Outdoor mixer taps

We’re having some work done to the house and it seems like an ideal time to fit an outdoor mixer tap for dog and bike washing.  I’ve got two ideas, because I can’t find the kit I really want.

1. Woodford frost proof mixer tap to replace our existing cold water outdoor tap.  The plus side is that it’s a simple solution and frost proof.  The down side is that it’s a manual mix and subject to temperature variations should the water pressure change.

2. Fit an old shower thermostatic mixer valve under the sink, then run a hose from this to a second outside tap.  This would mean we have two taps, one for cold water for watering plants etc, the second tap preset at 40 degrees C for dog and bike washing.  The plus side is less risk of accidentally scalding the dog, the downside is that we have to swap the hose connector between taps depending on what we want and any temperature adjustment needs to be done from under the sink.

3. Some clever so and so on here steers me towards something like the Woodford frost proof mixer but with an inbuilt TMV that can be adjusted from outside the house.

Anyone have any useful advice?

Shameless bump

Probably not at all what you want but in my garage ive got one of those systems with a small electric tank that gives me a bucket of hot water every 10 minutes or so.

It’s not outside but it’s as good as and doesn’t get affected by the weather.

Outside hot water !!!

i like this idea but surely this is witchcraft 😳

I’ve got a Woodford outdoor tap. It’s brilliant – it’s really good to be able to wash in warm water after a ride. You need to order it with the right length tails for your wall thickness.

It was supplied set up for high pressure for both hot and cold – for low pressure hot water I had to remove a washer. Good support from the UK distributor and YouTube.

40 degrees C Seems a bit hot to wash the dog. They I’ve always found they behave much better being washed in cooler water.

I think its down to not being used to it, because their body temp is warmer then ours so a shower temp should feel cooler to them but all of my dogs have hated warm showers.

Cold tap and DTFU?

I have a hot and cold water tap coming off the kitchen sink taps, with isolators to avoid frozen pipes, which I never use… 🙂 Just used old school copper pipe, tap and elbows rather than cheap plastic self cutting kit, which is a bit guff.

Could do this with a dog bath outside?

I have an outdoor “warm” tap.  The mixer bit is indoors, with a pre-set temp, with the outlet being just a normal outdoor tap on the back wall alongside an otherwise identical cold tap.  Great for filling paddling pools!

We have had fitted by a plumber effectively an inline thermostatic value, so outside is just a standard tap.  There is a hex key to adjust the temperature.  Apparently he fits loads for dog washing

I’d just fit a thermostatic valve inside and have a single ‘warm water’ tap outside. Simpler and cheaper.

Outdoor warm water?!?

Did your dog ask for this? Are you Paris Hilton? 😉

Parents have one that just runs off the kitchen tap.  Makes washing the dog (longish haired, which requires your hands to get the muck off) way more pleasant.

This dog’s gonna need a lot of cleaning:

Sound like separate cold tap and “warm YMC’ tap systems might be the way forward then.

Dogs get a cold wash & Bike doesn’t complain either!

Maybe not, but I’m the one out there with both dog and bikes. I pay the bills, I might as well make it less unpleasant.