Replace Your Hose Spigot or Yard Hydrant in Abilene, Texas
Hose spigots are the fixtures outside your house where you connect your garden hose. Over winter, it’s easy to forget about them. But once it’s time to break out the patio furniture and start hanging out in the yard again, you may just encounter a leak or rupture. It could be that your spigot is old or was damaged by freezing temps in the cold months. Either way, this little fixture can lead to big problems if you don’t fix it promptly.
The team at Earl’s Plumbing is well-versed in replacing ruptured or worn-out hose spigots and yard hydrants alike in Abilene. From simple swaps to more complex plumbing replacements, we’re prepared to handle any unexpected hiccups your hose spigot could cause. Get back to enjoying your backyard worry-free with help from our team!
What Do You Call the Thing You Connect Your Hose To?
While the design of a hose spigot is fairly simple, we’ve heard it called a lot of things. It all depends on where you were raised. Plumbers call it a hose spigot or hose bibb. Other names that refer to the same fixture include:
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Answers to Your Frequently Asked Questions
When your hose spigot isn’t properly functioning, a lot more can go wrong than you might think. Learn everything you need to know about these backyard staples with Earl’s Plumbing!
It’s important for both of these features to be 100% operational for a few reasons.
- Backflow Prevention: Plumbing code requires that all hose spigots feature a backflow prevention device, also known as a vacuum breaker. This device prevents hose water from reaching your drinking water supply, which could be contaminated with yard waste, chemicals, animal droppings, and more.
By design, the vacuum breaker will allow a small amount of water to leak out briefly when you turn the spigot on or off. But it shouldn’t be leaking continuously or while in use. If any water comes out while you’re using the hose spigot, it is beginning to leak or fail. - Freeze-Proof Design: Hose spigots are designed to be installed at a slight downward angle so that they can self-drain after use. This prevents excess water from expanding and rupturing the pipe in the case of freezing weather. However, it can’t do this when a hose is connected to it. And unfortunately, plenty of homeowners leave the hose attached 24/7/365, throughout the winter months.
The freeze-proofing feature also won’t work when there is a leak or drip. Instead, the drip creates a small ice dam that backs up and freezes, ending in a rupture.
- Hose Spigot Leaks: Hose spigots have a limited life of about 5-7 years on average. But whether your spigot is older or younger than that, you’ve got a problem on your hands if you see any water coming out of the fixture where it isn’t supposed to. Even a slow drip can lead to a total rupture if not addressed in time.
- Hose Spigot Ruptures: This problem happens when a leak accumulates or water can’t fully drain from the spigot and eventually freezes. Frozen water expands within the copper pipe, then splits it. You probably won’t know you have this problem until you turn the spigot on again in the spring.
Watch for water emerging from brick, the point where your brick and slab meet, or from weep holes. If you see any of these, call a plumber before the water seeps into your home and damages the interior!
Often, patched leaks only recur or create more leaks down the road. To get the maximum value out of your call to us, we stock various sizes of hose spigots so we can perform a replacement as quickly and efficiently as possible!
Typically, we’ll just shut off the water to your house and make a quick swap. You can expect some air in your lines afterward, so don’t be alarmed if the spigot sputters a little at first.
While rare, severely ruptured hose spigots sometimes break off inside walls. Our team has developed a proven system for handling these issues, oftentimes avoiding the need for cutting into the brick or drywall. We’ve saved Abilene homeowners thousands with this method!
Homes that were built before 1990 and some homes in rural areas may have had the entire line to their hose spigots hard piped or sweated. While this isn’t a basic repair, we’re prepared to handle it. We can brainstorm smart and effective ways to permanently repair this type of spigot and prevent any future leaks from happening.
That said, if you do feel confident enough to attempt a DIY replacement, take it from us: you want to avoid wasting your money on any spigots from big box home improvement stores. They’ll either be poor quality or they won’t meet Abilene’s city code requirements. We don’t use these kinds of fixtures, and neither should you!
Yard hydrants connect to your water line below the ground and are operated using a lever-style handle that you lift or turn. They’re common in stables, pastures, greenhouses, barns, gardens, and even golf courses—anywhere where there’s an open area of land. They’re also used as garden hose connections in some homes with salt tablet water softener systems.
Saltwater, of course, isn’t suitable for watering grass, gardens, and other landscape features. It’s rare for hose spigots to be bypassed during the construction or water softener installation phase. So, adding a yard hydrant to branch off your main water line before the softener line could be your only option for fresh, clean water where you need it.
But it’s even more crucial to make sure you prepare them for freezing weather to avoid ruptures and water damage.
- Disconnect all devices linked to the spigot, including garden hoses, pool fill lines, Y splitters, soaker hoses, irrigation connections, and hose manifolds.
- Check for leaks and drips of any kind. If you find any, call Earl’s Plumbing for a replacement before the cold weather sets in.
- Add a hard-shell, foamed cone hose spigot cover. They’re readily available at big box stores.
- The first time you use your hose after freezing weather, connect it and let it fill up for a while before you spray. Wait 20-30 seconds before walking away to make sure that water isn’t leaking out of the wall under the spigot or near the slab.
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