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Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Ben on February 22, 2018, 10:07:28 AM

Title: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Ben on February 22, 2018, 10:07:28 AM
Help me with this puzzler.

I recently replaced a bathroom faucet and the aerator on the new one was a %&$*#!# water saver that put out like 0.0005gpm. I was literally running hot water for five minutes for a shave, and still couldn't get enough water through to overcome, apparently, heat loss into the pipes. After a few lukewarm shaves, yesterday I replaced the aerator with the "standard" 1.5gpm aerator.

So the one I got at Lowes (after a 15/16"-55/64" down adapter) works well, but interestingly, I saw on the packaging that it is marked "for kitchen faucets only". I can't for the life of my figure out why. At first I thought it might be some CA thing about bathroom faucets having to use less water than kitchen faucets or something. However there is no "CA compliant" crap on the packaging, and a quick look at the Orchard Supply website just now showed a bunch of 1.5gpm aerators, none of which (at least on the website) seemed to have this "kitchen only" designation.

Any ideas why this might be printed on the packaging?
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Triphammer on February 22, 2018, 10:20:31 AM
Does the new have/ not have a vacuum breaker built in?
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Ben on February 22, 2018, 10:24:03 AM
Does the new have/ not have a vacuum breaker built in?


I don't know what that means?  ???
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Brad Johnson on February 22, 2018, 10:25:25 AM
Current regs don't mandate substantially different flow requirements for kitchen vs. lavatory residential faucets, but there is the voluntary WaterSense program.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPA_WaterSense

Brad
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: bedlamite on February 22, 2018, 10:25:34 AM
https://www.epa.gov/watersense/bathroom-faucets

"look for the Watersense label" and buy something that doesn't have it.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Triphammer on February 22, 2018, 10:33:03 AM
Faucets, especially hose connections should have a vacuum breaker either added like an aerator or built into the aerator. It allows air to enter at the faucet in case there is a hose or similar lying in dirty or stagnant water to defeatt any siphon effect if the water is turned of & drained like maybe a main break.


ETA

https://www.google.com/search?q=vacuum+breaker&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=&oe=
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: K Frame on February 22, 2018, 10:54:10 AM
""look for the Watersense label"

Isn't that the song that Al Gore's mother sang him as a lullaby that make him all woke to something?
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Kingcreek on February 22, 2018, 12:00:53 PM
When I had a plumber install our new shower I told him I didn't want any of that enviromoron water saving BS. (I have a 500' deep well and a big hot water heater. I like a hot shower with lots of water flowing.)
He said by law, under no circumstances could he remove the water saver device. BUT... he said he had to go out to his van for something and if the little blue perferated disk thingy was no longer right there in the shower head (where he was clearly pointing) he probably wouldn't even notice.
My water gets pumped out of a hole I own, with electricity I pay for, and is eventually returned to the land I own. Al Gore has done nothing to help.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Larry Ashcraft on February 22, 2018, 12:11:36 PM
Our house is brand new, and all the water saving features work just fine.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: K Frame on February 22, 2018, 12:29:29 PM
"I have a 500' deep well and a big hot water heater. I like a hot shower with lots of water flowing."

Earth Mother Gaia Rapist, you!
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Kingcreek on February 22, 2018, 01:17:15 PM
"I have a 500' deep well and a big hot water heater. I like a hot shower with lots of water flowing."

Earth Mother Gaia Rapist, you!
Yeah well it works for me.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Ben on February 22, 2018, 02:11:39 PM
Our house is brand new, and all the water saving features work just fine.

