weird outside hose bib plumbing - WTF?

[masraum]

The only other leak due to the freeze other than the main line at the top of the pump.

Can anyone explain why I have 2 hose bibs that are plumbed together? Could these maybe be in series, but if that's the case, why.



And why there's a PVC shutoff at the bottom of one?


This is the only remaining issue with the plumbing. I'd like to replace the PVC with metal so it's less likely to freeze and split. Can you think of any reason why I'd need to put a shutoff valve in place.

FYI, this is no where near the house. This is out by what used to be the barn before it was blown down.

For a bit more info, in case it matters. Just trying to think of a reason why there would be a shutoff in line and those 2 bibs tied together, I wondered if someone wanted to extend the lines, and had made the U-turn and then extended the line from the "bib#1&2" location to the "bib#3" location. Although it still wouldn't explain why they added the second spigot.

[john70t]

Plastic fittings...under pressure...in hot summer sun...and freezing...is a true WTF.

WTF?

Stay strong my friend.
There are a lot of mistakes there with a new abode, which are now the the burden of yourself.
btdt.
And will do again.

Prioritize and watch the budget.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by john70t

Plastic fittings...under pressure...in hot summer sun...and freezing...is a true WTF.

WTF?

Stay strong my friend.
There are a lot of mistakes there with a new (100 year old) abode, which are now the the burden of yourself.
btdt.
And will do again.

Prioritize and watch the budget.

In their defense, it was all very well wrapped in insulation. I only noticed it because the insulation had sprouted a horizontal leak.

Don't forget the 100 year old part. It's like buying a '68 camaro. There's bound to be 1001 fun surprises every time you start to work on something.

[look 171]

100 year old house with that kind of plumbing? I wonder when they re-plumbed it or just fixed what was bad and piece things together to keep things going? My suggestion is to get after it and start the re-plumb process slowly. Like you said about the old Camaro, fir this and something else will break. Have a careful look at what's really going on with the creative plumbing? Maybe that's how its suppose to be done? Again, I have never had to deal with wells or building outside of socal but it isn't difficult to figure out.

[id10t]

Hrm. When I had my well pipe redone I had them add 2 hose bibs there at the pump so I could water the garden or fill/top up the above ground pool without running the water thru my water softener, pressure tank, etc.

And mine do indeed come up and out of the ground, then have the bibs, then dives back into the ground to make the run to the house - very similar to what you have. Could be they needed a second bib on a regular basis, could be one of the bibs is bad, etc.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by id10t

Hrm. When I had my well pipe redone I had them add 2 hose bibs there at the pump so I could water the garden or fill/top up the above ground pool without running the water thru my water softener, pressure tank, etc.

And mine do indeed come up and out of the ground, then have the bibs, then dives back into the ground to make the run to the house - very similar to what you have. Could be they needed a second bib on a regular basis, could be one of the bibs is bad, etc.

The weird thing is that these bibs are as far away from the well as it's possible to get. The well is at the southwest corner of the property, and these two bibs are probably 300-400' to the northeast.

Maybe they needed 2 because there were animals and the barn.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by look 171

100 year old house with that kind of plumbing? I wonder when they re-plumbed it or just fixed what was bad and piece things together to keep things going? My suggestion is to get after it and start the re-plumb process slowly. Like you said about the old Camaro, fir this and something else will break. Have a careful look at what's really going on with the creative plumbing? Maybe that's how its suppose to be done? Again, I have never had to deal with wells or building outside of socal but it isn't difficult to figure out.

I spoke to some folks that owned the house in the 90s. They came in and did a ton of work to the house. I think they completely redid the plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc...

And this plumbing, or at least parts of it, looked pretty new, so it wouldn't surprise me if some of it was only 5-10 years old. The POs had horses, and these bibs would have been at the barn that was there when they moved in (barn was damaged in a storm).

[MysticLlama]

My house had some weirdness like that, there was formerly a fountain, and then a another faucet run out to a weird spot.

So maybe something like that, or something like hoses for the horses or sprinklers left out in two different directions?

Strange things happen when people have a box of parts around but no hose splitter thing handy.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by MysticLlama

My house had some weirdness like that, there was formerly a fountain, and then a another faucet run out to a weird spot.

So maybe something like that, or something like hoses for the horses or sprinklers left out in two different directions?

Strange things happen when people have a box of parts around but no hose splitter thing handy.

I'm assuming it's just something weird and off the wall like that.

[dad911]

If you feel like digging, and need water in the winter at the barns, there is a barn hose connection that gets the valve below the frost line. Called a yard hydrant. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Woodford-Y34-3-Model-Y34-3-4-FPT-Non-Freeze-Iowa-Yard-Hydrant-3-Ft-Burial-Depth?gclid=CjwKCAiAm-2BBhANEiwAe7eyFK-rxR-h36q8TurNsDlBVcFAVkvaPQ1EUeIOGzeHnSp1AWmsF-GcXhoCWXAQAvD_BwE

If you don't need water at the barn(s) in the winter, make an adapter from an airline/compressor to a hose connection, and blow out the lines in the fall.

I've stopped guessing why with previous owners. Could be they had a T and a valve laying around, and not an elbow.

We just demoed a house where they tapped the actual water main between the house and the street, and ran a garden hose under ground (bypassing the meter) to the side yard.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by dad911

If you feel like digging, and need water in the winter at the barns, there is a barn hose connection that gets the valve below the frost line. Called a yard hydrant. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Woodford-Y34-3-Model-Y34-3-4-FPT-Non-Freeze-Iowa-Yard-Hydrant-3-Ft-Burial-Depth?gclid=CjwKCAiAm-2BBhANEiwAe7eyFK-rxR-h36q8TurNsDlBVcFAVkvaPQ1EUeIOGzeHnSp1AWmsF-GcXhoCWXAQAvD_BwE

If you don't need water at the barn(s) in the winter, make an adapter from an airline/compressor to a hose connection, and blow out the lines in the fall.

