Nik Habicht Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 We've got a frost resistant faucet on our house that's been problem free since we bought the place until this year. If you turn it on full, no water is delivered. Turn on the hose sprayer, turn off the faucet, and slowly turn it back on, and water starts to come out at reduced pressure. Turn the faucet on too far, and there's an audible pop coming from the faucet, and water cuts off to the hoses..... Any ideas on what's wrong/how to fix it? Or should I be calling a plumber? Picture attached -- in case it provides a clue.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 We've got a frost resistant faucet on our house that's been problem free since we bought the place until this year. If you turn it on full, no water is delivered. Turn on the hose sprayer, turn off the faucet, and slowly turn it back on, and water starts to come out at reduced pressure. Turn the faucet on too far, and there's an audible pop coming from the faucet, and water cuts off to the hoses..... Any ideas on what's wrong/how to fix it? Or should I be calling a plumber? Picture attached -- in case it provides a clue.... Nik, Probably the vent. that is located under the gray cap on top The valve seat itself is back inside the house. you may be able to remove the inards of the valve and see if the seat is damaged. Depending upon what you find, and where inside the valve is connected, access being critical you may be able to replace the valve easily, or it may be a bit of a job. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgunz11 Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 It could have calcium deposits in the valve or some other obstruction. When you turn the lever, a "hole" is revealed and water is allowed to to pass through. If you have a calcium deposit forming in that valve hole it could be obstructing the flow and the "pop" you hear could be that calcium being snapped off. When you unscrew the hose attachment and open the faucet what happens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted April 15, 2010 Author Share Posted April 15, 2010 It could have calcium deposits in the valve or some other obstruction. When you turn the lever, a "hole" is revealed and water is allowed to to pass through. If you have a calcium deposit forming in that valve hole it could be obstructing the flow and the "pop" you hear could be that calcium being snapped off. When you unscrew the hose attachment and open the faucet what happens? Same thing -- water trickles through the partially opened valve, there's an audible pop when it's opened all the way and water shuts off. If I remove the cap on top, and depress the ball that's held up in the center of the vent, I get pretty wet, as water shoots up in the air.... Seems like there's good pressure in the water supply to the faucet.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 Nik, I put the same "freeze proof" sill cock on my house here in Albuquerque. It lasted two years until it froze in the outside portion of the tube that was under the house which is beyond the shut off washer/seat valve. Didn't leak a drop all winter because the water was stopped upstream from the rupture by the valve. Come spring time I hooked up the hose to wash the truck and opened the valve which allowed water to spray out the rupture under the house. I noticed a big drop in water volume out of the hose and just shrugged it off. Finished washing the truck and turned off the valve which stopped the spray under the house. Next time I used the hose I heard water spraying under the house. Turned off the valve, crawled under the house and found a small pond. Long time drying, even with a fan to circulate air. Hope not but this could be your problem. Turned out that the water left in the tube downstream from the washer/seat valve froze and burst the "freeze proof" sill cock. The tubing used on my fixture was just chrome plated thin copper tubing. POS! CYa, Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 Nik, You didn't leave those hoses on all winter did ya? Where is the interior shut-off to that faucet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted April 15, 2010 Author Share Posted April 15, 2010 Nik, You didn't leave those hoses on all winter did ya? Where is the interior shut-off to that faucet? Drained, but yup -- they were connected all winter. After doing a little googling, won't be doing that again.... There's a shutoff under the kitchen sink -- which appears to not want to move -- so I'm guessing it's time for a plumber before I screw it up more..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 I think, but am not positive, that there is a check valve in there to keep it from gushing all over the place if it there is a problem and something is getting stuck in there. You should be able to remove the stem and flush it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Gene Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 You can buy rebuild kits for the "vent" on many brands of these. It is usually an anti-siphon auto drain type assembly. All you can do is take it apart and see, heck, it's broken anyway. Changing the entire faucet can be really easy, or a real pain, it just depends on intsallation. On our house, the ones in the crawl space have come out very easily, and the ones in the finished portion of the basement have been a real pain, and I have actually had to cut a hole in the drywall to get a wrench on the pipe upstream of the valve, so we didn't damage the pipes. I suppose you can try the rebuild kit, if available (go to the place the plumbers buy their supplies, not the Box), try that and if it still doesn't work, you may want to consider a plumber. Sounds like you know not to leave a hose on them in freezing weather any more. Good Luck, WG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 Drained, but yup -- they were connected all winter. After doing a little googling, won't be doing that again.... There's a shutoff under the kitchen sink -- which appears to not want to move -- so I'm guessing it's time for a plumber before I screw it up more..... Keep googling b4 calling the plumber. You might find you can give it a whirl. You can always call the plumber later, if you don't feel comfy. If you can shut off the supply to that particular line, then you have some freedom/safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted April 15, 2010 Share Posted April 15, 2010 Nik, I didn't think to ask about the hoses. That kept your 'frost proof cock from draining. I have the same one, but when I installed it, i made sure that the body was inclined down towards the exterior as well as getting one with an extra long body designed to penetrate much thicker walls. Uh, I also remove the hoses. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now