Outdoor Shower Plumbing

[Delaware Tim]

I want to install an outdoor shower with hot and cold water, and will need to winterize each year. Entire ground floor of home is uninsulated (built in flood plain) so I already use an air compressor to blow out my garden hose bibs each year. Shower will be on an exterior wall of this uninsulated ground floor.

I'm thinking to run PEX lines across the ceiling, then curve them down to a single handle shower/tub control valve, and hook up a short (~1 foot) PEX line from the tub side of the valve down to a ball valve (all inside the wall). This ball valve will remain closed all summer.

Then to winterize, I'll shut off the water supply upstairs near the water main, I'll open the "tub" ball valve into a bucket, and then drain and then blow out the lines through this line (I'll tee the air compressor into these lines, also upstairs, like I did for my garden bibs). I'm assuming if I do this, there won't be any water left in the shower/tub valve or in the riser to the shower head (although I'll leave the faucet handle fully on and remove the shower head for good measure). Does this make sense? Should any "standard" tub/shower valve work, or is there something I need to watch for?

Thanks for any comments.

 

[Terry]

Here is one I got tired of repairing for a customer.

After repairing for a few years I finally removed it. At one point I had ball valves leading to this so at least they could shut the water off and schedule me to come out without it being an emergency.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Delaware Tim]

Terry, please clarify. I guess you're saying what I'm proposing won't work? Why not? Where did the water freeze?

 

[Terry]

Maybe if you made it so that you could remove it in the Winter and take it inside. The last time was the valve itself.

 

[Delaware Tim]

I'm afraid your horror story doesn't really help - no idea if your homeowner ever drained the system, blew it out, etc. From the pictures of the pipe insulation, perhaps he was hoping it somehow wouldn't freeze?

I guess I have to ask a more basic question: with a shower/tub valve, once I've shut off the water supply to the valve, and the tub spigot fully drains, is there any water left in the valve?

 

[James Henry]

Put a stop and waste valve on the hot and cold supply line's as far away from the shower valve as you can. Turn the valves off and drain the lines.