I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice to have the
tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the house?

Vic wrote:

I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice to have the
tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the house?

You'll need a double check valve (to prevent backflow) while you're
fitting that it makes sense to put a service valve in too, so you can
drain the external pipework over winter.

In article ,
says...

Vic wrote:

I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice to have the
tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the house?

You'll need a double check valve (to prevent backflow) while you're
fitting that it makes sense to put a service valve in too, so you can
drain the external pipework over winter.

I used plastic pipe for the run through the wall, since I didn't want
copper pipe acting as a thermal bridge to the freezing temperatures
outside.

--
Sam

On 12/01/2016 09:12, Vic wrote:
I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice to have the
tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the house?

That is certainly what I did, both in my and my daughters house. Last
year she got caught out, forgot to turn it off for Winter. Despite it
being lagged she returned home one evening to find water gushing down
the drive! so yes I think it sensible to have a stop cock in the house.

On 12/01/16 09:12, Vic wrote:
I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice to have the
tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the house?

yes, if you don't want it to freeze, spilt and flood the house..

IN winter turn off inside and open outside tap..

--
"What do you think about Gay Marriage?"
"I don't."
"Don't what?"
"Think about Gay Marriage."

On Tue, 12 Jan 2016 09:12:56 +0000, Vic wrote:

I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice to
have the tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the
house?

A double check valve is required as well if the tap is on the mains
water supply. Isolation is a good idea, particulary if there is much
pipework outside of any heated area. Means you can turn of the supply
and open the tap in winter. The idea being that when the pipe freezes
there is somewhere to take the expansion. With the tap closed there
is nowhere to take up the expansion.

The water board might want to know and slap a "hose pipe" fee on your
bill if you are un-metered. That's quite old though, things may have
changed.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Tue, 12 Jan 2016 09:12:56 +0000, Vic wrote:

I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice to have the
tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the house?

There's frost proof taps... They shut off inside the house -- but they will
burst anyway if a hose is left on so that the outside bit of the tap can't
drain.

Thomas Prufer

Every external tap with a hose attachment I have seen already has a double check valve, so only an isolator required inside. The only problem with those taps is that if you turn the isolator inside off opening the tap does not drain all the water out between isolator and tap even with the external tap lower than the isolator. To completely drain any pipe between isolator and external tap will require a drain cock.

Richard

Ah yes. the good old tried and tested belt, braces, and binder twine method.

On 12/01/2016 14:27, Tricky Dicky wrote:
Every external tap with a hose attachment I have seen already has a double check valve, so only an isolator required inside. The only problem with those taps is that if you turn the isolator inside off opening the tap does not drain all the water out between isolator and tap even with the external tap lower than the isolator. To completely drain any pipe between isolator and external tap will require a drain cock.

Do such taps not have a little grub screw on the underside to allow the
tap body to be drained?

"www.GymRatZ.co.uk" wrote in message
...
On 12/01/2016 14:27, Tricky Dicky wrote:
Every external tap with a hose attachment I have seen already has a
double check valve, so only an isolator required inside. The only problem
with those taps is that if you turn the isolator inside off opening the
tap does not drain all the water out between isolator and tap even with
the external tap lower than the isolator. To completely drain any pipe
between isolator and external tap will require a drain cock.

Do such taps not have a little grub screw on the underside to allow the
tap body to be drained?



Hex head - easily lost.

On 12/01/2016 09:12, Vic wrote:
I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice to have the
tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the house?

As others have said then it's logical to be able to shut it off as you
would most taps in the house but I fittes a "straight through the wall"
external tap so the only metal outside is the tap it's self. The
pipework inside the house is in the boiler room. Never his it freeze and
never turned it off or drained it down in 12 years or more.

I like to thing that the small plug of ice that forms behind the tap
valve is in it's self so small that should the freezing get past the
depth of the outer brick skin it will be prevented from going any
further as the heat of indoors will naturally warm the pipe to a point
of equilibrium somewhere within the cavity.

On Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 3:06:52 PM UTC, www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote:
On 12/01/2016 09:12, Vic wrote:
I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice to have the
tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the house?

As others have said then it's logical to be able to shut it off as you
would most taps in the house but I fittes a "straight through the wall"
external tap so the only metal outside is the tap it's self. The
pipework inside the house is in the boiler room. Never his it freeze and
never turned it off or drained it down in 12 years or more.

I like to thing that the small plug of ice that forms behind the tap
valve is in it's self so small that should the freezing get past the
depth of the outer brick skin it will be prevented from going any
further as the heat of indoors will naturally warm the pipe to a point
of equilibrium somewhere within the cavity.



ISTR that if the feed to an outside tap is horizontal the pipe will burst if it freezes whereas if it is vertical the ice will push the tap off the end of the pipework.

On 12/01/2016 15:40, fred wrote:

ISTR that if the feed to an outside tap is horizontal the pipe will burst if it freezes whereas if it is vertical the ice will push the tap off the end of the pipework.

Sounds a bit strange to me. I'd have thought pressure of expanding ice
is irrespective of orientation
What if the pipe goes through the wall horizontally then has a small
upstand of a couple of inches... Does it play by horizontal or vertical
rules?

In message , fred
writes
On Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at 3:06:52 PM UTC, www.GymRatZ.co.uk wrote:
On 12/01/2016 09:12, Vic wrote:
I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice
to have the
tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the house?

As others have said then it's logical to be able to shut it off as you
would most taps in the house but I fittes a "straight through the wall"
external tap so the only metal outside is the tap it's self. The
pipework inside the house is in the boiler room. Never his it freeze and
never turned it off or drained it down in 12 years or more.

I like to thing that the small plug of ice that forms behind the tap
valve is in it's self so small that should the freezing get past the
depth of the outer brick skin it will be prevented from going any
further as the heat of indoors will naturally warm the pipe to a point
of equilibrium somewhere within the cavity.



ISTR that if the feed to an outside tap is horizontal the pipe will
burst if it freezes whereas if it is vertical the ice will push the tap
off the end of the pipework.

Stand pipes freeze from the top down so are reasonably frost proof.
Sadly the non return valve fitted to current bib cocks can be damaged.

--
Tim Lamb

On 12/01/16 09:12, Vic wrote:
I am going to fit an outside water tap. Is it usual/good practice to have the
tap and the spur off the water main isolatable inside the house?


Yes - and a slope downwards, so opening the tap with the isolator off
drains the pipe.

*However* if the tap is tight to the wall with the pipe running directly
through the wall into the tap, IME in the south, it's unlikely to freeze.