A Woodford frost-free faucet shuts the water off inside the heated wall, so the line drains and nothing outside holds water to freeze. Woodford specializes in freezeless outdoor water products: wall faucets for houses, wall hydrants for commercial buildings and yard hydrants for farms and acreages. Homeowners, farmers and plumbers all run them, and in a state where the ground freezes three and four feet down, that is the difference between a working spigot in January and a split pipe in March.
Woodford Manufacturing Company was founded in 1929 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, so it has been building faucets for Rocky Mountain winters for close to a century. It’s known for residential freezeless outdoor faucets, yard hydrants, commercial wall hydrants and roof hydrants.
Know which Woodford is in the wall
Most Woodford repairs start with a Model 17 wall faucet or a Y34 yard hydrant, and the parts have to match, because Woodford engineers its parts for specific faucets and hydrants. The most common mistake is grabbing a stem that looks close, and close still leaks. On a wall faucet, pull the stem and bring it in with the handle, and measure from the face of the flange back to where the stem seated, so the new faucet or part matches the length in the wall.
Model 17 wall faucets
The Model 17 is the house faucet: the valve sits at the end of a long tube inside the heated wall, in 8-, 10- and 12-inch lengths to match the wall it goes through. Pick the length that puts the valve past the sill plate and into the warm side. A freezeless wall faucet drains only when the hose is off. Leave a hose on and it holds water in the tube, the tube freezes and it splits inside the wall. That’s the number one way these faucets fail.
To fix a drip on a Model 17 or any Woodford wall faucet, shut the water off inside, open the faucet to bleed it, back off the packing nut and pull the stem out the front. A worn washer or worn packing on that stem causes most drips. Water showing up inside the house while the hose runs means a split tube, and the faucet comes out.
Pull the hose every fall before the first hard freeze, and the Model 17 has nothing left outside to freeze.
Set every wall faucet sloping down to the outside. A faucet set level or pitched back into the house holds water and freezes anyway.
Rebuild the faucet you have
When a Woodford leaks, the first worry is having to tear the whole thing out of the wall. Most of the time it stays. The Model 17 repair kit rebuilds the faucet from the front with the body left in the wall, and a stripped or cracked handle swaps out with the Woodford repair handle made for the 14 and 17.
That is the best thing about a Woodford: when it finally wears, it rebuilds from the outside in a few minutes instead of turning into a drywall job. Fix a loose faucet right away, because every tug on the hose works the joint inside the wall. Rebuild with genuine Woodford parts matched to the model, and cut the wall open only when the tube itself has split.
Yard hydrants
A yard hydrant shuts off below the frost line and drains the water left in the standpipe out a port at the bottom, which is why a Y34 at the barn or the garden keeps working through a Montana winter. Montana code puts footings 36 to 48 inches down for frost, and the Y34 comes in 5- and 6-foot bury lengths, so the valve sits well under that with room for a hard, open winter with no snow cover. Buy the bury length that puts the valve below your frost line, and set the base in a bed of washed gravel. In clay with no gravel, the drain water sits in the standpipe and the hydrant freezes. Take the hose off after every use; a hose with a shutoff nozzle holds water in the standpipe and beats the drain.
Most yard hydrant repairs, a worn plunger or leaking packing, come up out of the top of the standpipe with the rod. Dig one up only when the drain at the base has failed.
Other Woodford lines
Woodford also builds commercial wall hydrants, roof hydrants and backflow preventers, but for a house, a shop or a ranch, the Model 17 and the Y34 are the two that do the work.
Woodford at a glance
| Product | Job | Sizes |
|---|---|---|
| Model 17 wall faucet | Freezeless house faucet | 8”, 10” and 12” |
| Model 17 repair kit | Rebuilds the faucet with the body left in the wall | Fits the Model 17 |
| Repair handle | Replaces a broken handle | Fits the 14 and 17 |
| Y34 yard hydrant | Freezeless water at the barn, garden or corral | 5’ and 6’ bury |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you repair a Woodford Model 17 faucet?
Where the water shows up tells you which part is worn. Water around the handle while the faucet runs is the packing, and a snug quarter turn on the packing nut often stops it before you pull anything apart. A drip out the spout with the handle shut is the seat washer on the far end of the stem, and that means pulling the stem and replacing the washer.
How do you repair a Woodford yard hydrant?
Shut the water off to the hydrant before you pull the rod and plunger, or the line will blow water up the standpipe as the plunger comes out. If the hydrant keeps running with the handle down, or won’t open all the way, adjust the linkage at the head before you replace parts. A plunger that isn’t seating fully often just needs that adjustment.
What length Woodford wall faucet do I need?
Measure from the outside face of the siding to the warm side of the wall, where the heated space starts. The Model 17 comes in 8-, 10- and 12-inch lengths, and the right one puts the valve inside that heated space with the faucet still sloping down to the outside.
How deep should a yard hydrant be buried in Montana?
Well below the frost line. Montana’s code sets footings 36 to 48 inches down for frost, and the Y34 comes in 5- and 6-foot bury lengths, so the valve sits well under that. Take the deeper one on an open, windblown site where snow doesn’t stay to insulate the ground, and set the base in a bed of washed gravel so the drain has somewhere to go.
Ready to Get Started?
Our building materials specialists can help you find the right Woodford products for your project.