I have been a full-time plumber for over a decade and fitting outside taps is the most common plumbing job I do in the summer. You should keep everything brass and copper as much as you can but if the plumbing inside is already plastic then using plastic fittings is fine. The key to having the best quality outside tap installation is the other fittings needed more so then the actual tap. I get called to garden tap problems and quite often it’s the connection to the water mains is a self cutting connection. In this post I’ll show you what I think are the best quality garden taps based on my many jobs over the years. Best Outdoor Tap

The best outdoor taps are the most common that you see in most houses which means they are the most mass produced and therefore not very expensive. You should be using a 15mm equal compression tee if connecting to a copper pipe, or a 15mm push fit connection if connecting to a plastic pipe. Outside tap pipe tee connection Summary If you have a full-turn tap, where you have to turn the tap handle many times for the water to come out at full rate, then your tap has a rubber washer.

Outside Taps

The lever tap is nice and solid, being made of brass, and has it’s uses for people who might struggle to turn full-turn taps, or maybe if you’re turning it on and off a lot it can be a time saver. Changing a tap washer can only be done on full-turn taps, whether that’s a mixer tap, separate taps, bathroom taps or kitchen taps. The best outdoor taps are solid from where the water comes out to where the pipe connects to the water supply in the house. The full-turn tap is much better for isolating the water properly, and also the size is much better for fitting the best outside tap covers to protect against freezing in the winter. Full-turn outdoor tap This can include bath taps, basin taps and kitchen taps as long as they are not single-lever taps. Tap Washer Replacement Steps

These have there uses for draining down heating systems without a drain off for example, but I wouldn’t recommend them long term for an outside tap.