I've stopped guessing why with previous owners. Could be they had a T and a valve laying around, and not an elbow.

We just demoed a house where they tapped the actual water main between the house and the street, and ran a garden hose under ground (bypassing the meter) to the side yard.

You guys get creative plumbing out east too? I thought its a west coast thing to find the creative type. We don't have too many creative plumbing here, but a ton of serious creative electrical work we have torn apart over the years. Almost every old house we come across have some type of unacceptable electrical work.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by dad911

If you feel like digging, and need water in the winter at the barns, there is a barn hose connection that gets the valve below the frost line. Called a yard hydrant. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Woodford-Y34-3-Model-Y34-3-4-FPT-Non-Freeze-Iowa-Yard-Hydrant-3-Ft-Burial-Depth?gclid=CjwKCAiAm-2BBhANEiwAe7eyFK-rxR-h36q8TurNsDlBVcFAVkvaPQ1EUeIOGzeHnSp1AWmsF-GcXhoCWXAQAvD_BwE

If you don't need water at the barn(s) in the winter, make an adapter from an airline/compressor to a hose connection, and blow out the lines in the fall.

I've stopped guessing why with previous owners. Could be they had a T and a valve laying around, and not an elbow.

Nope, no need for water at the barns since the only farm animal that we're going to have is an 11# dachshund who will spend his time mostly inside being the king of the castle, and probably bees.

We just demoed a house where they tapped the actual water main between the house and the street, and ran a garden hose under ground (bypassing the meter) to the side yard.

Wow, that's crazy.

[Zeke]

Looks to me like the 2nd bid was just a thought after the loop with the shut ff was installed. That's the mystery, where does the shut off line end up? And the 2nd bib may very well be the primary feed there no matter what it looks like.

[chrismorse]

With two pipes coming out of the going I'd assume one was the feed and the other taking water out to another point. I'm guessing the line with the plastic valve is going out and you might be able to shut off that run of pipe if not needed. I'd do as Dad911 suggested and blow the water out to prevent freeze damage.
From the second photo, it looks like there might be a crack in the valve at the top. If you are going to replace the valve, i'd recommend using a brass full flow "ball" valve.
Might be worthwhile to insulate the exposed pipes under pressure.
good luck,chris

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by masraum

And why there's a PVC shutoff at the bottom of one?

It's for two garden hoses. I have a splitter on one of my outdoor bibs. but really would like a setup like that. The PVC might have gone to a stock tank. The farmer didn't want the animals stomping on a garden hose so he buried some pipe, though black flexible pipe is preferred for that purpose around here. I can't explain a PVC valve connecting two iron pipes though. That really is a WTF?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Looks to me like the 2nd bid was just a thought after the loop with the shut ff was installed. That's the mystery, where does the shut off line end up? And the 2nd bib may very well be the primary feed there no matter what it looks like.

Right, I'm not sure which one of the two pipes is nearer the "end of the line." I'm just assuming that the PVC valve is nearer to the well, but that may not be the case.

Originally Posted by chrismorse

With two pipes coming out of the going I'd assume one was the feed and the other taking water out to another point. I'm guessing the line with the plastic valve is going out and you might be able to shut off that run of pipe if not needed. I'd do as Dad911 suggested and blow the water out to prevent freeze damage.
From the second photo, it looks like there might be a crack in the valve at the top. If you are going to replace the valve, i'd recommend using a brass full flow "ball" valve.
Might be worthwhile to insulate the exposed pipes under pressure.
good luck,chris

That was my assumption. But we all know what happens when you ASSuME. My plan was to find an all metal valve instead of PVC. I'd also be happy just putting a solid pipe in and skipping the valve, but since I don't really know what the purpose of any of it is or where it goes, I'll probably stick with a valve.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

It's for two garden hoses. I have a splitter on one of my outdoor bibs. but really would like a setup like that. The PVC might have gone to a stock tank. The farmer didn't want the animals stomping on a garden hose so he buried some pipe, though black flexible pipe is preferred for that purpose around here. I can't explain a PVC valve connecting two iron pipes though. That really is a WTF?

Thanks, good to know. The PO of the property has only been there 5 years, and as far as I know, only had 2 horses, but clearly, some previous owner had, I assume, cattle.
Hose bib 1&2 are up against the fence on the far left in this photo (hidden behind the tree) and bib 3 is behind the fence on the far right.

[gregpark]

There could have been a timer on one bib for a trough since they had horse's.
I have some creative plumbing around too. A never empty water bowl for the chickens and a battery operated timer for the vegetable garden with shut offs all over. The next owners are going to wonder what I was thinking

[masraum]

Not sure why they had 2 bibs, probably something to do with putting out sprinklers or something. Most of the hose bibs in the yard are single, but then have splitters screwed onto them.

But I do know that the reason there's a pipe coming up, then going back down is because one leg goes farther out to two other more distant bibs.

[john70t]

I'm guessing it's routed like this.
The down-pipe goes to a spigot a distance away? Or tank as mentioned above?



Can you add an air fitting after the valve to blow out the line?
(or add those closer to the pump for the entire run)
There is the option of lopping it all off and re-designing it.

Insulate and get heated wire on a thermostat like they use in gutters.
Direct burial wire will be needed and it's own breaker. The run marked and protected from shovels in the future.
If the pipe is buried deep enough it wont freeze, but the parts above ground will.