Mansfield Anti-freeze Hose Bib - leaking again after winter

Hi All,

Last summer, my Mansfield Anti-freeze Hose Bib was leaking out of the bottom of the handle when the hose was on. I replaced all of the parts with the replacement part kit they sell. All worked wonderfully for the summer, no leaks and lots of use. Even though it is freeze-proof, I still shut off the water during the winter. I just turned back on the water, turned on the hose, and it is leaking again under the handle! Any idea why this might be happening? Although the replacement kits are cheap, I prefer not to be on an annual replacement cycle...! It seems like something else is going on?

Thank you in advance for any insight on this!

Any chance you left a hose connected during the winter? If a hose is left connected, the faucet will not drain and will freeze.

I turn the feed off too, but I also find it's good pratice to open it up on the hose bib side just to let whatever water drain out too.

chefwong said:

I turn the feed off too, but I also find it's good pratice to open it up on the hose bib side just to let whatever water drain out too.

Click to expand...

I opened up on the bib side to drain the water after I tured off the feed, but did close it before winter. Do you leave it open? Without water in there, I didn't think it would be an issue to close it again.

Gary - to respond to your question, I did disconnect the hose. Sorry I left that detail out!

The shaft of any (that I'm aware of anyway) frost-free hosebib must be installed with a slight slope towards the outside, or water can pool inside and there might be enough to freeze and damage something.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone! I will take a look at the slope, replace the washers/etc., and see if I can try a more involved fall-time shut down after this summer in hope it won't be a problem next yr again!