Patent ID: 8752567

Claim:
A leak protection frost-free hydrant assembly installed at a building, comprising: a frost-free hydrant having a housing, a first passage through the housing, and a valve having a long stem mounted in the first passage, the valve having a handle at one end of the frost-free hydrant and the first passage having a valve seat near the other end of the frost-free hydrant, the valve rotatable within the first passage by turning the handle to move the valve by screw action longitudinally along the first passage between closed and open positions at the valve seat, the first passage having a first bore behind the valve seat at the other end of the frost-free hydrant, the first bore dimensioned to receive pipe of predetermined exterior diameter in a sealing connection, a unitary protection device comprising a sheath having a second passage extending from one end to the other end, an escutcheon plate at said one end having an opening communicating with the second passage, an end cap at the other end having an integral tube projecting therefrom, the tube having a second bore communicating with the second passage and being dimensioned to receive pipe of the predetermined exterior diameter, the frost-free hydrant having a length which is one of a range of lengths of frost-free hydrants for use with the protection device, the length of the protection device being more than each of the lengths of said range of lengths, a link pipe of said predetermined exterior diameter sealingly connected at one end in the first bore, sealingly connected in the tube, and sealingly connected at its other end to a water supply fitment, the link pipe having a length such that the length of the combined frost-free hydrant and link pipe is greater than the length of the protection device, the protection device and the frost-free hydrant commonly fixed at their outer ends to an outside face of an exterior wall of the building.