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Thermal break wall hydrant?

calum_wilde | Posted in Mechanicals on

Dos anyone make a fiberglass, or other non thermal conducting material, freeze proof wall hydrant?

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Replies

  1. charlie_sullivan | | #1

    Not that I know of. The copper/brass thermal conductor ones do come in to 24 inches long for people with thick walls. We used one because we needed to mount it on a diagonal through a foot thick wall. We didn't think about it at the time, but a two foot pipe at a diagonal has more thermal resistance than a 1 foot pipe straight through.

    Other options include the traditional way with an inside shutoff and a non frost proof faucet, a post mount frost proof faucet going down to an underground pipe, or a little EPS cap that goes over the faucet for the winter. The inside shutoff of course has the problem that you need to remember to shut it off and drain it for the winter, but even the frost proof ones need some similar care...if they are left connected to a pressurized hose they can still burst when they freeze.

  2. user-2310254 | | #2

    Do you mean a freeze-proof sillcock? There are many available via The Google.

    Okay. Just reread your question more carefully. Finding something that offer a thermal break might be a problem. Carbon fiber? Stainless instead of brass?

  3. RMaglad | | #3

    I had a frost proof hose bib burst on me a couple winters ago. It was installed incorrectly, such as the pipe was sloped back into the house, versus the recommended sloping towards the outside, and i did not drain it properly. This was because the hose bib was installed under a heating duct, so it ended up with a valley between the rimjoist and the next hole in the adjacent joist.

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