Kitchen Taps

[nelsonic]

Each of our 3 kitchen zones has a sink and needs a tap see: #52

Criteria

• [ ] Durability (the taps will be used several times a day by 20+ people; durability is essential)
• [ ] Versatility
  • [ ] Mixer Tap (temperature control built-in to the tap)
  • [ ] Moveable sprayer/spout for washing vegetables or increasing spray for rinsing dishes. (ideal)

Kitchen Mixer Tap with Pull-out Spout ÄLMAREN €99

https://www.ikea.com/pt/en/catalog/products/80341646/

The IKEA ÄLMAREN above is €99 but has mixed reviews if you go to the more critical country websites (IKEA does not translate reviews from their various country localisations) e.g: The US site which has the most reviews: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80341651 In particular the "Drip, drip, drip" review: I'm willing to take a "risk" on the IKEA tap on the basis that the store is 5 mins drive from @home and if for any reason it's not perfect we have 365 days to return it.

Hansgrohe Focus Kitchen Tap €150

A slightly more expensive tap is the Hansgrohe Focus kitchen tap https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FK3XNW4?aaxitk=ACkTSnIjagXmOY6Ea5j64w

Spring Kitchen Tap WENKEN (Amazon) €80

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Brushed-Nickel-Sprayer-WENKEN/dp/B07DHHM8YF/

@iteles this tap (with a brand nobody has ever heard of) has decent reviews on Amazon ... I wonder if the reviews are fake ... don't really want to waste my time on something that will easily break and force me to re-do fitting work. 🤔

[nelsonic]

I'm quite keen on having both filtered water and instant boiling water for tea, cooking, etc. There are a number of options we can chose from and its easy to spend a ton of cash ... https://www.plumbworld.co.uk/boiling-water-taps-with-tanks-258-0000 but what we want is something cost-effective that both saves us effort, time and energy.

This one looks decent: https://www.plumbworld.co.uk/sauber-boiling-water-tap-curved-brushed-with-tank-and-filter-258-1254166 Curious why @RobStallion left it a 4/5 review ... hasn't said anything negative about it:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-1-Instant-Boiling-Water-Hot-Cold-Water-Angular-Kitchen-Tap-Filter-Tank-/202624695392

Pros

• No kettle to have to re-fill, boil and wait for ... ⏳ (imagine if this saves each person 1 minute per day and the average cost per minute is €0.20 that means we are saving 30 x €0.20 = €6/day ...)
• No frustration/misunderstanding from other people using the water you boiled.
• Energy Efficiency? (see below)

Cons

• Up-front cost of the equipment is more than buying a kettle or counter-top urn.
• Cost of replacement filters. £29 https://www.plumbworld.co.uk/sauber-replacement-filter-for-boiling-water-tap-259-1254168
• Learning curve for new people? (a 30 sec video explaining how it works should do the trick)

[iteles]

I was thinking about this just the other day (I really love them) and by far my biggest concern is people getting burnt.

I'm not against having one altogether, even in a shared house (although it would need to have a very clear warning for people and aesthetically, this is a bit of a bummer), but I would definitely say that it needs to be a separate tap from the others - one dedicated to this specific aim.

If we have the boiling water tap as part of the taps over the sinks, the risk of someone being distracted whilst in a rush (including me) and pulling on the boiling water tap to wash a mug or their hands or run something under water is, in my opinion, too great.

It's not so much about the learning curve - of course we can just tell people the second they walk into the house - it's about what happens when people are on auto-pilot.

If someone boils a kettle, they know to expect boiling water. If there's a separate tap on it's own with nothing but a flat area (which is actually a draining area with a mesh) on which to place something, there is really no doubt that it's a filling station (hot or cold).

I didn't mention this when I thought of it because we don't have separate plumbing for it and we're not really able to change the plumbing now so I figured we'd have it in home2 ! 😊

[nelsonic]

@iteles as per the product info, the instant boiling water feature has a "child safety lock". This means people cannot accidentally activate it and burn themselves, they need to use it deliberately. I think there is more risk of people injuring themselves with a kettle (we've seen people burn themselves many times over the years filling Hot Water Bottles or being bumped while pouring) than there is with a tap which requires a conscious step to activate the hot water functionality.

[nelsonic]

@iteles thinking of having this tap for the L-shaped Kitchen https://github.com/dwyl/home/issues/56 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Instant-Cold-Hot-Boiling-Water-3-in-1-Tap-Angular-Tank-Filter-Brushed-Finish/192316258774

However as noted by the Amazon Reviews: they don't know how much energy it consumes! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Instant-Boiling-Water-Kitchen-Filter/dp/B07J6T4LNZ The official filter cartridges aren't cheap (on Amazon, around £59) but they obvs didn't search very much elsewhere because PlumbWorld sells them for £23 (inc VAT & free delivery): https://www.plumbworld.co.uk/sauber-carbon-crystal-composite-filter-replacement-for-boiling-water-tap-259-1262685

On the question of energy consumption: https://github.com/dwyl/home/issues/144

[iteles]

I’m assuming you mean separate to the sink tap.

I’m having some trouble understanding from the pictures how the hot water is activated (returning to my still very present concerns above).

My understanding is that there is a 2.4litre tank that is kept constantly boiling to enable this functionality. I’m sure we can research similar functionality taps to have an idea of energy consumption before buying it to confirm whether it is in fact more environmentally sound that boiling kettles of water.

I’m hesitant to add a 3rd new type of filter to the kitchen (fridge #82 and drinking water #143) because from a maintenance perspective this is quite a pain (and another regular added cost we’d have to find a way to make back - we’ll be going through a lot of water with these and hence filters will need to be changed quite regularly, it’ll add up quickly, especially if we’re not benefitting from bulk buying because they’re all different).

You know my thoughts on this - I’m not that keen on the hot water tap generally but think we should pursue it if it’s better environmentally than a kettle 👍🏻 If we do end up getting this, we should consider whether #143 still makes sense (though it’s a MUCH better filtration system so they are not mutually exclusive).

[nelsonic]

@iteles I know this tap is extravagant, but I'm leaning towards it because of the reach and versatility: https://www.leroymerlin.pt/Produtos/Cozinhas/Torneiras/Bancada/WPR_REF_82472375

🚰

[nelsonic]

The Champs have this tap in their kitchen and they love it: https://www.ikea.com/pt/en/p/vimmern-kitchen-mixer-tap-handspray-stainless-steel-colour-90305290/

So this could be an option. It has a 10 year guarantee so if it goes wrong we could just complain ... ⏳ My only reluctance is that some people complain about the buttons being too stiff to press. 🤔 But then those people who cannot operate it, can just use it as a "normal" tap. 💭

[iteles]

I'm totally on board with the IKEA tap above. It matches the rest of the kitchen, the 10 year guarantee is easy to activate in our experience of the IKEA warranties and the brushed metal shows water splashes MUCH less than the chrome.

We also saw this Grohe tap yesterday which looks great but the Chrome is a let-down for me and they won't have brushed metal until October 2022 at the earliest: https://www.grohe.pt/pt_pt/get-clova-monocomando-de-lava-lou-a-1-2-31848000.html

Visually and in terms of ease of use, I think the IKEA one does not lag behind the Grohe one at all.

[nelsonic]

Yeah, I lean more towards the Grohe on brand/quality even if the chrome is not my cup of tea ... But the IKEA one looks functionally equivalent and 10 year guarantee seems reasonable. 💭 Happy to go with the IKEA one for both sinks. 👍