What can I do with an outdoor faucet that continues to leak after the whole faucet with pipe was replaced? My theory: the supply pipe inside the house is higher than the faucet on the outside. If the self-draining faucet still has water pressure against it, can that cause the leak? The pipe freezes and breaks in the winter inside the crawl space under our house. There are other pipes under there that do not freeze.
Your inside stop and drain needs to be replace the one for controlling the outside faucet
Hi Brenda,
Water pipes should not leak or freeze under any circumstances. When you say the pipe and faucet was replaced I m assuming you mean the tap and nipple which is the short pipe that go in to the wall..
These two parts receive water you to the shut off valve... the water freezes and damage either the cast or the gaskets.. so is I understood your description correctly most likely that is the cause. Those are damaged that are not visible to the eye but will leak or sometimes even burst in the middle of the night whe the pressure is higher.
Solution:
Shutting the water line that leads to that tap from end of October to the end of April.. depending on where you are..
Or replace all the parts and ask the plumbing to put a heating wire around all those parts during the winter..
Hope I could help.
Niv Shnior
Owner and director
NSR Construction
Reno Match Enterprises
I had a similar problem with a non-freeze tap in my sunroom addition which would freeze and bulge. Crawl spaces will either have vent openings to the exterior, be heated, or a combination of both. I solved my problem by: blocking off an outside vent close to the tap, improving the insulation with spray foam, and providing heat to the space by opening it up to the house basement.
The tap should be sloped to the exterior for drainage and if there is a shut-off valve for the tap you need to make sure it isn't leaking and that the outside tap is left open over the winter. Best shut-off valve is a ball valve. If you have access to a thermal imaging camera it might help identify a problem. It doesn't help that the metal shaft of the valve acts as a heat & cold conductor.
There should be a shut off valve (bib) which will prevent water from reaching the outside faucet.
Close this valve prior to cold/Freezing temps
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