Outside Screw-in Faucet

[fred1949]

I've replaced the outside screw-in faucet a couple of times in the last two years. My first question is I bought these simple made faucets at Lowe's. They look like they are the casted kind & they break very easily at where they thread in. I think that I probably should get a different type that is stronger built. That is where I need your advice. Also is there a trick on the screw-in faucet to get the faucet standing straight down when it comes tight?

Fred

[LazyPup]

Good Morning Fred;

I presume you are by the term "outside screw in faucett" you are describing an outdoor hose bibb. If this is the case I don't think finding a stronger faucett is going to resolve your problem.

Even the "El Cheapo's" must meet a certain ASTM (American Society of Testing & Materials) mechanical standard before it can be accepted as approved for installation so it is highly unlikely that you will find one that is made much stronger.

The real question here is "What is causing the threads to fail?" Sight unseen, I would guess that the threads are failing from undue mechanical stress such as people hanging a 5-gallon bucket on the faucett while filling or yanking a hose in a vain attempt to get another couple feet closer to the point of demand. Under no circumstances should any threaded pipe joint be subjected to unnecesary physical shock so the key here is to identify the real problem and eliminate that.

Perhaps the first problem is that you are selecting the wrong type of faucett for this application. From what you are describing I would guess that you currently have a "boiler cock" which is simply a cast valve body with a hose thread on the output and is mounted solely by a cast male NPT (national pipe taper) thread on the input. These type of valves are designed solely for what their name implies, drain ports for boilers, water heaters or pressure tanks. They should not be used as service valves for utililty or garden hoses.

At a minimum, the outside valves intended for garden hoses should be "Sill Cocks". A sill cock is also a cast valve body with a hose thread on the output and a male NPT threaded input, but they also have a cast collar around the base of the valve with two mounting holes in the collar. The piping should be arranged so that when the valve is screwed tightly into the piping the collar will then be flush with the exterior finish wall of the structure or support and the collar is then affixed to the structure or mount by means of two screws through the collar and into the support. This gives the valve a good mechanical support and eliminates unneccessary stress on the pipe threads.

If you find the real cause of your problem is people yanking on the hose you have a number of options:

1.Retrain the operators, but we all know that it is nearly impossible to break people of years of bad habits.

2. Get a longer hose, but in most instances they will extend out to the end of that one and give one more yank for good measure so it does little to resolve the problem.

3. Secure the input end of the hose near the faucett allowing a short length of hose from the anchor to the valve. This would put the shock on the anchor point and eliminate any unneccessary shock to the valve.

4. Install another silcock closer to the point of demand.

While discussing outdoor hose bibbs or silcocks there are a couple Code Requirements that you should be aware of.

All outside valves intended to supply hoses are now required to have a "vacuum Breaker". This would eliminate the possibilty of any contaminated water in the hose or ground water from being sucked back into the house potable water supply in the event that there is a negative pressure condition in the house piping system such as might happen when draining a system to service a valve or repair a pipe.

If you live in a region subject to freezing temperatures in winter the code now requires that all outside faucetts must be the "Frost Proof" type. Personally I think this was a very dumb move on the part of those who make the regulations. First of all, we must not forget that Frost proof is not "Freeze Proof". A frost proof faucett is in fact a hydrant type faucett meaning that the actual valving mechanism is made at some specific distance from the control handle and valve output. Typically the frost proof faucetts currently being installed are 12" or 14" long. In theory that is long enough to permit the faucett to be on the outside of the house while still keeping the actual valving mechanism inside the heated portion of the structure. This concept works fine in regions where they get the occassional overnight freeze but in regions where outdoor temps can fall well below freezing or even sub zero and remain there for an extended period of time we still see a lot of these valves freezing and failing. They do make 24" frost proof hydrants but they are very expensive and in some regions 24" is still not enough distance to insure the line won't freeze. This also will not protect a line that is coming through the exterior wall from an unheated crawlspace. While I do install the frost proof hydrants to meet code requirement, I also elect to use the method that worked perfectly years ago. When installing a line to supply an outside hose faucett I install a "Stop & Waste" cock on the line at least 3' inside the heated portion of the structure then install the last three feet of line with a slight downward pitch toward the hose bibb. When taking in your hoses and making preparations for winter you can then turn off the stop cock and open the outdoor valve, leaving it open all winter. This will allow all the standing water in the pipe from the stop cock to the outside faucett to drain out, and by leaving the outdoor faucett open it will allow any water that might seep past the stop and waste to drain out thus eliminating the potential of the line freezing. It is then a simple matter in spring time to open the stop & waste valve and close the outdoor valve, which is then ready for normal use.

[fred1949]

More Info

I'm sending you a picture of my faucet. The "Princess" swears that she didn't pull on it but these keep getting busted right where the threads go into the fitting. I was just wondering if there was a such a hose bib that had a stronger anchorage?

[pushkins]

Wow, that must be one mighty strong "Princess" ?

[mud]

Also is there a trick on the screw-in faucet to get the faucet standing straight down when it comes tight?

Fred

This makes me wonder if they are being cranked to tight when screwed in.

[HayZee518]

looks like a standard boiler drain screwed into an earred angle adapter. get a hose reel that fastens to the house and uses a short hose to connect to the feed. then all the strain will be on the hose reel not the valve.