A hose bib, also known as an “exterior faucet”, is an outdoor tap that you use for outdoor activities like gardening, for example. Other names for this useful faucet are “spigot”, “hose valve”, “hose faucet”, etc.

Adding a hose bib to your house exterior will help with gardening and whole landscape management. This tap is connected to the main plumbing source. It allows angular water flow that is controlled when you use a garden hose.

It has threading on the spout and it can be used for rainwater barrels, washing machines,s or garden hoses.

Your hose won’t break since bibbs are now made to be used on different flow volumes hoes, with anti-siphon features, so your garden hose won’t get teared.

 

How to choose a hose bib?

When choosing a hose bib it’s important to have in mind your watering needs. Some of the characteristics you might need your hose to have are options to connect your faucet to multiple hoses, non-leak connections on your faucet and it should be resistant to corrosion and hard tap water issues. Also pick from a variety of hose diameters, valve hangle, and different shutoff types. You can also choose a design that goes well with your yard or garden. Some even have options for animal feeding in case you need that too.

If you’re still not sure how to decide on what you should buy here you can find a retractable hose reel that really makes a difference.

Hose bib and weather

The design of hose bib has a design that allows it to drain itself to avoid water freezing inside and cracking. On the other hand, if you leave a garden hose or other hose attached to it it won’t be able to drain itself which leads to water freezing and hose bib cracking or splitting. Any dripping during the winter will cause breaking from the ice build-up.

Each outdoor facet usually has an inside valve that controls water flow. This is installed to prevent water from staying in the pipes during winter. The most common place to find this installation is under your sink.

Types of hose bib

The compression type is one of the most common hose bib types. This type has a handle that rotates to screw the stem or spindle which controls whether water can run or not.

The freeze-free is pretty much the same as a regular one. The only difference is the length of the pipe going inside the house. A longer pipe means that it’s closer to the warmer parts of the house, which makes it safer for wintertime.

Another distinction between the hose bibbs is whether they need to be soldered or have a threaded connection.

 

Repairing

If the hose bib drips you can fix this in several ways. First, you need to determine where is it dripping. If it’s only dripping from the handle, you can use a small crescent wrench to tighten the packing nut.

If the steam washer is broken, you need to call a professional to see if parts can be fixed or the whole thing needs replacement. You will know that it’s a steam washer problem when you see water pouring all over the place.

Daily disconnecting a hose bib or even after any use is very helpful to prevent fusing of a hose to the faucet.

When installing a pipe for the exterior faucet, we recommend that you call a professional to do it. Experts know how to install pipe properly and prevent it from draining and leaking into your walls.

Threaded Hose Bibb Replacement

When replacing any hose bib you need to turn off the main source of water, as you would do for any other water pipes-related repair. You will need the wrenches. One to hold the main pipe and the other to twist the body of the bib. Be careful not to twist the main pipe. Use the wrench to keep it stable. Keep in mind that pipe can be within the body of the house. Grab an old towel to clean any leftover debris and dirt once you remove the old part. Then, apply the Teflon tape. Add it to the threaded end and twist the new hose bib onto the pipe. You should see 2-3 threads showing at the back of the hose bib.

Soldered Hose Bibb Replacement

As mentioned before, you need to turn off the main source of water to work on pipe-related repairs. To solder hose bib, water must be completely out of the pipes. If the water remains in the pipe you can’t heat the pipe sufficiently. You can always use a shop vac to help with this.

If you know how to and if there’s enough pipe length, just cut the pipe so you can solder the new hose bib. You can also heat the old bis with a torch and use the same method we explained previously. When you remove the old hose bib, you can soler a new piece, solder the connection part and connect it to the pipe.

Conclusion

Maintaining your hose bib, using it properly, and disconnecting after each use will prolong its life significantly, Make sure that you analyze and chose the perfect one for your needs. Pay attention to the weather in your area. If the weather is colder and winters are ruthless make sure to have a freeze-free hose bib and take care of the water flow in the pipes.

From the given possible problems with the hose bib make sure that you decide which repair process is the best choice. Sometimes it’s not that complicated, like when you just have to tighten the handle. On the other hand, sometimes you should just call a professional. Especially in the cases where the problem can easily escalate and make an additional problem to your house and possibly mess with a whole installation. It’s better to call someone professional who knows what to do instead of causing more damage while trying to fix a problem. Anyway, we hope that this article was useful for each outcome of your endeavor.