7 EZ-PZ Steps For a Leak Free Spigot

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7 EZ-PZ Steps For a Leak Free Spigot… In 10 Minutes or Less

Ahhh, it’s Spring time my favorite time of the year. That means mowing the lawn, washing the family car after a long weekend drive in the country and maybe power washing your house. That means breaking out the water hose only to find that your frost free spigot is leaking water almost as bad as the cracks in Bagnell dam.

When plumbing leaks suddenly occur You’re first instinct is to call a plumber.

Wait! That’s going to cost you at least a Benjamin, so your date night this week will have to be cancelled.

Remember you are a “do it yourselfer”, tackling a small 10 minute fix is well in your comfort zone because, you’re about to discover “7 EZ-PZ steps for a leak free spigot in less than 10 minutes.”

Let’s get started.

Before we begin with the 7 EZ-PZ steps for a leak free spigot or outside frost free faucet you are going to need a few tools.

  1.  A flat head or Phillips screw driver 
  2.  a good pair of pliers 
  3.  an adjustable wrench or “crescent” 
  4.  A roll of Teflon tape
  5.  And finally a double 00 flat or beveled washer. (note that you may need a different size washer). 

Before we begin, you need first is go turn off the water supply to your outside spigot, because the last thing you want is to be sprayed with 50 pounds of ice cold water “Burr” or worse walk around like a two year old that couldn’t make it to the rest room in time and have a big wet spot in the middle of your britches , how embarrassing.

If the plumbing for your frost free faucet is accessible by a basement or a crawl space check and see if there is a shut off valve behind it. This might save a few minutes or headaches from water users in your home. If not then go ahead and cut off your house water supply before continuing with following steps.

Now that your house water or shut off valve has been turn off and you don’t have any water flowing from the spigot, it’s time to repair your frost free faucet so you can get to more pressing chores done.

Without further ado here are the 7 EZ-PZ Steps for a leak free spigot in 10 minutes or less.

Step #1: Remove the handle screw from the center of the wheel handle. Place the screw and handle in a safe place because you’re going to need them again.

Step#2: Wrap a shop towel around the body of the spigot this will keep the teeth of the pliers from damaging the spigot when you use it to keep the body from twisting while you loosen the packing nut. Plumbers note: Most frost free outside spigots will have a mounting flange with two screws holding the facet taught to the sill of the house hence, another name for this faucet the “sill cock”. IF your faucet has been installed for years, never trust the mounting screws because they could be compromised by corrosion or the wood itself could be weathered. I have seen many frost free faucets twist while doing step 3 and breaking the pipe.

Step #3: Stabilize the body with your pliers while at the same time loosen the packing nut with your adjustable wrench.

Step#4: Once the packing nut is free pull the stern out of the body of the spigot. The Stern is that long shaft that seats itself all the way back in the body.

Step #5: Inspect the packing inside of the packing nut. If it is flakey and rough looking from water erosion you may need to dig that packing out and repack it. Plumbers Note: Don’t dig it out yet I have a little plumbers trick up my sleeve that may save you some time and trouble.

Step #6: At the very end of the stern is a plastic washer with a screw in the center of it. Remove this screw and replace the washer. Don’t forget to put the screw back in place. Plumbers note: There are many different size washers they range from 0,00,000, flat and beveled. If you do not know which washer you need take the old washer to your nearest hardware store and have it matched to fit. Many NIBCO and Woodford brands use the 00 washer and they are common in my neck of the woods. Ok, now it is time to break out your roll of Teflon tape and in moment you will learn my little plumbing trick I hinted to a little earlier.

Step #7: On the stern there is a stop that looks a lot like a flat washer. This stop is to keep the stern from going too far in the body which would stop the water flow completely. Plumbers tip: With your Teflon tape wrap about 4 rotations in front of the stop behind the packing nut. If you wrap to much tape here you won’t be able to tighten the packing nut to the body, so be careful here and count.

Now that we have replaced the washer and Teflon the stop to help the packing do its job for a few more years, it is time to put all the parts back into the body and tighten everything up. By reversing the 7 EZ-PZ steps to a leak free spigot in ten minutes or less, you will have your frost free faucet or sill cock back in working order in time for your spring time watering.