Help! FrostFree/Freezeless Wall Faucet

Hello,

I have a three year old home in North Carolina and unfortunately I left garden hoses on both of my outdoor faucets during a long warm streak of weather which eventually turned cold. At any rate I turned on the facuets and the water flowed out of the facuets but is also flowing down the outisde brick surface of the wall which is underneath the siding.

The faucets are Wofford brand freezeless. Is there something I have to replace inside the faucet or do I have to replace the whole faucet? The waterline in the crawlspace looks like it is clear plastic or rubber. This seems like it should be easier without the need for soldering?? How are these faucets usually attached and removed from non-metalic pipe? I can work with my hands but I've never worked with plumbing. One thing is for sure however I don't have $220 per faucet to have them professionally fixed.

Any help will be greattly appreciated!
Thanks,
T. Harris

If you leave a water hose on a so-called frost-free "freeze proof" faucet, it can freeze and burst the tube.
The handle has a long stem on it recessed back into the back end of the tube to shut off the water. When it is shut off, the water then drains out of the tube (which it cannot do if there's a hose on it).
You will probably have to replace both faucets.
It sounds like you may have PEX supply lines. Those require a special crimper.
If you're lucky, the faucets screw onto threaded fittings on the end of the PEX. Check that out. Loosen the outside faucet from the wall, and unscrew it, if you do.
You'll have to go to Plan B if not.
Good luck!
Mike

Mike was too gentle when he said. "...ist can freeze and burst the pipe." I not only can, it will. The is no repair. The faucet stem is split and you will have to replace the whole pipe. Lesson learned.

Thanks very much for the replies Mike and Gary.

Gary, are you saying that I cannot just replace the whole faucet as described by Mike above, that the whole PEX line must be replaced?

Thanks again,
Troy

No, just the broken faucet. The supply line, no matter what material, is just fine. When you get the faucet out in the open, you should see that the pipe that connects to the Pex is split. The hose that was left attached prevented the faucet from draining. It still shut the water supply off. You didn't have a leak until you turned the valve on. If the supply line had frozen and ruptured, you would have had a leak as soon as it thawed. Sorry to have been unclear in my first answer. I consider myself a semi-expert on this subject because I too learned the hard way!

Another suggestion, it may be a two person job. One on the inside to keep the inside fitting from turning and one to turn the faucet. Don't just blindly turn the faucet from the outside.