Hey everyone! I'm tackling my first installation of a frost-free hose bib since my current ones aren't suitable for our cold northeast winters. While I'm swapping out the broken one, I'm a bit puzzled about how much of the pipe will be hidden inside the wall. If I pick up a 12-inch piece for the push-to-fit SharkBite connection, how far should I cut the exposed pipe?
3 Answers
A good strategy is to buy the bib first, install it, and then measure how much pipe to cut. Just make sure to cut enough so you can fit the pipe next to the bib properly when putting it in.
This is the best approach! I did something similar using SharkBite and PEX for my own installation, and I installed a shutoff in front of it all. It's been working without issues for four years now!
Before you go frost-free, do you have an interior cutoff and drain already? If so, you may not need to switch. Also, I would suggest avoiding SharkBite for hose bibs since they can't handle that much pressure very well.
Yeah, I do have the inside cut-off for this section a few feet from the wall. Thanks for the heads up!
When installing the frost-free bib, make sure the pipe in the wall is deep enough. If your bib is before your pressure reducing valve (PRV), I'd recommend steering clear of SharkBite connections; some might disagree, though.
It’s not before the PRV; I have a lot of copper pipe running through an addition that was done before I moved in. I'm only removing this section. I actually missed the part that specifies the 'thru wall' depth, so I'll keep that in mind!
Great idea! That will definitely help me out, thanks!