I would dearly love to have a freestanding tap in the garden, but is it worth the effort required to stop it freezing.  But I hate taps on the wall.

 

Frostline taps have some self draining mechanism to stop them frosting up but still require a nearby valve in the ground.  If I need to put a valve in the ground then I may as well just install a regular free standing tap and then a drain valve in a nearby box to drain it in the autumn.

 

Bernard the builder is already rolling his eyes over this, what to do?

 

 

Edited October 7Oct 7 by Mr Blobby

Have you seen the plastic box that sits in the ground, the tap is underground as well as a roll of house pipe all enclosed in the plastic box. 

Just put a trace heating tape on the pipe. Used to see loads of them on the taps on high rise roofs. Something like this:

 

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/BNPW01.html

1 minute ago, Onoff said:

Just put a trace heating tape on the pipe. Used to see loads of them on the taps on high rise roofs. Something like this:

 

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/BNPW01.html

 

And then insulate the pipe with the heating tape on the inside

1 minute ago, -rick- said:

 

And then insulate the pipe with the heating tape on the inside

 

Yes, that's how most were done. 

19 minutes ago, Onoff said:

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/BNPW01.html

 

Hmm, I was thinking the self regulating PTC kind. Just looked at the link and this type is controlled by a thermostat. Might be a bit difficult with insulation then.

 

TLC seem to sell the self regulating kind on the same page, but then looks like you need to do the termination yourself which is a bit more involved than normal domestic electrics.

Bernard might forgive you for this one. Plenty of garden pipework bursts in a hard winter, and the installs that survive are the boring ones: an isolation valve with a drain off cock on the feed inside the building, pipe buried well below frost depth, and a self draining tap on the end. The trace heating ideas are fine too, but the indoor valve plus drain off is simpler, cheaper and nothing electrical to go wrong.

I’ve a few Plasson ‘arctic’ taps on blue pipe that survived last winter fine. They’re good to use too.

On 17/10/2026 at 03:38, stevenlee said:

Bernard might forgive you for this one. Plenty of garden pipework bursts in a hard winter, and the installs that survive are the boring ones: an isolation valve with a drain off cock on the feed inside the building, pipe buried well below frost depth, and a self draining tap on the end. The trace heating ideas are fine too, but the indoor valve plus drain off is simpler, cheaper and nothing electrical to go wrong.

Yes, I think you are right. I think bringing the double check valve inside the plant room and run 20 or 25mm pipe back through same conduit as mains inlet back outside to run underground to the garden.

As this is only ever going to be used for a garden hose and jetwash connection then terminating with a hose connector and drain valve at an access chamber in the ground seems the most sensible.

Probably a Carson Jumbo box with some insulation under the lid. I welcome any alternative suggestions....

>>> bringing the double check valve inside the plant room

Ah yes, good idea - we had some outside check valves give up last winter.