Replacing burst outdoor frost-free faucet

[JimB12345]

Hi, I'm replacing a burst (it was a frost-free, but I left the hose connected) outdoor faucet with a new frost-free. Interior piping is CPVC.

The old connection was with a CPVC to FHT (female hose thread) union on the house side, and a MPT to MHT (male hose thread) adapter on the faucet side. The connection is 'accessible' but in the basement, I feel like this type of connection maybe isn't appropriate to just depend on the rubber washer to maintain a seal indefinitely? My understanding is that gasketed unions should only be used in 'accessible' locations; you could argue that this is accessible, but since it's inside the home and in the basement, if it were to spring a leak it could be some time before it's discovered.



I'm planning to use threaded connections with a CPVC to stainless FPT adapter to connect the house piping directly to the NPT on the new faucet, with thread sealant. (Due to the short length of CPVC remaining (see pic) I assume I'll have to cut out the elbow and replace with new so I can attach the adapter.)

Does this plan make sense? I am assuming electrolysis between dissimilar metals (SS and copper or brass) should not be an issue since nothing here is grounded, is that correct? Or is anything else wrong with this plan?

Related, I am also concerned about "stressing" the existing CPVC when I screw in the faucet, any tips on getting them 'mostly aligned' so I don't have to stress the existing piping? I was thinking of making alignment marks on the new adapter vs. faucet after doing a dry test-fit prior to installation, but I'm not sure how many extra degrees of turn beyond 'feeling snug' I will get once the tape and sealant is applied for the final install.

Thank you!

 

[GReynolds929]

You're going to need to tighten it together in the basement. Mark the bottom of the hose bib so you know when the spout is pointed down. Use 2 wrenches, one on the CPVC SS female as a hold back keeping it from twisting and the other on the hose bib tightening it. Stop when tight enough and spout points down.

 

[JimB12345]

You're going to need to tighten it together in the basement. Mark the bottom of the hose bib so you know when the spout is pointed down. Use 2 wrenches, one on the CPVC SS female as a hold back keeping it from twisting and the other on the hose bib tightening it. Stop when tight enough and spout points down.

Thanks! Is there any chance it gets pretty tight, but would have to be backed off in order to get the correct orientation (i.e., won't make another 1/2 or 3/4 turn or so)? Hopefully I don't get that unlucky, but I haven't worked with NPT really, so I'm not sure what to expect -- and the bib mfg. has a giant warning to avoid overtightening, so I'm nervous about cranking on it to get the rest of the way around if it doesn't quite get there easily.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Screw the faucet into the cpvc adapter hand tight plus 2 full turns.

Then solvent weld the cpvc……this will make the orientation easy and no fear of it locking up before being in the proper position.

You can dry fit the cpvc and mark it with a sharpie to mark the proper orientation before you glue it.

 

[JimB12345]

Fantastic tips, thank you! This sounds like it should be much less stressful now.