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I live in a 1950s-built home in a warm climate.

When I run water from an outside spigot, such as to water plants, it's not uncommon for the output to "stutter" near the start and then again occasionally during operation. In other words, the water coming out stops for a half-second and there's a noise and then it's coming out again.

This behavior is not seen on any of the interior faucets.

What causes this "stuttering"? Is it a sign of a serious problem? And is there an easy way to fix this and get a smooth and continuous water flow from the outside spigots?

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Do you have a shutoff for that valve? Have you verified that it is fully open? – Steven Jan 29 '12 at 16:16

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Sounds to me like you have some air in the line. It could just be because you have a length of pipe/hose after the valve, which partly empties out when you shut the valve, trapping air. Or I supposed you could have a small leak somewhere in the system. But I probably wouldn't worry about it.

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I think that might be it because from the spigot there is a long hose attached that's wrapped around a barrel. Maybe water/air are getting trapped in the hose after shutoff and that would explain the "stuttering." – Scott Mitchell Jan 30 '12 at 16:50
@ScottMitchell: If that's the case ,then I go so far as to say it is definitely the cause and you don't need to worry about it. (You should accept the answer) – ThePopMachine Jan 30 '12 at 20:51

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