Seasonal Spigots

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
Over the years, I have installed several for my customers. You wonder what is a seasonal spigot? When houses/ condos/ townhouses are built, the builder or plumber picks the location of the outside spigots. Later, the location can become a PITA to use. As an example, had a customer (80+ years old) who had a deck full of flowering plants, that she was going to have to give up because she couldn't go down stairs, and around the deck to reach the spigot several times a day. She didn't want to leave water pressure on garden hose 24/7 either for fear of it bursting. So I hooked her up a seasonal spigot. I used 1/2" PVC, with a boiler drain, and a connector that allowed me to connect spigot to PVC using a washing machine hose. This way, water could be on from last freeze in spring to first freeze in late fall.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Every house I ever had they were in the wrong place, season or not. I need to add a couple to my current house. Fortunately with a crawl space, not too hard.

The seasonal part is another issue. The ones on my house have vacuum breakers, but are not frost free. Sure enough I had one freeze last year. No leak, just I needed water and could not get it.
 

Dave Richards

Dave
Senior User
I'd like to add one of those "seasonal spigots" on the back of our house. As it is you have to go in under the screen porch to get to the hose bib. I'm not real comfortable leaving that one on all the time in the summer though.

We have the "frost proof" hose bibs on our house. They are code here, of course. A few years ago it got warm early and my wife hooked up the hose in front to wash her car. She turned off the water and we didn't think anything of it. Then winter came back and we had a hard freeze for a few days. Later when it warmed up again we went to use the hose and found out we had water pouring into the basement. The hose trapped water between the valve and the outside which froze and ruptured the hose bib pipe. No problem until we turned on the water. There's a vacuum breaker on the new one and I put quarter turn ball valves just upstream from the hose bibs. Those vales get closed in the fall and the hose bibs get drained and closed for the winter.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
YES, The point of the frost free is to put the valve back where it can't freeze, which is what happened to me. You still have drain it. Vacuum breakers are no good when the nozzle is off and hose full.
 

Dave Richards

Dave
Senior User
YES, The point of the frost free is to put the valve back where it can't freeze, which is what happened to me. You still have drain it. Vacuum breakers are no good when the nozzle is off and hose full.

Yeah. Ours are installed correctly but it doesn't help when the water gets trapped by the hose.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
Why would anyone not drain the hose bibb connection in the Fall to keep it from freezing?
 

Brian Patterson

New User
Bstrom
Why would anyone not drain the hose bibb connection in the Fall to keep it from freezing?
Cuz they live in Tennessee! I don't even think about mine - the frostfree bibs work yearround on my basement rancher (I cheated, I know). They can freeze up in some cases and break something internally I suppose but in that case I'd just disconnect the hose and use those styrofoam cups to cover the spigot.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
I'd like to add one of those "seasonal spigots" on the back of our house. As it is you have to go in under the screen porch to get to the hose bib. I'm not real comfortable leaving that one on all the time in the summer though.
Why not? Your washing machine is connected inside your house 24/7/365, and it's the same type of hose. PVC water piping is very common, with 1/2" (sch 40) being rated for 600 psi. Just be sure in the fall to disconnect hose from spigot and drain piping.
 

Dave Richards

Dave
Senior User
Why not? Your washing machine is connected inside your house 24/7/365, and it's the same type of hose. PVC water piping is very common, with 1/2" (sch 40) being rated for 600 psi. Just be sure in the fall to disconnect hose from spigot and drain piping.

You've got a point there. Of course if you come your hair right... :D
 

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