Frost Bibs. Proper installation and maintenance of outdoor taps.

Frost Bibs are outdoor taps that are designed for cold climates.

A Frost Bib is not simply the tap you see outside your home. It is an assembly that is often around 12 inches long. It consists of a tap, a vacuum seal and a pipe with an internal rod that connects to the plumbing inside your home.

The tap outside the home has a vacuum seal on top of it. This allows it to drain and stops any water outside the home from re-entering the tap and contaminating the water supply. 

The pipe it is attached to contains an internal rod. This rod ensures that the water supplying the tap is kept inside the home when the tap is not in use. The rod is the actual shutoff. While older taps simply stopped the water right at the spigot this rod stops the water inside the home 12” from the spigot. 

For more info check out this great article from InspectAPedia.

This assembly helps to ensure that the tap remains frost free, by isolating the water supply from freezing temperatures. These are a must in Canada and required by code in Manitoba.

While these taps are frost free it is still important to follow proper shutoff procedures in winter to prevent any damage to the vacuum seal on the tap.

Your supply should be equipped with a shutoff inside the home just before the water lines connect to the frost bib. This should be closed in winter months.

In addition the tap outside the home should be left in the open position. This allows any water that remained in the assembly to drain out and prevent it from freezing and cracking the assembly.

If your house is not equipped with either a modern frost bib or a shutoff you should consider having them installed. 

Please watch the video below for more information.