.

During its replacement of the upper stem and lubrication in hydrants to date, Clow has found hydrant stems exhibiting corrosion caused by the calcium acetate in the grease. It appears the corrosion is increasing as time passes. As a result, there is a very real danger that some hydrants will be rendered inoperable if remedial action is not taken.

The Medallion hydrant can be identified by the presence of a starburst AWWA pattern. The F2500 model is easily recognizeable by its shape. Cast years are located near the base of the nozzle section.

Medallion Fire Hydrant

F2500 Fire Hydrant

Clow Valve Company urges clients to discontinue using any grease that contains calcium acetate in all Clow Valve Company fire hydrants or any brand of fire hydrant, including grease formerly supplied by Clow Valve Company.  The grease came in white squeeze tubes with blue lettering printed directly on the tube. The label could say DIAMOND FM GREASE 2EP or CLOW MEDALLION LUBRICANT. Clow’s new grease is supplied in a squeeze tube with a label that says Petro Blend FG #2. Old tubes can be exchanged for new tubes free of charge, contact Clow Sales Department for details.

Clow Valve Company asks their employees to consider safety the #1 priority when assembling hydrants, we ask you to do the same during these repairs. Verify that the control valve is fully shut before replacing a stem. It is our goal to provide public safety the same commitment we do employee safety. With that goal in mind we move forward in this project to ensure that the dependability and performance of our product is not jeopardized.