9

I bought a hose nozzle that looked robust (though made mainly of plastic) last year and let it sit out over the winter (temperatures get down to -30 ºC). This spring, naturally, the nozzle was leaking from all its seams. I bought another one of the same kind with the plan to bring it in before the really cold weather starts. To my dismay, the nozzle started leaking this week after we had some mildly frosty nights.

Any thoughts on what I should look for in a nozzle so that it'll withstand the frost? I don't expect it to survive the winter. I am thinking I need a nozzle made of all metal, possibly with metal seals.

Lorem Ipsum
  • 11,219
  • 8
  • 58
  • 95
Om Patange
  • 2,928
  • 5
  • 27
  • 30

1 Answers1

12

I use my hose all winter as part of maintaining a backyard rink. We use brass fittings and they don't leak. Now, we don't leave the hose outside with water in it, and I don't think you should either. (At the risk of being overly clear I mean the habit of turning off the hose at the nozzle (the business end), then walking back to the tap and turning off the water supply, then going back to the business end and opening the nozzle to empty the hose. This makes it much lighter and easier to move around (in true winter we bring the empty hose inside after each rink watering) and if you're going to leave it outside, pretty much eliminates freezing worries.)

enter image description here

I probably got mine from Lee Valley (eg http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=10369&cat=2,2280,33160&ap=3) or else Canadian Tire, which may not be an option for you depending on where you live.

My hoses are currently mostly still outside and we've had a few frosts already this year. They don't leak. Also cold plastic shatters when you drop the hose on hard-frozen ground (and for sure on a rink) but brass does not. My fittings look nothing like the picture these days - they are 10-20 years old and not shiny. But they don't leak :-)

Community
  • 1
Kate Gregory
  • 2,815
  • 1
  • 17
  • 29