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The Aquor House Hydrant: A Dripless, Unfreezable Hose Bib Design

This makes garden faucets look antiquated

By Rain Noe - October 21, 2015

in Product Design

Whether you call it a spigot, a hose bib or a garden faucet, you know what it is: That tap sticking out of the exterior of your house, which allows you to attach a hose and spray down those kids you told to get off of your lawn. But as convenient as the hose bib is, it's got two problems: It can freeze, or worse, leak, and you're not liable to notice the steady drip outside the way you'd notice one in your kitchen.

A company called Aquor Water Systems has thus designed a better connection. Their House Hydrant, as it's called, is a flush-mounted stainless steel faucet. First off, it's a damn sight better looking than your standard hose bib:

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But aesthetics aren't the point. With nothing protruding beyond the wall's surface, the water stays inside of your house, where it can't freeze as long as you're up to date on your bills. The corresponding hose adapter simply plugs in, socket-style, and stays firmly in place with a bayonet-style lock; water begins to flow once it's plugged in, and stops when you unplug.

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(Is it me, or was she spraying the Viper at the end with the top off?)

The House Hydrant runs $50, the hose adapter is $25, and the company claims installation is as easy as installing a regular spigot.

What I'd like to see these guys tackle next is a better hose management system; I'm lazy enough that I'd probably unplug the hose and just leave it in a bundle under the faucet.

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Ramon Yip

9 years ago

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You are not mistaken. That top is, indeed, down.

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Tom McClaughry

9 years ago

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There are several misleading representations in this article.

The flush mount design does not prevent anything from freezing. A standard hose bib is actually an assembly that includes a long shaft and a valve on the end of the nipple. The kind that screw onto a pipe that is nearly flush with the exterior of your house is called a hose cock. A cock is basically just a valve with a 45° angle male end. A cock offers NO freeze protection. A hose bib does because the valve and seat are actually located on the end of the nipple that goes into the house, some 8-14" from where the valve protrudes from your house. Installed properly (IE: with a very slight downward angle), the water will run out of the opening when the valve is in the off position and the hose is removed, preventing a freeze-up. This device looks like it does the exact same thing. Conversely, if you left a hose connected, water would fill the entire nipple and hose end, and lead to a freeze up.

The reason neither this nor a conventional hose bib freezes is because when off, water is held back well within the envelope of the (heated) building. The flush mount deal is just for aesthetics.

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- Aquor Water Systems
  
  Tom McClaughry
  
  9 years ago
  
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  Hi Tom,
  
  You are correct! Although terms like "hose bib", "sillcock", and "outdoor faucet" seem similar and are often used interchangeably these days, there are a few key differences as you described.
  
  The idea of a "frost-free" sillcock where the water stops inside the wall has been around for quite some time. What we changed is how the water is being stopped - rather than a screw and washer clamping down to stop water flow (which wears out over time), the House Hydrant uses water pressure to close the rear valve. This allows the frost free and quick connect features to be combined into one device with zero compromises in reliability. We also use stainless steel instead of the standard brass, because it conducts a fraction of the thermal energy of brass and therefore keeps your pipes better insulated in cold weather.
  
  Mark-- Installation is quite similar to regular in-wall sillcocks (it's a universal 1/2" NPT threaded rear). What you're referring to is just a bib, which does not really compare. We do make a non-frost-free version (designed for boat decks and RVs) that is only the flange end that you can use, but we would never recommended putting something that might freeze on your home (even if you live in a warm climate).
  
  PS: We were hoping nobody would notice the convertible top! :) No vipers were harmed in the making, we promise.
  
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  - Tom McClaughry
    
    Aquor Water Systems
    
    9 years ago
    
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    That's a great idea regarding stainless; never realized that they had that much of a difference in conductivity.
    
    How much torque is required to engage the hose end into the receptacle? Obviously has to be enough to overcome the water pressure and push the valve open. I'm assuming the short amount of time between 100% engagement and the valve opening as you're crewing the hose end into the receptacle the water is kept from coming out by those twin o-rings?
    
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Yah Lisa

9 years ago

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Very creative.

http://www.portatil-bateria.com/bater237a-asus-c-26/bater237a-asus-c21n1347-0b20001000200-37whr-p-81380.html

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- Aquor Water Systems
  
  Yah Lisa
  
  9 years ago
  
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  Hi Tom, great questions.
  
  The torque required will depend on your home's water pressure. If you have the standard 40-80 PSI at home, the system requires very little effort to engage (easy for small children and elderly seniors). In the video above, we are using the system on a home with very high water pressure (120 PSI) and it's no problem for any adult, but a 4-year-old might not be able to do it.
  
  You're also correct about the o-rings: by the time the connector starts opening the valve, the dual o-rings form a seal to prevent any sprays while engaging.
  
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Mark Thomas

9 years ago

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"installation is as easy as installing a regular spigot" seems pretty misleading. If you have a pipe nipple extending on the exterior with a hose bib, you can unscrew it and screw this on, but then it'd be sticking out ~10" (per the picture on website, the thing extends back that far from the flush mount surface. ) You could make a hole through a wall, but then you have to plumb it exposed on the interior. They don't even make a right angle version that could be plumbed inside a wall, like normal plumbing.

Overall wholly impractical, hard to imagine they'll sell.

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- Jomy Muttathil
  
  Mark Thomas
  
  9 years ago
  
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  They have models that are only 4" deep and should work in just about any exterior wall situation.
  The 12" model is best for areas where the temperature drops below freezing.
  
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