What is this PVC coupler called and why is it leaking?

[PandaBear]

This is a bibb? Faucet? that goes from the outside wall of the kitchen to a PVC into the ground and feed the drip irrigation / sprinkler. I notice a small puddle outside these days and after drying up everything with a towel, in a few minutes I see some small amount of leak showing up at the red circles area in the photos. Seems like the thread into the top "tap" at the PVC "coupler" has some teflon tapes and the bottom of this coupler at the red circle going into the PVC "thread" has some algae growing.

 

[Rand]

its an adapter that goes from normal hose thread to pvc?

cant tell from your picture but it appears to be female to female with a threaded pvc going in from the bottom?

if you have tried tightening it.. there is probably an oring/washer at the faucet connection and not sure on the pvc side since I've never used one of those.

 

[PimTac]

The faucet is the hose bibb. That is the technical name for it. Looks like a homeowner installed contraption to feed the irrigation system as you noted.

The hose bibbs today don’t have the threads like they used to. You get three threads and that’s it. Most of the time a hose will leak as well.

Is it leaking enough to bother you?

 

[paulo57509]

That's a hose bib that appears to have a female hose coupling attached to it. If the bib valve is closed and you're seeing water at the coupling, I would say you have two leaks; the valve is leaking and you need to replace the conical washer within. There's probably some hose washers in the coupling that need to be replaced as well?

 

[PandaBear]

The faucet is the hose bibb. That is the technical name for it. Looks like a homeowner installed contraption to feed the irrigation system as you noted.

The hose bibbs today don’t have the threads like they used to. You get three threads and that’s it. Most of the time a hose will leak as well.

Is it leaking enough to bother you?

It is a small puddle outside constantly, the stuff on the PVC is algae growth, I already scraped and wipe some off but it was basically a small "moss" of stuff.

My main concern is if it leak further I don't know what to do with it so I try to understand what is it, and how to fix it eventually.

 

[PandaBear]

its an adapter that goes from normal hose thread to pvc?

cant tell from your picture but it appears to be female to female with a threaded pvc going in from the bottom?

if you have tried tightening it.. there is probably an oring/washer at the faucet connection and not sure on the pvc side since I've never used one of those.

It does look like a female to female, just wondering if it is a coupling that will extend upward / downward, or if it is rigid so as you tighten it will tighten only upward and loosen downward, or tighten upward and loosen upward.

I see teflon tape on the top where it meets the hose bibb, but at the bottom I don't see anything. Wonder how as it installed originally.

 

[PandaBear]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Apollo-3-4-in-PVC-Drip-Irrigation-Female-Adapter/50030682

This looks like what I have, is this what it is?

 

[PimTac]

It is a small puddle outside constantly, the stuff on the PVC is algae growth, I already scraped and wipe some off but it was basically a small "moss" of stuff.

My main concern is if it leak further I don't know what to do with it so I try to understand what is it, and how to fix it eventually.

It’s likely a washer that needs replacing. That top piece looks like a female to female coupling.

I’m wondering if it can be easily disassembled with the glue joints they have set up. Since you don’t freeze they didn’t worry about that.

 

[PandaBear]

It’s likely a washer that needs replacing. That top piece looks like a female to female coupling.

I’m wondering if it can be easily disassembled with the glue joints they have set up. Since you don’t freeze they didn’t worry about that.

I was concerned about that too. You cannot replace anything without sawing anything about, but they are not glued / cemented but threaded so eventually they need replacement.

If I were to replace it, I would do it the right way, but what is the right way going from metal bibb to PVC? Would it be easier if I just use a Y from the metal bibb so the hose can be attached directly to metal (without wiggling and weighting down a PVC), and the other part of the Y connecting to the PVC with a short garden hose that stays pressurized? or other kind of attachment?

 

[PimTac]

I was concerned about that too. You cannot replace anything without sawing anything about, but they are not glued / cemented but threaded so eventually they need replacement.

If I were to replace it, I would do it the right way, but what is the right way going from metal bibb to PVC? Would it be easier if I just use a Y from the metal bibb so the hose can be attached directly to metal (without wiggling and weighting down a PVC), and the other part of the Y connecting to the PVC with a short garden hose that stays pressurized? or other kind of attachment?

