Freeze/frost proof outdoor faucets - what's good, what's bad?

[kco]

I hate those things. 4 years ago the frostfree downstairs burst and didnt know it until the wife hooked hose onto it to water garden. Went downstairs to a flooded basement and $20,000 in damages. After repair work was complete i removed all the frost frees from house walls, and put in buried frost frees instead. The insurance adjuster told me he sees hundreds of them frozen every year.

We had an almost identical incident several years back when my wife watered for the first time in the spring. Luckily I was inside, heard the water and ran out to close the faucet. The faucet had split where the washer assembly meets the seat for the valve. That is, the split was just on the outside part the faucet pipe. The valve still worked to stop the water so no damage was done.

The faucet is in the basement and the problem was they had installed fibreglass insulation in the inside wall completely covering the inside part of the faucet. I removed the insulation around the valve housing so the heat from the basement keeps that part from freezing. The original faucet may also have been installed incorrectly. As RustyA mentions, make sure there is a slight downward angle to the outside.

 

[Morning Wood]

Unless you have incredible heat loss in your home, those will freeze. I think they need to get over 14” in length to actually work, and that usually means they need to protrude directly into a basement. I have 4 of them in my house. 2 are hot/cold, and 2 just cold. They will all freeze up slightly when it gets real cold. I just installed balls valves with drains and I remove the drain cap completely and blow them out with a compressor and a Vinyl hose. Doesn’t take long and I only use 1 hose bib during the winter which i just continually blow out if it gets really cold.

 

[oosik]

I have one outside faucet that comes out thru the rim joist. My rim joist is backed with 4" of urethane insulation on the inside.

I can not remember the brand of faucet. It comes 24" inside, into the basement to the shut off valve.

I also have a screw on freeze cap mounted on the rim joist fascia board on the outside of the house.

 

[Cord]

Sadly, none are any better than the others. Theyæ±*e all very cheaply made and are very restrictive. Even the 3/4 valves have the same port size as a 1/2?. I will say that the valves with the plastic handles and rods seem to the least durable.

 

[2manyrocks]

^Plumbing fittings aren't what they used to be even though they seem to be more expensive than ever.

The thing about using a stopNwaste shut off on the inside is the OP should be able to fully drain the portion of the pipe leading to the outside.

 

[chim]

..................Now each of the water spigots has four sprays of water coming out the handle indicating they froze and need to be replaced....................

It may not be a big problem. Water will come out around the handle if the packing around the shaft is damaged or the packing nut is loose. The valve is on the house end of the assembly. In normal operation, the entire tube fills with water when the valve is open (right out to where the stem comes through the packing nut). I've seen both rubber washers and graphite string used for packing on small valves.

The simplest fix is if slightly tightening the packing nut stops the sprays. Replacing the packing is pretty simple if tightening doesn't do the trick.

Leaks from freezing will be inside the wall. Been there.

 

[newbury]

Sadly, none are any better than the others. Theyæ±*e all very cheaply made and are very restrictive. Even the 3/4 valves have the same port size as a 1/2?. I will say that the valves with the plastic handles and rods seem to the least durable.

I believe some are better than others.
Reading reviews there was one that had rave reviews until 2017, then it seems they changed the way it was made and there were many reports of leaks. Some have cheap construction or quality control.
The Woodford has consistently great reviews, good construction.

 

[GLyford]

If you read the directions, they way they are supposed to work is that they are deliberately uninsulated and conduct the heat from the theoretically warmer basement down the metal to the outside to stay thawed, so the more you insulate them the worse they perform. In my experience at least, in a deep subzero cold snap the basement just isn't warm enough anyway, even just an armspan away from a constantly running furnace. At least mine are in a basement that is open inside the sill, and not mounted through an insulated wall.

I usually do okay as long as I remember to pull the hoses and shut off the inside. I have tried both the slope to outside to drain, and with and inside drain cap on the cutoff. I prefer the slope to the outside.

The other problem I have with these longer faucets is I have hard water with iron, so brass valves sort of electroplate themselves with rust from the water, which then jams the valve. With the long stem, the rust on the valve gets stronger over winter than the long stem can take and the stem twists off on first use in the spring. Lately it seems like packing doesn't last very long on these either, and I am tightening the packing nut all the time. Once upon a time it took decades to wear out the packing on a faucet, not under a year.

These days, I seem to just end up replacing them every 2 or 3 years regardless of brand or quality, as I will either forget and leave a hose on or my water makes them self destruct.

 

[Ford850]

I've never had one of these freeze, over many decades of using at least a dozen in various brands. I replace packing and washers as needed, and some are insulated and others are not. I have to wonder, are those of you who have had freezing (not when it's your fault due to hose or no slope) using long or short versions? I know they are made as short as 4" but I've always used the much longer faucets. I think most have been 8, 10, or 12" extensions so they cut water off well within the basement. I've been using Woodfords the most due to the availability of parts.

 

[JohnBuffaloMN]

My plumber recommends and will be installing Woodford - he says you can get parts and repair them