You guys could all use a laugh at my expense…
So I turn on my silcok for the first time this year. I was outside on the deck washing out a cooler and a couple of other things. Filling it with beer for my sons 3rd b-day party….That project complete I move onto other things that bring me into the basement. A very wet basement!
It seems the frost-free silcok froze and ruptured in the wall cavity behind the kitchen sink. When I turned on the water the wall cavity flooded. water was dripping from the subfloor a good 15 feet away from the suspect silcok. I have a rack in the basement with a good dozen species of hardwoods that I collect or just left over from trim jobs, all soaking wet
Now I wait and see if my hardwood floor in the kitchen buckles. There was no water ON the floor and no water inside the cabinet where the feed for the silcoks are (I have a bar sink outside with hot and cold water).
my next concern is mold, both in the wall and under the hardwood floor. I may have to do a biopsy in the near future
Next I go to home depot and buy 2 new frost free silcoks, not remembering to look and see if they are both the same length. I get back and of course they were’nt. Oh well, fix the one anyway. turn the water back on and the new (chinese) silcok leaks from behind the shut-off knob. Not a problem you would think, I got another one. Change it out and guess what… they both leak!
Its miller time…
OK, now someone is waiting for me to end this story so they can jump all over me because the silcok should never have had water in it in the first place and thus would never have ruptured in the freezing climate if it was installed properly.
Well guess what, it was, but I took the liberty of using it as my supply line to the bar sink. so when I shut off the supply without disconnecting the bar sink supply lines like I’ve done for the past eight years, the damn thing still had water in it. Doh! Like I said before, miller time…
Replies
> Filling it with beer for my sons 3rd b-day party....
My dad had home movies of grandpa giving me beer when I was about that age. ;-)
Another approach is to use an ordinary hose bib and put a ball valve in the conditioned space upstream from it. Turn off the valve and open the bib for the winter. More parts and work, but worth it if good quality frost free units aren't available. I've also used that trick where there's a problem with street winos turning on the water.
-- J.S.
actually, I was going to jump you about buying Home Depot crap........
carpenter in transition
>>actually, I was going to jump you about buying Home Depot crap........
I know I got that coming too. Actually I spent 20 minutes behind 1 guy at the counter of the supply house before I said f-it. I'll get the same thing at the clown depot and get it done quick
Well you got me to thinking.
Had gone to Lowes and bought a Freezeless wall faucet. Had not yet installed it when I'd read your post.
Seems I remember a less costly frost free faucet for sale there at the time.
This one says manufactured in the USA by Woodford with a lifetime stainless steel seat.
I'm really hoping that this isn't the same product you'd had the trouble with.
I'd hate like hill to put this in and have trouble with it later.
Can you remember the name on your frost free unit?
Thanks.
sobriety is the root cause of dementia.
All the new ones are chrome plated. I think that gives it a little more strength. The problem I had was I had a supply line connected to it that could not let water drain from the tube.
Also its important that you install the unit at perfect level or a slight pitch to the weather to let water drain from the tube
Razz,Woodford makes good sillcocks (one L or two?). The nicest ones are self-draining when shut off, even with a hose attached. Over $30 in late 90's, iirc.Bill
We've got Woodfords, IIRC. Since the house was built in 76. Had to replace the washer in one of them, otherwise zero problem.
Bill, there's no l's in Woodford.
be razzed. bwaa!
sobriety is the root cause of dementia.