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In the back of my property there is a hose bib (bibb?) of a peculiar shape. It has small holes around the edge and some kind of plastic piece in the middle. I tried attaching a regular hose to it but water gushes from those little holes. I am assuming some special attachment is needed. Perhaps something has to push against the middle plastic piece. Please advise.

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    It is a regular hose bib with a vacuum preventer on it. It stop hose water going back into the pipes. It sounds like it needs replacement. Usually on tighter than a hose, so might need two wrenches to remove.
    – crip659
    Commented Jan 5 at 16:13
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    @crip659 these are usually held on by a set screw that is built to have the head come off after installation, they aren't meant to be replaced.
    – Tiger Guy
    Commented Jan 5 at 17:01
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    Typically the adapter from regular hose threads to this thing (larger diameter finer threads) is made that way, so you can't easily remove it and go back to regular hose threads without the device. while the device itself can be removed for servicing or replacement, @TigerGuy
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Jan 5 at 17:08
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    @Ecnerwal that isn't my experience, these are made to add to a regular bib
    – Tiger Guy
    Commented Jan 5 at 19:12
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    I’m with @TigerGuy … in California, these are all retro to existing hose bibs. I didn’t even know about the fine thread bibs.
    – Aloysius Defenestrate
    Commented Jan 5 at 22:31

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That's an add-on anti-siphon device. Prevents hose water from being sucked back into the clean water supply in the event of a loss of pressure on the clean water supply, common requirement for municipal systems (at least.)

If it's leaking it needs a rebuld or replacement. One of many options is to replace the entire hose bib with one that has an anti-siphon device (aka vacuum breaker) built-in.

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