the clamshell-shaped body gives the hydrant its main advantage over other hydrants on the market. “I grew up on Rockaway Beach, right by the ocean,” Sigelakis said. “I was always intrigued by the way the clam locks itself. It can’t be pried into. ” In the new Sigelock hydrant, the
ductile iron casting is the clamshell, and it too is expected to be impenetrable.
A Clam’s Home According to Sigelakis, the traditional
fire hydrant has been made the same way for 100 years, and it’s highly vulnerable to tampering. The cliché image of urban kids playing in water from the neighbor- hood hydrant is no myth, he said, and when people open the devices to enjoy their cool spray or wash their cars, it dam- ages them. That can cost lives.
“When hydrants break down, fire- fighters have to go to the next hydrant,” Sigelakis said. “And every second after 2.5 minutes the fire doubles in size, increasing the risk of backdrafts and people dying.”
To greatly reduce the risk of unnec- essary deaths, Sigelakis first redesigned the traditional hydrant with a built in locking mechanism.
Next, he needed a way to protect the new lock. The high strength ductile iron clamshell design turned out to be ideal, keeping scofflaws from prying into it and deflecting blows from blunt objects like sledge hammers.
40 METAL CASTING DESIGN AND PURCHASING
“The casting is the body of the hydrant and the protection of the op- erating parts. It is a key part,” Sigelakis said. “A regular fire hydrant is like a faucet. It’s just a pipe coming out of the ground. The operating nut sticks out and is exposed.”
Sigelock calls its new hydrant the Spartan, and the company said the overall effect of the new, enclosed design is to make the municipal waterworks equip- ment safer, more reliable, less risky for property and civilians and greener, wast- ing less water than traditional hydrants. In addition to deterring vandals, the com- pany says the Spartan is more resistant to weather corrosion and requires less
JULY/AUGUST 2011
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