These things are scams right? If it's below freezing when you put the cover on it's still below freezing inside the cover and nothing in there is going to produce heat to warm it up. Even if you put it on before it gets below freezing, if you have freezing weather for several days in a row eventually it will be freezing inside the cover.

Right?

Just use a Whataburger cup like a real Texan.

Depends on a lot of things. Is it barely freezing? Is the house heated? How well insulated is the house? If the house is heated, it's a short term freeze (less than 4 hrs?), only has minimum insulation, barely freezing (28-32), the warmth from the house will warm up that little space enough to prevent it from freezing.

I live south of I-10. So the covers work fine!

They are still a buffer from direct rain/snow and the wind that would disturb the air the buffer the cover creates.

We have a place in the Ozarks. Southern Mo. We will have -4 in the morning. We wrap the faucets coming out of the house with an insulated sock wrap then use a styrofoam cover over it that has hard plastic on the outside. There is an airspace between the two.
The faucet has water in it from inside the house wall which is warm. The insulation helps keep that heat in as well as the cold out.
Last year we -10 and 40 mph winds. Faucets did not freeze. The insulation also keeps the wind off the fixture.
It works.

Drawkcab said:

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if you have freezing weather for several days in a row eventually it will be freezing inside the cover.

Right?

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Only if your plumbing is in an uninsulated wall separating a non-heated room (i.e. garage). If the faucet is in a wall that is heated on the other side, those covers will work perfectly.

FatZilla said:

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They are still a buffer from direct rain/snow and the wind chill.

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Oh...and "wind chill" is a human perception and has absolutely zero effect on faucets or pipes

We use them also on our barn and shop outside faucets there as well. The barn and the shops are not heated but they are well insulated. As long as the shops/barns stay above freezing inside the faucets won't freeze on the outside as long as they are wrapped well.

Gunny456 said:

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We have a place in the Ozarks. Southern Mo. We will have -4 in the morning. We wrap the faucets coming out of the house with an insulated sock wrap then use a styrofoam cover over it that has hard plastic on the outside. There is an airspace between the two.
The faucet has water in it from inside the house wall which is warm. The insulation helps keep that heat in as well as the cold out.
Last year we -10 and 40 mph winds. Faucets did not freeze. The insulation also keeps the wind off the fixture.
It works.

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I live in Columbia, MO and we have anti-siphon/anti-frost bibs, I'd be surprised if you don't as well, which helps a lot.

Wind chill yes. But the key for us up here is the airspace between the sock wrap and styrofoam covers. That airspace becomes warmer from the pipe water as well. If strong winds cause that air to get in that airspace it will destroy that insulation quality of the airspace. So strong sub freezing winds make a difference compared to no wind. We found that out last year the hard way.

We do. But we found out in minus temps they freeze as well if not wrapped/ insulated. You probably know that as well.

Gunny456 said:

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We do. But we found out in minus temps they freeze as well if not wrapped/ insulated. You probably know that as well.

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Yep. But it helps a lot. I wrap in a towel and put a cover over it just to keep it dry. Never had an issue thankfully.

FatZilla said:

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They are still a buffer from direct rain/snow and the wind chill.

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Direct rain and snow is a good point, but pipes don't care about wind chill.

It's about the wind forcing the cold air inside the wrap or covering … not "wind chill".

These look more functional. Might get some.

Freeze Miser - Outdoor Faucet Freeze Protection | Durable Replacement for Faucet Covers for Winter - Freeze Proof Outdoor Faucet Protector - Low Maintenance & Easy to Install - Saves Water https://a.co/d/1s0U8rI

It does. We never had an issue till last year when we had that bad snow and very high north winds and -10 that never got higher than 5 for a couple of days. Outside faucets on the north side of the house froze and broke just behind the faucet in the wall.
Thank God we caught it quick.

There is a thread on those on the OB right now. They fail often according to users.

Drawkcab said:

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FatZilla said:

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They are still a buffer from direct rain/snow and the wind chill.

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Direct rain and snow is a good point, but pipes don't care about wind chill.

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Yea its just bad wording, i changed it. You want the air buffer and to keep the chilled wind from disturbing it.

Wind chill will absolutely affect pipes. The effect from wind chill is basically exactly the thing that insulation itself fights against. Insulation keeps low or high energy fluids or particles from having the maximum number of repeated interaction with the insulated surface. A pipe in a cold wind will freeze faster than one in still air at the same temperature. In still air, the molecule next to tge pipe that picks up a little energy from the pipe stays longer in the general vicinity of the pipe, but in the wind it is blown away and the wind places fresh new low energy (temperature) molecules right against the surface constantly . The radiator on your car or a heat sink on your computer cpu essentially runs on "wind chill"

I wrap it with something thin, like a t-shirt, and then put the styrofoam cover on.

Great explanation. Well said.

Wrap the faucet in newspaper then 2 layers of duct tape. Undefeated.

Gunny456 said:

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There is a thread on those on the OB right now. They fail often according to users.

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Thanks, I'll check it out.

I don't get why frost free hose bibs aren't standard everywhere. I didn't know about them until I moved to Colorado but they aren't that much more and you don't have to worry about temps. They just keep the water like 4-6 inches from the spout.

Throw a hand warmer in there with it and you're good to go

Uh hello they're called Dolly Partons.

Just install a 6 watt candelabra bulb in the cover. That should get 40* above ambient temp.

The overwhelming consensus on that thread is that they work well. Not sure what you're talking about.

I did not read the thread. Thought it was a continuation of one on the Freeze Miser a year or so ago. Some rural guys said they failed due to hard water lime build up and some said they only work if it gets so cold as extreme cold (single digits or below for multiple days) made them fail.
I can't find them in Southern Mo and no ranchers around us will use them.
I'm sure they must work in some instances or they would not sell them?

You can buy them anywhere but it takes extra planning in construction. Generally up north you also have a basement where the bibs are run into the ceiling of the basement giving them extra room. My bibs are simply on the outside of the wall and only have the 2x4 width gap. So it's all about the money.

www.freezemiser.com

$29.95 each. Put one on each outdoor faucet. Problem solved. Available directly from the company, Amazon, Lowes, Home Depot.

You're welcome.

Outdoors board has some mixed experiences with those.

After about 24-36 hours of freezing temps I will go out, remove the cover, run the water for a bit, rewrap, and reinstall the cover. I have found mostly frozen faucets under those covers before. I don't trust them. I have freeze misers but my faucets are leaking and I am concerned that will impact their effectiveness. Once I have them repaired. I'll use the freeze misers.