This is the strangest failure I've ever seen in a faucet.
House 5yrs old; Father/son DIY build; sold in May to my clients after family dispute. So probably some "hurry-up and sell" code issues.
Clients return from two weeks away to a mound in the laundry room floor.
Investigation reveals puddled water in the crawl space; sub floor soaked
and after much frustrating elimination, a leaking Woodford 17.
All indications are that this 8" cock was a recent replacement for a 14"
(new nipple on the back of the faucet).
When I extracted the Woodford, I expected to find a frost rupture, but there were no signs of any frost damage or corrosion.
I tested the faucet in the shop and found NO LEAKS!
But I was not imagining the soggy sub-floor - which was now drying out O.K.
Finally, I rigged a test fitting in the client's garage (higher pressure) and discovered a weep in the soldered (brazed?) fitting at the rear of the cock between the copper body and the brass/bronze fitting with the 1/2 female. 3/4 mail threads. And this only when the cock was opened.
The client had an electronic timer on the bib, opened it at the start of the dry season and it had been weeping ever since.
Has anybody ever seen a factory defect like this on a Woodford or anyone else's product?
House 5yrs old; Father/son DIY build; sold in May to my clients after family dispute. So probably some "hurry-up and sell" code issues.
Clients return from two weeks away to a mound in the laundry room floor.
Investigation reveals puddled water in the crawl space; sub floor soaked
and after much frustrating elimination, a leaking Woodford 17.
All indications are that this 8" cock was a recent replacement for a 14"
(new nipple on the back of the faucet).
When I extracted the Woodford, I expected to find a frost rupture, but there were no signs of any frost damage or corrosion.
I tested the faucet in the shop and found NO LEAKS!
But I was not imagining the soggy sub-floor - which was now drying out O.K.
Finally, I rigged a test fitting in the client's garage (higher pressure) and discovered a weep in the soldered (brazed?) fitting at the rear of the cock between the copper body and the brass/bronze fitting with the 1/2 female. 3/4 mail threads. And this only when the cock was opened.
The client had an electronic timer on the bib, opened it at the start of the dry season and it had been weeping ever since.
Has anybody ever seen a factory defect like this on a Woodford or anyone else's product?
:laughing:
