The outdoor bib tap has seized and leaks. Precedes our purchase of the house so probably 20+ years old.
Anyhow it seems as if it has a check valve and the hose is used sometimes to top up the garden pond.
Screwfix do a low cost unit £8.89
Any recommendations for a good quality unit?
It generally got good reviews. If you're concerned take it apart and inspect the seat if you think it will fail in the same way as this reviewer's.
A hard frost destroys the mechanism. The non return bit is to stop dirty water being sucked back to the main in the event of a supply failure elsewhere.
For agricultural use, they insist on a double air break device! I think there is a reasonable concern where auto garden waterers are left permanently connected.
I put a check valve in the indoor pipework which leads to the outdoor tap. The only hardware subject to weather is the (insulated) external pipe run and the bib tap itself. I shut off and drain down the whole thing each year before the first frosts - although it should withstand a minor overnight frost since it is in a sheltered location.
P.S. Whilst the pipe used is copper, the short section which runs through the (thick) house wall is plastic with compression fittings on each end. If I forget to drain down and frost does get it - it's that external compression fitting on the plastic pipe which will fail.
That's a thought. I get confused with fittings so if I get a single check valve
On further checking the
Can I have guidance on the above please?
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