I was thinking of the same thing. Get a Y with individual shut off valves. I have seen small extensions of hoses that are used for difficult to reach hose bibbs. I have one. It’s about 5 inches long with a spring on the outside. When they installed our hose bibbs they added a siding trim just below after the installation so screwing anything on is a tight fit.

Like this:

Robot or human?

 

[Hall]

That just looks like a hack to me. It's going from a faucet to a faucet ?

 

[tom slick]

I would install a ball valve in place of the existing hose bibb the re-plumb it with the corresponding treaded and socket weld fittings. The teflon tape on the compression fitting on the backside tells me something isn't right there either.

I'm being pedantic but that is not technically a hose bib, it's a "boiler drain valve". They are the same function but they are different shapes. Sillcock, Hose Bibb, Boiler Drain Valve, Garden Valve, and Wall Hydrant are colloquially called "Faucets" or "Hose Bibbs" but they are different parts. You'll notice the difference on the labels at the hardware store.

 

[PandaBear]

So let's say I redo this from the wall to the floor. The PVC is cemented in so I likely need to cut it off the ground by a few inches, attach either via shark bite, compression fit, or glue a thread piece in. Eventually it will go to the pipe into the wall.

What would be the most stable, cleanest, durable way to go? 90 Deg turn then ball valve, then either a T or a Y, then to either a compression coupling into the bottom PVC? or a "garden hose extension" into the ground PVC metal thread (because it is outdoor and under UV so I should minimize the PVC section?)

 

[doitmyself]

This is the best picture I could find below. I would follow this basic concept. I'm not sure what your connection coming out of the wall is. A compression fitting on copper pipe? 1.) A metal tee attached directly to the wall pipe. 2.) A hose bib of your choice threaded directly into the tee (no nipple required as shown in the picture). 3.) Going down install a metal ball valve. 4.) From there, transition properly to your drip irrigation. Drip irrigation should have a pressure regulator and other components (filter, drain/air fitting, etc.).

Be very careful to have some sort of RPZ/back flow prevention somewhere to prevent contaminated hose or irritation water to be drawn into your potable water system. This cannot be stressed enough. You don't want lawn chemicals, animal poop byproducts, etc. getting into your home water.

Or, as mentioned by others above:

 

[tom slick]

If it were me I’d plumb everything above ground in copper, connect to pvc underground. I’d plumb it like the layout in the picture doitmyself posted.

 

[PandaBear]

So if I understand correctly, the way doitmyself posted can be done if I attach a threaded T from the wall, move my existing faucet up to the top, thread a short extension to the bottom of the T, then add a ball valve, and use a coupling / union / whatever works, to connect to the PVC below.

If it were me I’d plumb everything above ground in copper, connect to pvc underground. I’d plumb it like the layout in the picture doitmyself posted.

Too late, the PVC come out of the concrete paving and I'm not going to smash it just to let copper go under. I will try to keep the PVC as low as possible within reason and maybe cover it up with something to reduce UV damage in the future though.

 

[doitmyself]

There's always lots of options with plumbing. In your case, I might consider this option to keep everything closer to the wall for aesthetics (opinions?).

Put a threaded Tee directly onto the wall connection, with the hose bib style below on top and a ball valve on the bottom:

Zoro Select 6AYV5 $10.22 Brass Male Tee, MNPT, 3/4" Pipe Size | Zoro.com

Order Zoro Select Brass Male Tee, MNPT, 3/4" Pipe Size, 6AYV5 at Zoro.com. Great prices & free shipping on orders over $50 when you sign in or sign up for an account.

www.zoro.com

 

[kschachn]

Be very careful to have some sort of RPZ/back flow prevention somewhere to prevent contaminated hose or irritation water to be drawn into your potable water system. This cannot be stressed enough. You don't want lawn chemicals, animal poop byproducts, etc. getting into your home water.

That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the OP's picture.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

If there is a shut off inside, I would eliminate the first bib. Also, you absolutely need a backflow preventer to isolate potable water service.

If it was my house I would ditch the drip irrigation system and just water plants as required, though the convenience of a drip system is undeniable. Is it timed for night watering? I don't see any wiring.