Silcock recommendations

[Negen]

Looking to see what gj says about silcocks. Only requirements I know of are anti syphon and lead free and copper/brass. This would be installed on the high pressure side and would like to maximum output pressure. Need to know what size pipes would give the maximum pressure main line is 1" copper. I don't know if I should use a 1/2" or 3/4 t-joint. I would prefer American made. I would also prefer not to have to sweat the silcock in.

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[Dagny]

woodford

 

[MrSurly]

1. No expert here, but limited recent experience.
2. Not really sure what is meant by “high pressure side”...
3. All I was able to find in sillcocks was 1/2”
4. I bought and installed two sillcocks from Lowes in 2015. they were 1/2mpt, chromed.
5. I didn’t notice at the time that one of them had an aluminum stem(!) the other was brass.
6. A month ago the alloy one gave up, the insides had turned into a sacrificial anode gel and completely disintegrated.
7. This far after the fact; I read the reviews for the product on Lowes site... everyone had the same issue.
8. I found a Sharkbite branded sillcock at Lowes, all brass with of course the Sharkbite connection.
Pic attached. This seems like a quality product


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[Negen]

What I mean by high pressure side is this.
Main line pipe comes from the street up a pipe in the floor of my garage. After that there is a pressure regulator set at 70-75 psi that feeds the house.

I haven't had much luck keeping shark bite stuff from leaking.

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[Yarpo]

I haven't had much luck keeping shark bite stuff from leaking.

Nor has anyone, keeps other plumbers busy

Kidding aside, it can be used in a pinch but its not exactly a good/great way to go.

Anyways, seconded for Woodford.

 

[anndel]

Wow, I've never heard it called that before. In 20 years of civil engineering and construction we called it hose bib or spigot. Never too old to learn new stuff! Woodford +2

 

[Negen]

Silcock has the valve shutoff at the end of the long pipe vs a hose bib which will have the valve in the front side and not have a long pipe as part of the unit. This is my understanding.

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[Spiffers]

1. No expert here, but limited recent experience.
2. Not really sure what is meant by “high pressure side”...
3. All I was able to find in sillcocks was 1/2”
4. I bought and installed two sillcocks from Lowes in 2015. they were 1/2mpt, chromed.
5. I didn’t notice at the time that one of them had an aluminum stem(!) the other was brass.
6. A month ago the alloy one gave up, the insides had turned into a sacrificial anode gel and completely disintegrated.
7. This far after the fact; I read the reviews for the product on Lowes site... everyone had the same issue.
8. I found a Sharkbite branded sillcock at Lowes, all brass with of course the Sharkbite connection.
Pic attached. This seems like a quality product


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That looks like the hydrant on my old single wide trailer. I never had any luck with that and just replumbed it with pvc hot and cold water pipe.

 

[regguy1]

I installed a sillcock with a hot and a cold line I use PEX to connect it to the interior Plumbing it's terrific to be able to have warm and hot water out to wash a dog or other things were hot water is needed

 

[MrSurly]

I also don’t trust Sharkbite and I am astounded that people install them inside, in walls!
This is the sole Sharkbite on my whole property, installed under the sill in a crawl space so no real threat.... it was all I could get my hands on that day!
I also piped hot and cold though the wall there near my back deck. It makes grilling and other clean up much better.


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[deberly12]

I am surprised to hear that people are having problems with sharkbite. When I heard about them I was very skeptical but someone recommended them instead of soldering on a couple fittings I needed. No leaks at all. Also after further investigation the previous owner redid All the plumbing in the basement of my house including a bathroom the hot water heater and several outside spigots. He did it all with shark bite and PEX. I cannot believe how much money he must have spent on those fittings. he probably could have brought the nicest PEX tool out there. Anyway no leaks from any of those fittings or the three that I have installed. Unfortunately I am going to have to use a few more because they're the only thing I can find in the exact fitting that I need.

As far as silcocks go, I'm in the process of replacing one. there was one installed at the back of my house at the top of the basement level or ground level at the back of my house. It was installed before the porch and ended up being slightly below the top of the porch. Someone's previous solution was to just leave a board off of the porch so you could reach down and turn off the water. Also the sillcock was slanted upwards so the water that was left after the valve was turned off was still pooled inside and was able to freeze and bust the pipe. I want to raise the hose bib up so it is above the deck so I can't use a standard sillcock I will basically be designing the equivalent with shut-off valves and pipe.

Whatever you do make sure that it is designed so that when it is shut off and drained there is no water inside if you use a standard sillcock. this means putting the outlet where the hose attaches slightly below where the pipe comes into it in the back side.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

All of mine are now Woodfords. I really like the model 22 with Hot and Cold.

As far as the "high pressure" how much pressure is there?
The ones I checked on are rated for 125 PSI.

 

[Negen]

I ended up getting a arrowhead 485-06lf self drain anti syphon. Could not find woodford brand locally. For hot water I just use those Asian style plugin instant on water heaters seems good enough for outdoor use. 25-50$ in Asia same brands as they sell here for 3-10x the price

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[tjpavlov]

All of mine are now Woodfords. I really like the model 22 with Hot and Cold.

As far as the "high pressure" how much pressure is there?
The ones I checked on are rated for 125 PSI.

Woodford 22 hot and cold are great. Just installed two.

 

[Wamsutta]

"Sillcock" and radiator "Draincock" are both X rated words that have since been replaced with family safe G rated words like hose bib and drain plug.

 

[rlitman]

I recently installed several Woodford model 27 wall faucets.
FYI, Woodford is NOT lead free. They use lead free solder in their construction, but the brass isn't lead free, so their faucets are not certified for potable use.

 

[tube_guy]

Arrowhead makes very nice ones. Personally, I would stay away from the anti-siphon models if it's for your own house. You could always add something on if you really needed that feature.

 

[Negen]

Arrowhead makes very nice ones. Personally, I would stay away from the anti-siphon models if it's for your own house. You could always add something on if you really needed that feature.

Isn't anti syphon a code requirement? Why stay away from anti syphon? I thought all are anti syphon and the ones people don't like are the self draining freeze proof ones?

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[Packard V8]

Wish I'd seen this thread earlier. I've got a Zurn and a Woodford; high-dollar sillcocks which were left over after my plumbing remodel.

FWIW, I chose the design which requires a key to turn it on/off.

It hasn't happened to me, but heard two horror stories of sillcock related mischief. While the family was away, someone turned on a sillcock, which ran for days and flooded the basement. Another, the sillcock was the connection for the sprinkler. It was turned off while the family was on vacation and the lawn and plantings burned up.

The external key is also used if one hires a sprinkler blowout service in the fall. They have the generic key and can turn off the supply to blow out the lines without having to get inside the house to the shutoff.

jack vines

 

[tube_guy]

Isn't anti syphon a code requirement? Why stay away from anti syphon? I thought all are anti syphon and the ones people don't like are the self draining freeze proof ones?

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The anti-siphon valves seem to only last a few years, then they leak. An add-on anti-siphon satisfies the code requirement. When it breaks you can just remove the add-on and replace it without replacing the entire valve.

If you can get parts for the anti-siphon, it might be worth picking some up now.

Maybe 10 years ago I replaced the sillcocks in our house. Used all Arrowhead with no anti-siphon valves. They last a very long time, and it's very unlikely something is going to siphon back into the house if you're not using a hose end sprayer, or something like that.

 

[zak77]

I installed 2 Woodfords at my house and 3-4 years later, no problems at all. I used sharkbites to tap into existing lines and not one drip all these years. I dont have total faith in them never leaking but so far, so good. They thing i'm not a fan on when it comes to Woodford's is that the plastic mount that you screw to the structure isnt secured to the rest of the spigot so it can move around if you do use sharkbites. Or you need to use foam to keep it in place.

 

[Negen]

That is why I bought the arrowhead the anti syphon part is a screw on type.

Here is a stock photo of the one I bought. The anti syphon is replaceable and all repairable.

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[tube_guy]

The faucet on that model uses threads which will not accept a garden hose, so it can only be used with the anti-siphon. If they ever stop making the anti-siphon, and yours breaks, you'll probably be replacing the entire valve or cobbling together some sort of adapter.

If it was me, I'd buy a few extra anti-siphon valves now while they're still making them.

I like that valve better than the ones with the built-in anti-siphon, like the Arrowhead 420 series.

 

[Negen]

Here is the one I bought. Not bad for a $12.00 unit. Should probably get my money out of it.



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