Hello All-

I had a plumber repair my outside front faucet in the late summer last year. Shortly after he did the install, I went outside on an early Sunday morning to pick up my newspaper from my porch and water was shooting out of where the handle is connected.

So called the plumber to check it out. He says he "remedied it for now." He thinks there might have gotten a small stone or other debris in the line to set it off (actually to an on position.) I don't have strong hands to always give the faucet a really hard turn to the off position, but when I test it, it's not on. So with this shooting water incident, I was too afraid to leave the water outside on all fall so it was off until now.

I turned it on again for the Spring, and came home today and it was on again shooting out of the handle where it
connects to the faucet top.

Can anyone tell me what is really going on and if I need a new plumber?

yes, you need another plumber.

When you say you "turned it on for the Spring" what do you mean? Is there a shutoff valve inside the house that controls this outside faucet? Did the plumber install a new faucet (hose bibb)?



Edited 3 times.

Yes, he installed a hose bibb and there is a valve inside the basement to turn off the outside water.

However, before the bibb was installed, I could leave the outside water on all the time in the summer and just go outside, turn the outside faucet on and spray my plants, etc.

Now, I'm too afraid to leave the inside water faucet on as sometimes when I'm in my den, I hear water running and low and behold, when I go out the front door, the water is shooting out of the area near the faucet handle. This is when the outside faucet is totally turned off.

My guess is that the pressure inside of the faucet, and hose as well as the nozzle are building up and when it gets to great, it has to go somewhere, so it shoots out of the area near the faucet handle.

I'm testing to see if I remove the nozzle and leave the water turned off outside, but on inside, if I still get a spray out of the facet outside.

Thanks for responding. Any help is appreciated as I don't want to pay for another bibb to be installed.

The shutoff valve inside is probably so you don't have to worry about the outside hose bibb/faucet freezing in the winter. It also keeps kids from turning on the hose bibb as a prank if that could be a problem. It sounds like the hose bibb that got installed is bad or wasn't installed correctly. Maybe it is leaking thru the handle stem (right behind the handle) and not from the faucet spout itself. If from the spout where you connect a garden hose to water your yard then you can buy a screw-on cap to stop the leaking until you can get if fixed. If the leak is coming from the stem behind the hose bibb handle then there is a large nut there you can try to tighten it with a wrench. If you can post a photo of this hose bibb maybe we can be of more help. Did you try calling the person that installed it and let them know it is leaking? A legit plumber or handyman would come back out to see about fixing it.

I did call back the plumber who installed it orignally. He's been out 2xs for the same thing. When he first came out after the initial issue with it, he said a small stone might have lodged in the line and that's why it's shooting water.....not sure what to believe at this point.

Now he indicates that because I leave a nozzle on it, pressure is building up and that is why it's spraying out the handle part.

This didn't happen before the new bibb was installed and I have a bibb on the back house faucet and I don't get the same problem even though I have a nozzle on that hose as well. I presume pressure would build in both bibbs in the same house if that's what it really is.

I agree and I think you are right to be suspicious of the explanations you are getting. He may be a well-meaning individual but just not experienced enough to figure out what's going on, so is making the best guess he can. The new hose bibb he installed may have had a defect, or it might not have been installed correctly. If you have another person that can replace the hose bibb with another new one that should take care of the problem. And I would think you can take back the hose-bibb that is leaking and get a refund.

The solution could be as simple as tightening the packing nut behind the handle.

I thought about that too, but surely the plumber that installed it would have known to make sure it was tight.

Thanks to all who responded. I took off the nozzle and have not had the problem recur.

Plumber who installed it will be out sometime in May to check it out as it's been so rainy here that I haven't needed to water on a daily basis.