tap washer split in 2

[bruce56]

Got a large water bill - my daily consumption was 500 litres/day more than previous bill. So started replacing tap washers ... found the culprit was the backyard garden tap. The end of the hose was out of sight below a pile of leaves in a pit. When I unscrewed the tap, I found the washer had 2 splits,

90 degrees apart, so water was just pissing through. BTW I bought that washer from a hardware chain known for sausage sizzles.

[harry]

Possible reasons. Over tightening the tap. Frost. Chinese (or similar) washer.

Always remove hose from tap.

[Tim+]

Probably frost damage rather than any inherent fault in the washer.

Tim

[Brian Gaff]

Always fit isolation tap indoors and turn it off in the winter and drain the pipe in between, just like my neighbour didn't, ahem. Brian