No Water Coming out of Frost Free Outdoor Faucet

By Mark J. Donovan

Question - I have a frost free outdoor faucet that is not working. There is no water coming out of my outdoor faucet. I tried to turn it on this spring and no water comes out of it. We did have some frozen pipes this past winter for a few hours one day. Do you have any ideas on why it may not be working?

Answer: Frost free outdoor faucets can be a little tricky. There are faucet nuts and washers that can sometimes fail, or become loose, and can cause the faucet to leak. Sometimes outdoor faucets can be installed wrong, e.g. leaving the valve system in the pipe while sweating it into your plumbing system. This can lead to a failed outdoor faucet.

Regarding your question on the frost free outdoor faucet not working. Your situation sounds a little odd. If you had a frozen pipe situation then I would think the faucet may have a leak.

I only have a couple of thoughts on this situation:

First, make sure you do not have an internal shut off valve inside the home that provides water to the outdoor faucet. Frequently even frost free outdoor faucets have inside shutoff valves for added protection.

The second thought I have is that if the faucet was old and rusty, the handle may not actually be connected/engaged with the valve stem any longer. If this was the case you could turn the handle and the valve would remain closed.