sillcocky

i went shopping at lowes and home depot today and picked up a pair of frost-proof sillcocks. they are woodfords, from lowes at around 23 bucks each. i did a little reading afterward and am reevaluating this purchase.

the idea of a frost-proof sillcock is that it won't get destroyed in the winter when temperatures go below freezing. with a normal sillcock, the homeowner should shut off a valve inside, ahead of the bib in the supply line, remove the hose and then open the outside valve and let it drain. then don't use the spigot again until spring.

of course, the need arises sooner or later during winter and it gets used for something and the proper drainage procedure isn't followed. the faucet sits full of water and as it freezes the water expands and cracks the sillcock.

with a frost-proof sillcock, you don't need to shut off a valve inside the house in the fall. instead, you shut off the outside valve and you simply disconnect the hose and it will drain itself. the internal valve in the sillcock is actually located far back in the body, inside the insulated wall where temperatures are higher. all the water to the outside of that valve drains out toward the exterior. voila, no broken sillcock.

of course, the need arises sooner or later during winter and it gets used for something and the hose gets left attached. the faucet sits full of water because it can't drain and as it freezes the water expands and cracks the sillcock.

so how about that, you spent $25 instead of $5 on a frost-proof sillcock and it still cracked from freezing. sure, you could avoid it with proper procedure, but in that case you could just stick with the $5 sillcock and turn off the inside valves in the fall.

well, it turns out there are actual frost-proof sill cocks on the market. some will drain themselves even if you leave the hose attached to the spigot, such as woodford model 30. some have a pressure relief valve that relieves pressure when it escalates due to freezing water, such as woodford models 16 & 19. model 19 is essentially model 16 with a backflow preventer attached. a pair of model 19s is $89. a pair of model 30s is $107+s/h

there is also a device which can be attached to any standard spigot. it's a 'self-draining backflow preventer' which automatically drains when the water is shut off even with the hose attached. a pair of these is $25, but a pair of standard frost-proof sillcocks is also necessary (simply a valve with a recessed seat is necessary, no vacuum breaks etc required.)

i tend to be a cost-conscious consumer, so let's see. $89 for the model 19's, minus $25 for the backflow attachments, leaves $64 for a pair of basic, solid frost-proof sillcocks. let's see, a pair of quartermasters for $45 from home depot, or the pair i already have from lowes i paid $46 for.

hmm.. that's a $20 difference for the pair.. maybe i'll just order a pair of these backflow attachments. then i can wash my car in january without worry! haha!