Well, the 1.5gpm I put in as a replacement is a "water saver", and it throws out an acceptable volume. While I was exaggerating in the OP, the one that came with the faucet appears to be a 0.25gpm aerator. That's ridiculous. That means it takes four freakin' minutes to get a gallon of water. There's water saving, and then there's "this sucks!". :)
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Larry Ashcraft on February 22, 2018, 03:49:20 PM
Quote
Well, the 1.5gpm I put in as a replacement is a "water saver", and it throws out an acceptable volume. While I was exaggerating in the OP, the one that came with the faucet appears to be a 0.25gpm aerator. That's ridiculous. That means it takes four freakin' minutes to get a gallon of water. There's water saving, and then there's "this sucks!".
All of our faucets flow acceptable amounts, and the toilets work fine at 1.6 GPF.  The only place I can tell is in the shower.  I can tell by the amount of water going down the drain that they aren't using much, but the shower feels fine anyway.  We have a well rated at 500 GPM, so if any of those bothered us, we could change them.

On a somewhat related issue, when we moved in, none of the exhaust fans seemed to work, so we mentioned it to the foreman.  "Oh, they're on a ten second delay"  ???  I wonder what the thinking on that is?
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: brimic on February 22, 2018, 04:21:29 PM
Am I the only one who drills out the flow limiter oriface on my showerheads to get a desireable flow?
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Jim147 on February 22, 2018, 10:40:46 PM
Back in the early 90's my wife and I lived in an apartment in the KC area for a few years. One day we came home and noticed our shower head in the trash and a new water saver installed. I took the new one off put the old on back on and in 96 when we bought this place I put the new shower head back on the apartment and that old shower head is in our bathroom to this day.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: HeroHog on February 22, 2018, 11:32:34 PM
I usually take a pocket knife or a drill to new shower heads. I need WATER not water VAPOR to cleanse this hide!
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Firethorn on February 23, 2018, 01:28:57 AM
Am I the only one who drills out the flow limiter oriface on my showerheads to get a desireable flow?

Nope.

Well, maybe I should restate - I have never had to resort to a drill.  I have a set of hooks and picks that pull out the offending devices just fine.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: RocketMan on February 23, 2018, 09:31:01 AM
Nope.

Well, maybe I should restate - I have never had to resort to a drill.  I have a set of hooks and picks that pull out the offending devices just fine.

Exactly what I did recently to our main shower.  It was more like a drippy infection than a real shower before I pulled out the flow limiter.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: K Frame on February 23, 2018, 09:34:21 AM
"It was more like a drippy infection than a real shower before I pulled out the flow limiter."

One wonders how you would know enough to craft the simile...  [barf]
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: RocketMan on February 23, 2018, 09:41:59 AM
"It was more like a drippy infection than a real shower before I pulled out the flow limiter."

One wonders how you would know enough to craft the simile...  [barf]

It's a very poor paraphrase of something I heard years ago describing a similar low flow shower.  I had to work a graveyard last night without any real sleep beforehand.  That's my excuse this time.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: K Frame on February 23, 2018, 09:52:25 AM
"It's a very poor paraphrase of something I heard years ago describing a similar low flow shower.  I had to work a graveyard last night without any real sleep beforehand.  That's my excuse this time."

Sure... sure...

Try penicillin. I hear it makes shower heads flow a lot better...


:rofl:
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Ben on February 23, 2018, 09:53:58 AM

Try penicillin. I hear it makes shower heads flow a lot better...

Only the golden shower heads.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: RocketMan on February 23, 2018, 10:18:07 AM
 You two are killing me.   :lol:
And I ain't gonna get no shot in the ass.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: K Frame on February 23, 2018, 12:00:18 PM
"And I ain't gonna get no shot in the ass."

Hey, hey, APS is a don't ask, don't tell zone. We're not interested in how the faucet started flowing... wrong.
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Perd Hapley on February 23, 2018, 12:28:05 PM
Stop it with the potty-mouth shower-mouth, you two.  :old:
Title: Re: "For Kitchen Faucets Only"
Post by: Ben on February 23, 2018, 12:41:34 PM
Stop it with the potty-mouth shower-mouth, you two.  :old:

I really don't know what you're talking about...

https://www.google.com/search?q=shower+head+gold&client=firefox-b-1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY76O-yrzZAhUW92MKHYeJDwcQ_AUICygC&biw=1536&bih=737