When kitchen decoration, many friends may be very concerned about large objects such as range hoods, gas stoves, cabinets, etc., but they do not care about small objects such as faucets. The water we drink every day, the water we wash the fruits, the water we cook and wash the vegetables...... Are flowing out of the faucet, durable and even can accompany you for up to ten years, but many people are only willing to spend less than 100 yuan to buy. There are a variety of faucets on the market, and the price varies greatly, from a dozen pieces to thousands of pieces. The same faucet, why is there such a big price difference? Today we will focus on the analysis:
Faucet structure
The overall structure of the faucet is divided into spool, main body and surface. The spool is the part that controls the flow of water in and out, is the heart of the faucet, can not be durable to see here; The main body is the main component of the faucet, that is, the bone, most of the water pollution is the material of this part is not good; The coating is the surface material of the faucet, that is, the skin of the faucet, which is the level of the appearance of the faucet.
Faucet material:
Cast iron faucet
All plastic (PVC) faucet
All brass (brass alloy) faucet
Zinc alloy faucet
Stainless steel faucet
Ceramic faucet
Jade faucet
Does it last long?
The faucet is turned on and off countless times a day, so the first thing to consider when purchasing is whether it can be used for a long time. What determines the life of the faucet is the spool, a very important part, which is the heart of the faucet, which is controlled by the connection handle, the switch, the size of the water flow, and the alternations of hot and cold water.
Qualified spool, need to pass the national faucet standard test, the number of switching is not less than 200,000 times after no dripping phenomenon; In addition, it can also turn the handle up and down, light and unhindered, indicating good quality.
At present, ceramic spool is the most suitable spool material for family use, because of its wear-resistant, good sealing and heat resistance, and the switch feels more comfortable, smooth, long service life, and is widely used by major bathroom brands.
In addition to the ceramic spool, there are steel ball valve core and copper, stainless steel, rubber and other materials of the spool. Stainless steel spool is expensive, the use is not common, the service life of rubber spool is short, and the basic has been eliminated. The steel ball valve has a solid and durable, strong pressure resistance, but the rubber ring that plays a sealing role is easy to lose and will soon age.
Will it pollute the water?
When buying a faucet, in addition to looking at the quality, you have to consider whether it will pollute the water quality. Because the path through which the tap water flows is the main body of the tap, its material plays a decisive role.
The mainstream materials on the market are copper alloy and stainless steel. In particular, copper (or all copper) faucets, although the price is higher, but with the understanding of the antibacterial properties of copper, copper faucet products are becoming more and more popular in the market. There are also plastic, cast iron, zinc alloy materials exist, but because plastic is easy to age, cast iron is easy to rust, zinc alloy stability is poor, so these three kinds of water brother is not recommended to choose.
Should the faucet be copper or stainless steel? When we choose a faucet, we are generally entangled in these two kinds of faucets, so what is the best choice? Water brother focuses on the full copper faucet and stainless steel faucet:
First, let's popularize a knowledge point: What does the so-called copper of the faucet mean?
As long as the main body is copper faucets in the market are known as all copper, all copper refers to the main body of the faucet copper content of more than 59%, all copper is a name, copper alloy is the material type, we do not confuse. In fact, the copper faucet also affects the final quality of the faucet due to the purity of the copper, the quality of the supporting parts, and the workmanship. Consumers can not directly distinguish the quality of copper, relatively speaking, buy a good reputation of the brand quality is more guaranteed, if the project needs to take the product to do spectral analysis testing. Generally, the faucet copper on the market is 57-2 copper, 57-3 copper (there are many manufacturers of inferior points and 54 copper, etc.) Most second-line brands and first-line brands will use 58-2 copper, 59-1 copper.
1, all copper faucet
Copper faucets can be divided into non-standard copper, national standard copper, other copper faucets according to the material. At present, some high-end faucets at home and abroad are made of copper, and all copper faucets have the following two advantages:
1, copper alloy is the most suitable faucet main material, because copper ions have a certain bactericidal effect, all copper faucets can kill 99% of the bacteria in tap water, and can make bacteria unable to produce antibodies (simply put: the inner wall of the copper faucet will not breed bacteria), which is its unique other materials can not match the quality conditions.
2, all copper faucets have wear-resistant, easy to process and other characteristics, generally high-grade faucets are made of copper, due to the high cost of raw materials, so the price is more expensive.
The brass in copper alloys is a combination of copper and zinc, and also contains trace amounts of lead. Here, many friends may be puzzled, is alloy? And lead? No lead poisoning?
Because of this, after adding zinc and a small amount of lead, it has better mechanical properties and wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and is more suitable for faucet production.
Here we have to say: brass because the amount of copper content is also divided into many types, of which H59 copper is currently used by most faucets, copper content of about 57%-61% brass, lead content of less than 1.9% brass, and after 24 hours salt spray test, in line with the C/T1043-2007 "water nozzle lead precipitation limit" this regulation. Other contents are also in line with national standards, and there is no direct harm to the human body, so we do not need to have too much concern about this. In fact, some international bathroom brands will even use H62 copper to produce faucets, because H62 copper has a higher copper content than H59 copper and better corrosion resistance.
How to identify copper faucets?
All copper and zinc alloy faucets on the market are really difficult to identify because they are plated with chromium. It is better to distinguish the price, here we need to remind everyone: the price of the bathroom faucet within 100 yuan, all copper is unlikely, it is recommended not to buy; More than 150, and marked the material is all copper, it is more reliable; Kitchen faucet zinc alloy is less, more than 200 and marked with all copper can be safely bought; Also, the best way is to buy branded products, which are not expensive. Remember: many online below 100 yuan, the material is shown to be all copper, need to choose carefully!
How to choose faucets?
1. Weigh. High-quality faucets mostly use pure copper as a material, so it is relatively heavy, holding in the hand will feel heavy, the weight is full, inferior products due to cost constraints, it is difficult to have the same material and weight.
2. Look at your appearance. Most of the high-quality faucets are fine processed, the surface metal coating is good, close to the mirror effect, and the curve of the reflection is smooth from different angles.
3. Turn the handle. Gently turn the handle of the faucet, you should feel that there is no gap between the faucet and the handle, switch freely, there is appropriate resistance, but it will not slip.
4. Listen to the sound. A good faucet should be cast copper as a whole, the sound of knocking is dull, if the sound is very crisp, it is made of stainless steel material, and the quality is a grade worse.
5. See the water. Most of the high-quality faucets use high-quality bubblers, and test the water with the back of the hand on the spot. If the water flow is soft and the bubbles are sufficient, the bubbles that can be clearly seen on the back of the hand are the best products.
6. Look at the packaging. The faucet produced by the regular manufacturer should be clearly written on the packaging box with the detailed address and contact information of the manufacturer, the products of the informal manufacturer or shoddy products are often only affixed with some paper labels, the address of the manufacturer is mostly not very specific, and we must pay attention when purchasing.
7, look at the after-sales. Faucet after-sales service is very important, the general faucet is guaranteed for at least 5 years, otherwise it is quite troublesome to change often.
I hope the above experience will be helpful to you and help you choose an environmentally friendly and practical faucet.
Will it pollute the water?
