Is frost free sillcock busted?

[anon03]

Hi All,

I was hoping someone has run into this problem before. My father-in-law recently installed one of those outdoor frost free faucets/sillcocks but there is a problem. It has the valve on the end, the spigot, and vacuum break on top. Here is a picture:

Well, from the first time that I used it a lot of water has been coming out of that top vacuum break. I tried tightening the nut/capon the break but it did nothing. Is the fauct broken?

Thanks, Joe

[No]

[anon03]

Thank you for the reply but I think I fixed it. I will post what I did in case others have the same problem.

I took the cover off of the vacuum break/breather (which is made of plastic but was painted a shiny silver color to look like metal, cheap bastards) and looked inside. I saw this plastic device that had a washer on the bottom and four prongs pointing up. After staring at the this plastic device continuously for four hours the light bulb came on.

[Long version] I figured that when the cap was screwed on a little chamber was formed that channeled the water to flow up towards the cap. At the top of the chamber, on the inside of the cap, was a hole that was smaller than the washer on the head of the plastic device. This hole let the water flow through and out. The plastic device fit in the chamber but was upside down. I figured the plastic prongs were the feet and the washer was the head and when the water was turned on the water pressure would push this device up against the cap forming a seal. I also figure when the valve was turned off the pressure would drop and the plastic device would drop, breaking the seal. This would allow air to come in so the water could drain easily out of the pipe through the faucet. [Short version] The thingy was upside down.

So, I turned this plastic device upside down and carefully put the cap over it so was as centered as possible inside the chamber and screwed the cap on tight. I turned the water on and no leaks. The real test was when I squeezed the sprayer on the hose because it used to REALLY leak when I tried to spray some water from the hose. When I tried it, everything worked fine! I luckily saved myself some time and money by not replacing the darn thing, like I was going to.

So, I hope this helps this someone else. The sad part is that someone of normal intelligence could have figured it out in a fraction of the time that it took me. %-)

-- Joe