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As I am asking myself where in the world did 2017 go, I am also wondering what does Minnesota have in store for us this winter? I do not care so much for the crazy cold snaps, but I sure would love a ton of snow! When I was a child growing up in Minneapolis, I remember MANY winters with piles and piles of snow. We would have so much fun building forts and snowmen, I really want my kids to have the same wonderful memories!
Although I say let it snow, winter weather can be very tough on your home and one potential hazard of cold weather can be frozen water pipes. As water freezes, it expands and as it expands it can produce thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch. This pressure is what causes a water pipe to rupture.
This article will focus on the outside faucet also known as a Sill-Cock or Hose Bibb and what you can do to prevent your outside faucet from freezing, starting with the most effective solution to the least effective solution.
Frost-Proof Sill-Cock
The surest way to prevent your outside faucet from freezing is to replace your exterior faucet with a frost-proof sill-cock. Think of it as a remote control faucet handle. Why? Because that’s what it is.
These faucets feature remote control of the water supply faucet valve located inside the home, which then allows water flow to the exterior faucet spout. The faucet head is attached to a long tube usually 6” to 20” in length. At the end of this tube is a fitting for connecting a threaded, soldered or PEX tubing water supply line. The exterior faucet handle of the frost-proof sill cock turns a long rod inside this tube which is connected to a disc, compression or cartridge faucet valve, 6″ to 20″ away (depending on the tube length).
The disc, compression or cartridge faucet valve is located inside the tube just before the connector fitting. With this design the faucet valve and water supply pipe are always kept remote from the cold faucet head; unlike standard sill-cocks where the water supply valve is in the head of the exterior faucet on the outside of the house.
With the frost-proof sill-cock, freezing cold temperatures are now kept away from any water supply line feeding the exterior faucet. Frost-proof sill-cocks are also available with an anti-siphon valve to prevent unsafe water from entering your drinking water supply lines.
If you are using a standard sill-cock, make sure the valve supplying water to the sill-cock is turned off and the handle of the outside faucet is open, not closed. This allows any water to drain out of the faucet. If any water is left and does freeze, the water will expand out the faucet, not in the supply line. If your sill-cock does not have a shut-off valve, you need to have one installed. If you don’t, the water supply will be running right up to the outside faucet and may freeze and burst the water supply pipe.
Worth mentioning is this generic product sold by a number of companies. It sells under a number of names similar to “faucet sock,” “faucet insulator,” or “outdoor faucet cover.” This product is being mentioned because it is very popular but we have found is essentially useless!
All these socks do is cover the exterior faucet with a thinly insulated cover. But the amount of insulation is not the issue. Insulation merely slows heat loss, it does not create heat.
Your exterior faucet generates no heat. It just sits there since, well, it’s an outside faucet.
Once the insulated sock is placed over the exterior faucet, the inside of the insulated sock will be as cold as the outside over time. You just end up with a frozen cold faucet inside a “pretty” sock. Don’t waste your money.
One of the most important things a homeowner can do is know where your main water shut off valve is in case of the event of a broken or frozen pipe. Check out more of my blogs to find other helpful ways to prevent frozen pipes and a potential water damage in your Minneapolis home.
Have a frozen pipe and not sure what to do first? Let us handle all of that for you, 24Restore is the only call you will need to make. No job is too big or too small.
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