I'd like to replace my old outdoor hose bibb (because it's really difficult to turn on) with a new hose bibb and PEX.
Ground Wire 1
On the other side of the hose bibb is copper pipe and a clamped ground wire from the electrical panel in the basement.
The ground wire then exits the exterior wall, through the concrete driveway, and into the ground.
Ground Wire 2
There's a second ground wire comes from the same electrical panel in the basement, runs through the garage, and is clamped onto the main water supply copper pipe.
The water supply enters the garage immediately below this ground wire at the bottom of the concrete wall, which is underground.
Question
I will probably need to remove the section of copper pipe that Ground Wire 1 is clamped to in order to replace the hose bibb using PEX.
Any ideas on how to maintain the Ground Wire 1 connection to the plumbing system?
Thanks in advance.
Best Answer
I bought one of the same quarter turn Sharkbite hose bibs in a similar situation and I'm happy with it. I also used PEX to replace the last few feet of copper because it's so much easier.
Note that your current one is supported by the pipe not the wall, and your pipe is slightly supported by the surrounding studs so the whole things works, perhaps not very well but it works. If you replace the last few feet of pipe with PEX you'll have to firmly attach the new hose bib to the wall and that'll be very difficult. You should consider putting a piece of composite board behind it (maybe a 3/4 in thick 4 inch circle), that you can firmly attach to the wall with four screws and anchors, not too close to the pipe hole.
Cut the copper inside the house a foot or two from where that elbow is, attach the remaining copper pipe to the nearest stud or joist for support, use another sharkbite to connect the PEX to it. You'll probably need a PEX 90 degree bend support to navigate between the stud and the outside wall without having to create another joint.
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I still don't know what the ground clamp there is for, but whatever it is, just clamp it back to the copper where it ends. It'll do just as good a job there at whatever it does while you figure that out.
If you're in a freezing location, the piece you use to connect the copper to the PEX can be a valve with an integrated drain like this