Outdoor faucet repair can be a frequent necessity, but it is somewhat different from work on an indoor faucet. The need for water in outdoor areas frequently dictates that specially designed faucets called hose bibs or silcocks be installed outdoors. Unless they are so installed as to be sheltered from the weather, outdoor faucets undergo more stress than those inside a structure and are likely to fail more often. When this happens, homeowners must either hire professional help or fix the plumbing themselves.
About Outdoor Faucets
The requirements of outdoor installation make outdoor faucet repair somewhat different than work on indoor faucets. A leaking hose bib is not as obvious as a sink or bathroom faucet. If its drips falls into a flower bed or on a lawn, the first hint of a problem may be an unexplained rise in the water bill. Householders should make a practice of checking each hose bib for problems on a regular basis, perhaps whenever locks on gates are checked. If a problem is suspected, and easy way to double check is at the water meter. Turn off all the faucets and make sure the water heater and toilet tanks are not filling, then look at the meter and note the position of its readout. Look away for a count of ten, then look back. If the indicator has moved, a leak exists somewhere in the system, and a hose bib may well be at fault.
The parts involved in repairing outdoor faucets are slightly different than those used indoors. Some handymen simply replace the entire hose bib whenever it begins to leak, as the procedure is simple and even if one problem is fixed, an older spigot may soon develop other troubles. Replacing a hose bib is simplicity itself: one simply turns off the water supply, allows the water in the lines to drain away, crawls under the structure to the junction between the hose bib and the pipe and either unscrews it or, if it is soldered on, unsolders it with a plumbing torch. From the outside, pull the old faucet out.
Install the spacer that came with the new faucet, wrap the new spigot’s pipe with insulating tape at the point where it penetrates the foundation and push the pipe through. Then crawl back underneath, attach the new faucet, turn the water on and check for leaks. If the new faucet holds water, the outdoor faucet repair is complete. If not, find and repair the leak at once, since a faucet that leaks due to an installation error is at least as expensive as one that loses water due to mechanical failure. Remember to check under the house at the junction to make sure to water loss is occuring at that point.
Outdoor Faucet Repair
Some homeowners may prefer to repair an existing outside water faucet rather than install a new one. This requires diagnosing the particular problem that is causing the faucet to leak, which may be anything from a leaking valve to a burst pipe. This procedure is not unique to outdoor faucets, of course, but it can be more complicated because of the outdoor setting, particularly if the hose bib is somewhat inaccessible. However, careful inspection of the faucet will lead to one of four conclusions:
- * The vacuum breaker atop the spigot is leaking.
- * The faucet leaks leak around handle.
- * The faucet leaks out the spout.
- * A pipe has ruptured.
Vacuum breaker problems
When a faucet is shut off, some water will still remain between the valve and the mouth of the spigot. This is especially true of frost free faucets in which the actual valve is several inches away from the spigot, inside the structure’s crawl space. A device called a vacuum breaker permits air to enter the line so that the water can drain out, preventing freezing and other problems. A vacuum breaker is meant to be a one-way valve. If water comes out of it, it is either dirty or damaged. To repair it, pry the lid off the top and check for debris. Replace any defective parts, or just install a new vacuum breaker.
Leaky handles
If the outdoor water faucet is leaking around the handle, the first step is to tighten gently the packing nut near the faucet handle with an adjustable wrench. If this does not cure the leak, the packing itself must be replaced. The first step is to turn off the water to the affected line, usually by turning off all the water to the house at the meter. Then unscrew the nut until the faucet stem is all the way out of the body. Remove the faucet handle with a screwdriver and pull off the packing nut and the packing. Replace the packing and reassemble everything by putting parts back on in the opposite order to that in which they were removed, then turn the water back on and check for leaks.
outdoor faucet repair
Leaking from the opening
The classic drip from a faucet usually occurs when washers go bad. First, turn off the water at the meter, then loosen the packing nut using an adjustable wrench until the faucet stem comes out. Then loosen the screw that holds the washers to the rear of the stem. Note the order of the old washers before removing them, and put the new washers in place in exactly the same way. Tighten the screw, replace the faucet stem and gently tighten the packing nut. Turn the water back on and check for leaks.
Outdoor faucet repair for a ruptured pipe
If the leak is from the pipe behind the faucet, then the pipe itself has ruptured, and matters may be slightly beyond outdoor faucet repair. If the section of pipe that has burst is part of a frost-free faucet, however, replacing the faucet as described above will solve the problem. If not, then the damaged pipe itself must be replaced. This need not be a problem, although if the pipe is screwed into place rather than soldered tape must be applied to the threads before installation and care must be taken in checking for leaks.
Outdoor faucet repair is a task well within the capability of most homeowners. It requires only a little attention to the differences between indoor and outdoor faucets, and particularly to the structure of a frost-free faucet. As long as that is done, many homeowners will have no problem taking care of outdoor faucet repair themselves.