Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
They're a commercial product. There's an internal loop that slips over the tap and pulls the cover tight-on so it can't go for a jolly in the wind.
Hose draining time!
- Thread starter ColinJ
- Start date
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ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
I used to have a home made one using left over pipe insulation and cable ties
I still use that on the couple of feet of bar pipe before it gets to the tap
Last year I saw a commercial thingy made from some thick pipe insulation in an L shape - plus another bit sticking up for the tap handle
plus a plastic covers to cover the tape opening and the handle - so you can just remove those bits and still use the tap easily.
The bloke opposite has one like a small square bucket that goes over the tap and is held on with an elastic band
not forzen yet - but then it hasn;t been super cold yet!
I still use that on the couple of feet of bar pipe before it gets to the tap
Last year I saw a commercial thingy made from some thick pipe insulation in an L shape - plus another bit sticking up for the tap handle
plus a plastic covers to cover the tape opening and the handle - so you can just remove those bits and still use the tap easily.
The bloke opposite has one like a small square bucket that goes over the tap and is held on with an elastic band
not forzen yet - but then it hasn;t been super cold yet!
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
I always drain the hose after a session down the pub
Salad Dodger
Guru
- Location
- Kent Coast
Same as Alex321 showed, but ours came from Aldi and has survived 3 winters now.
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
I was waiting for someone to say that!
Fastpedaller
Senior Member
Plumber here...... You'd be amazed how many isolation valves (both for washing machines and outside taps) are sited so they are inaccessible - behind a washing machine is probably the worst choice ever because washing machines are VERY heavy to move. The insulation around the pipe or tap doesn't achieve a great deal apart from minimising wind chill - the tap will be very close to the ambient temperature even if you put it in a thermos flask it would get cold in 24 hours! After turning the isolator off, open the outside tap so that any water in the pipe or tap can't freeze and expand to split the pipe. You'd be amazed how many people keep the outside tap turned off (usually turned far too hard as well) for fear that it will leak, despite the isolator in the house being turned off 
matticus
Guru
Plumber here...... You'd be amazed how many isolation valves (both for washing machines and outside taps) are sited so they are inaccessible - behind a washing machine is probably the worst choice ever because washing machines are VERY heavy to move. The insulation around the pipe or tap doesn't achieve a great deal apart from minimising wind chill - the tap will be very close to the ambient temperature even if you put it in a thermos flask it would get cold in 24 hours! After turning the isolator off, open the outside tap so that any water in the pipe or tap can't freeze and expand to split the pipe. You'd be amazed how many people keep the outside tap turned off (usually turned far too hard as well) for fear that it will leak, despite the isolator in the house being turned off
Top tips.
Here in the mild south (OK, so it was -12'c for a week 10 years ago, but we've moved on ... ) our outside tap has never frozen, but the water in our hoze frequently does!
presta
Guru
I had 'Phone Bill' on my to do list once. Whilst I was trying to work out who the hell Bill is I realised it was a reminder to pay it, not call him.
OP
OP
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Ho ho!
I have a pal of that name. If I wanted to remind myself to call him my note would be "Phone Bill". In your example it would be "Phone bill" or even "Pay phone bill". Mind you, all such bills are now paid by direct debit or standing order so I don't have to remind myself anyway.
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HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
I doubt it'll be cold enough here for the outside tap to be a problem. It never seemed to be in 11years at my last rental place. I don't think given the amount of extra bike cleaning at this time of year that 'd want to isolate the tap 🙁
- Location
- Glasgow
I remove the hose and store it indoors.
My indoor cut off valve is hard to reach, I cover the tap and pipe with "insulating stuff" so they don't freeze.
@Fastpedaller my DIY insulation had worked for years, even when we had several weeks of big freeze last winter.
Maybe I have been lucky!
Fastpedaller
Senior Member
You took the precaution of putting on insulation, which is a help against wind chill as I stated. There will be some heat conducted through the pipework from the house interior, and maybe through the brickwork - that will help and the insulation will help retain it. Wind chill is a HUGE factor, you only have to see the wether forecast, where that may state for example 'overnight 0 degrees C, feels like minus 4 degrees C with windchill"
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