kitchen faucet (home use)

[noj]

I bought one of these, and after less than three years, I was looking for replacement parts. The spray head flow seems to be slowing, and it doesn't appear to be serviceable. I was told by the manufacturer that it's discontinued, and no parts are available. I am guessing the sprayer on other of their faucets may work (still waiting for them to research). They are willing to replace the entire thing, which is sort of nice, but such a waste.

Does anyone know of a brand that still makes good equipment like this? By good, I mean it ought to last 7-10 years without needing new parts, parts likely to be available for a long time (or at least with standard/documented threading), and serviceable so I can take things apart to clean or repair them?

https://www.americanstandard-us.com...chen-Faucet-22-gpm-83-L-min/CHROME-4433350002

 

[AT5760]

My 2 cents (not a plumber, but done plenty of installations and replacements) Kohler>Moen>Delta>American Standard.

https://www.build.com/product/summa...1XOBf1w5sjy7vo6XPvxoCnAoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[ptolemy]

I feel like every company has so many lines and except for style and finish, it's all blurred... IE. the diff between $100 faucet and $500 faucet is not clearly explain where I could imagine that it creates value...

 

[stringer]

I bought one of these, and after less than three years, I was looking for replacement parts. The spray head flow seems to be slowing, and it doesn't appear to be serviceable. I was told by the manufacturer that it's discontinued, and no parts are available. I am guessing the sprayer on other of their faucets may work (still waiting for them to research). They are willing to replace the entire thing, which is sort of nice, but such a waste.

Does anyone know of a brand that still makes good equipment like this? By good, I mean it ought to last 7-10 years without needing new parts, parts likely to be available for a long time (or at least with standard/documented threading), and serviceable so I can take things apart to clean or repair them?

https://www.americanstandard-us.com...chen-Faucet-22-gpm-83-L-min/CHROME-4433350002

Usually if those things start getting clogged quick it means you have hard water. But that being said, I have the same faucet, about the same age, and it definitely sucks. The spray flow rate is fine but the button that switches between spray and flow has become very unresponsive. You have to really hammer on it.

 

[Michi]

Usually if those things start getting clogged quick it means you have hard water. But that being said, I have the same faucet, about the same age, and it definitely sucks. The spray flow rate is fine but the button that switches between spray and flow has become very unresponsive. You have to really hammer on it.

Maybe soak the whole spread head assembly in vinegar?

 

[noj]

Maybe soak the whole spread head assembly in vinegar?

It is very hard to force water into it; zero will come through without back pressure. Soaking might penetrate it in a month or so;-) I haven't had much luck using vinegar and hard water deposits or solids I have found. I do have a water softener, and regularly verify the water is softened adequately. I know the hard water deposits dissolve in fuming hydrochloric acid, but not ready to try it yet.

 

[noj]

Usually if those things start getting clogged quick it means you have hard water. But that being said, I have the same faucet, about the same age, and it definitely sucks. The spray flow rate is fine but the button that switches between spray and flow has become very unresponsive. You have to really hammer on it.

I just called and the vendor seems ready to send me a whole new faucet (different models) under warrantee. It just seems like such a waste, including my time.

 

[Justinv]

I know the hard water deposits dissolve in fuming hydrochloric acid, but not ready to try it yet.

I find citric acid works very well. 1 teaspoon in 2cups boiling water cleans my water kettle vastly better than vinegar.

 

[Justinv]

Don’t forget to dip a gyuto in the acid water!

 

[noj]

Don’t forget to dip a gyuto in the acid water!

Ha! I know, right? I mix (quite a lot of) citric acid in warm vinegar to clean some things. Hard to tell if it works - cleaning hard water marks. It will etch non-stainless.

 

[McMan]

It is very hard to force water into it; zero will come through without back pressure. Soaking might penetrate it in a month or so;-) I haven't had much luck using vinegar and hard water deposits or solids I have found. I do have a water softener, and regularly verify the water is softened adequately. I know the hard water deposits dissolve in fuming hydrochloric acid, but not ready to try it yet.

Old galvanized pipes? Old galvanized is full of corrosion/sediment/junk that likes to find then occupy very small holes at inconvenient times.

Grohe is another good brand. Not hard to find deals on ebay. Grohe and Hans Grohe aren't the same and, according to the plumber, Grohe > Hans Grohe.

 

[MarcelNL]

lime stone/scale dissolves pretty quickly when you raise the temperature of the solution. Beware for chrome as some descaling solutions may attack it.

 

[parbaked]

I have Grohe kitchen faucet.
They provide free replacement parts when the head eventually clogs…

 

[noj]

Old galvanized pipes? Old galvanized is full of corrosion/sediment/junk that likes to find then occupy very small holes at inconvenient times.

Grohe is another good brand. Not hard to find deals on ebay. Grohe and Hans Grohe aren't the same and, according to the plumber, Grohe > Hans Grohe.

All copper pipes.

There is sediment in the water; almost exclusively hot water. I replaced the tank 5 years ago, and the anode rod 3 years ago (tried aluminum and magnesium), and flush the tank and entire house twice a year.

When I said "very hard to force water into it" I was talking about the spray head. It was that way when new, though evidence implies it's worse.

A big problem with my current faucet is the lack of a robust water filter. I wish it had a 1/2" metal screen that could be easily cleaned. Instead, all water flows around a tiny rubber O-ring, and a single particle of debris dramatically affects the flow. Unfortunately, it's often hard to inspect all the parts before buying.

Too bad they don't make them like this .. ;-)

 

[MarcelNL]

if the water needs filtering I'd put a cartridge filter in the mains

 

[noj]

if the water needs filtering I'd put a cartridge filter in the mains

I have been looking around for such a device. Hard to know what to do. I have seen ones for a single faucet (single course filter), and there are lots of complaints about restricted flow. There are whole house filters, but that likely won't help if it's coming out of the hot water. I haven't seen whether any are even rated for hot water. Maybe I need a good plumber.

 

[mengwong]

They do make ’em for hot.

E.g.
https://www.kleenwater.com/products...ure-filter-self-cleaning-screen-sand-sediment
https://www.rusco.com/products/3-4-hot-water-sediment-trapper-filter

 

[MarcelNL]

check out some espresso forum water threads...yet if your water is very hard, it may pay off to install a ion exchanger basically swapping Calcium for Sodium....
We installed one and i can feed the water straight into the boiler of the espresso machine without risking lime scale, nor is there any growth in on and around faucets, showerheads etc.

 

[noj]

They do make ’em for hot.

E.g.
https://www.kleenwater.com/products...ure-filter-self-cleaning-screen-sand-sediment
https://www.rusco.com/products/3-4-hot-water-sediment-trapper-filter

Interesting, thanks!

 

[McMan]

When I said "very hard to force water into it" I was talking about the spray head. It was that way when new, though evidence implies it's worse.

There's sometimes a little small replaceable check-valve cannister in the faucet body itself that allows water to flow through into the spray head. Even a little sediment in that little check-valve can drastically alter spray through the sprayer head. You can have the cleanest sprayer head, but the pressure is impacted upstream if the valve is clogged. If they send you a replacement, you could always do an autopsy on the old one to see if that was is the problem.