Taps!!

[TJT]

Hi

Sorry if this is in the wrong place - if so could an Admin person please move it? Thanks.

I live in Argentina. Soon to be redoing the kitchen and two new bathrooms. Taps here are expensive and crap, so I'm thinking of asking a visiting friend to bring me something over from the UK.

I'm after something pretty basic, but want good quality. Say a simple monoblock, either with one or two levers. Hopefully spending a fair bit less than £100. We have tank-based water systems here, so I'd have to measure the height, but we've probably got no more than 0.4-0.5 bar of pressure.

My question is, not knowing the plumbing market over there, which brands are worth looking at? Are there any online shops/dealers which you recommend in particular? What is the Ikea stuff like (I'm guessing it's crap but you never know!)?

Any help welcome!

Thanks,
Tristan

 

[Burnerman]

Tristan, if you bought a conventional rubber washered tap you would be able to repair it more or less continuously as required, but with a ceramic insert type that would be considerably more difficult.
Ikea stuff is particularly difficult!
Check out Toolstation 31986 or 24125 for example.
John

 

[TJT]

Thanks, John. I've used Toolstation previously for other stuff, so I'll look into that.

It's interesting what you say about rubber vs. ceramic. Living here it would be much more difficult to find replacement parts, whereas rubber washers are very common.

How long do the ceramic discs usually last?

 

[dhutch]

I guess it depends on what your after, I really like the feel of ceramic quarter turn taps in my kitchen, and single lever taps in the bathroom (partiuarly if the hot water 40deg+) and although you pay the price of limited parts avilablity they tend to last longer than a rubber washer based tap.

I dont know what the life expectance of the cheaper units are but my parents had a ceramic aquadisk in there kitchen that did over twenty years service in what is about as high a usage kitchen as you will find in a domestic aplication and was replaced this year when the kitchen was refitted, purely for styling.

Ultimatly its you choice, but i would go for the tap you want, if your really twitched you could even buy one more than you need and store it as a spare.


Daniel

 

[TJT]

I definitely prefer the feel of the 1/4-turn ceramic taps.

Are there any particular brands which are good quality at reasonable prices?

 

[Burnerman]

I think the likes of Bristan or Swirl should be ok - but if you buy from bathroom fitters etc often you get stuff that looks great but has no identifying name or marks....which is a real headache when you need bits.
Lunns.net have a good range of ceramic inserts, but naturally I'm looking for one that seems particularly unique.....
John

 

[Whitespirit66]

Good quality, with the abilty to get spare parts in the future will be important to you. Bristan taps are good quality, with good service back-up. A little pricier are Grohe, and I would be surprised if they didn't have agents in S. America. Top quality, and spares readily available.

Two considerations - you have a lowish head/pressure from your tanks, monoblocs like high pressure, with hot and cold approx equal pressure. Tank fed and monobl. is perfectly feasible, but make sure any taps you choose are suitable for your pressure. Also, what size pipes do you have, and will you be able to get connectors? Standard mono flexi connectors are 10 or 12mm at the tap end.

 

[shagty]

Tap fittings could broadly fit under the headings of the valve type:
ceramic disc(1/4 turn) or compression (traditional with washer)

The pressure drop across ceramic discs is very high and I have never seen one to deliver reasonable flow on low pressure systems (static head under 3 metres). Thats not to say they are not available but be sure to cross reference the flow chart. on the plus side, the ceramic valve is long life and operate with little effort.

Compression taps on the other hand are kinder to lower pressure and work fine on supplies with very little head. They are available in monobloc as well. However, they require more time to open and depending on your supply pressure, this can be a pain if your doing every morning before work. The washer may need replacing at some stage but a small price to pay for decent flow.

I have had good experience purchasing fittings from online plumbing merchants in the UK including h-i-e plumbing and heatandplump.com.
I've no affiliation with either of them.


hope this helps

 

[Whitespirit66]

Another tip if you need non standard fittings, etc. These people carry a very wide range.

http://www.bes.co.uk/

 

[TJT]

Huge thanks for all your replies.

In terms of pressure, yes, a little research has shown that my low water pressure significantly reduces the options of ceramic 1/4 turn options. There are a few, though, such as the Bristan Echo, which work with just a couple of metres of head.

Thanks for the links too.

Cheers,
Tristan

 

[dhutch]

In terms of pressure, yes, a little research has shown that my low water pressure significantly reduces the options of ceramic 1/4 turn options. There are a few, though, such as the Bristan Echo, which work with just a couple of metres of head.

Im not overly supprised by this. No reason why they shouldnt, but given the huge move to mains presure systems, not much call for them.

Im only a keen DIYer but Bristan taps are certainly in mind as being a good tap. And Grome a name of expensive taps.

Ideal Standard appear ok

Moretti and Swirl I know little about, they appear to have sprung up more recently but having fitted a cheap swirl single lever monoblock on our boat it feels nice as has been fine to date.

Mira Aqualisa both do very nice fittings, but mainly shower valves not taps. But if you want some of these too? Ditto Triton

You also see a lot of Rada ThermoTap's around in comertial buildings but they might not do anything for the low head.

Have a look at http://www.mytub.co.uk/ only used them once but often very competative on price.


Daniel