Kitchen tap

afm_2

Hi!

I'm sorry if this is the wrong board to post this but I am after a mixer tap for my kitchen and saw this one at Lidl that seems to be a good price:
http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_34226.htm

However, I have never bought a tap before and I am unsure if this is any good and if it is the best price I can get. Does anyone have the same tap? Is it any good? Can I find it cheaper elsewhere?

It doesn't need to have a pull out spray head. It just needs to be single-lever.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

oddman

Before you buy the tap, check the size and type of fitting that it needs to attach to. 15mm and 22mm water pipes are standard in the home but buying an adapter to take you from a 15mm fitting that comes with the tap to a 22mm pipe can a) over complicate the job and b) end up costing you more than you've saved by buying a cheap tap.




I speak from experience having had a nightmare trying to fit a mixer tap this weekend. I got one from B&Q for £35 and it seems pretty good...it had reasonable reviews online.

afm_2

Thanks! I can't find any mixer tap on b&q for £35. Did you find it online?

Btw, does anyone have any experience with buying these taps on ebay and could perhaps suggest a seller that they have used (if happy with the product of course )? I found very cheap taps there like this one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CHROME-KITCHEN-SINK-MIXER-TAP-SWIVEL-SPOUT-ST4006-/160836348142?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Kitchen_SinksTaps_GL&hash=item257297e8ee

but I'm afraid it's quality won't be any good.
Thanks!

Moss5

I have a tap like that and it is superb, but, my hot and cold supply is at a pressure of 6 bar.
If you have a combi boiler or 'unvented' hot tank you may be OK.
If you have a Hot Water Storage tank and a cold tank in the roof, it will not work.
The flexi hoses have a very small bore and are too restrictive for low pressure systems.

oddman

It is online (called the Madrid Monobloc) but it's not a single lever as you require and also comes with copper tails as opposed to flexible hoses which is awkward in confined spaces. The cheapest single lever they do is £49.50.




That one on ebay actually sounds ok on paper...ceramic cartridge and flexible hoses. Measure your pipe diameter with a ruler and check its 15mm as otherwise you'll be paying that much again to get new fittings. And as Moss5 says, take note of the pressure requirements.

diywhynot

Do yourself a favour and stick with taps from makers such as Bristan as spares will be available for many years hence. Forget tat from the discounters and non-name stuff from the likes of B & Q and others.

afm_2

Thank you all for all the advice!

Moss5 wrote: »

If you have a combi boiler or 'unvented' hot tank you may be OK.
If you have a Hot Water Storage tank and a cold tank in the roof, it will not work.
The flexi hoses have a very small bore and are too restrictive for low pressure systems.

I have a hot water storage tank and the pressure is quite low. However, cold water is mains and the pressure seems to be good. Do you think it would work? Sorry to be a pain but I know nothing about this stuff

keystone

afm wrote: »

but I'm afraid it's quality won't be any good.
Thanks!

You'd be right. Cheap Chinese tat.

Cheers

plumb1_2

afm wrote: »

I have a hot water storage tank and the pressure is quite low. However, cold water is mains and the pressure seems to be good. Do you think it would work? Sorry to be a pain but I know nothing about this stuff

You will have very poor volume of hot water coming from these taps. Best to have low pressure taps and piped up in 15mm pipe, not flexible conectors.

Moss5

Your water supply isNOT suitable.

Yes you could havecold water flowing, but hot would not even achieve a dribble.

The change-overbutton from full flow to spray is pressure-dependent.

When I am usingmine, the spray defaults to full-flow when other taps are opened in the house.(Toilet flushing etc.)

It is peculiar tothe UK (and ex-colonies) to have a cold tank in the roof. The height of the cold tank is thedriving-force for the hot water pressure/flow rate.

Many Europeancountries choose to live in apartments. They have a stored accumulator of waterin the basement and a pump delivering 8 Bar pressure. The water has to reach upto the top floor of a skyscraper.

High volumeproduction of taps leads to low prices. In China, whole towns devote themselvesto tap production. Of course, they concentrate on the High Pressure type tosuit the Eu market. The cheap taps are mild steel with chrome plate. Qualitytaps are brass. Take a magnet when shopping for taps and insist on knowing theminimum pressure requirements. The Lidl tap description failed to statepressure requirements.

Most modern mixertaps are 'externally mixing'. The two water streams do not meet until they exitthe concentric-tube spout. Hot travels in the inner tube & cold in theouter (annular) tube.

Bath/shower mixersand some sink taps are 'internally mixing'. That type must have Hot & Coldsupplies at equal pressure.

If you bringmains-pressure Cold to internally mix with hot tank Hot water, the cold waterwill chase the hot water back to the hot tank.

Your hot water willbe at a pressure dictated by the height of the cold tank. 2.4M ceiling atground floor + 2.4M first floor + height of cold tank in the loft = say 6M. One bar pressure = 10M, so you willhave 0.6 bar pressure at the hot tap (pipe resistance to flow will reduce thisto less than 0.6bar

mignon_2

My biggest worry in buying a cheap tap is that eventually, it will leak, and when it does, it is a nightmare to find replacements, which means you will probably have to replace the whole thing, which means the cost of a new tap and a plumber.

if you google "omega sink mono" there is one that is £45 all in and looks like it is suitable for low pressure, with flexi tails and has a ceramic cartridge. My friend has one of these guys taps and is happy with everything.

The ebay one looks good, but it is too cheap, you will get what you pay for, and as Moss5 says, it probably won't be brass, it may not even meet European standards like lots of things made in china don't.

Good luck whatever you get!