How to Identify a Quality Faucet | Let a Master Plumber Tell You

Jim, a Master Plumber, shares his thoughts on the best faucet brands, what to look for in a quality faucet, and where to buy a quality faucet. His biggest tip: buy original manufacturer parts when fixing a faucet!
Quality Faucets Manufacturers:
Grohe
Hans Grove
Dornbracht
Jado
What to look for in a quality faucet:
8” center faucets are a good design and are made by
Brass parts
Brand name on the faucet (find the faucet brand name on the front)
Cartridge type faucets
A good brand name means a lot!
Thanks for watching! We hope this video helps you find the right faucet for your budget and home!
Subscribe for more plumbing tips from the Grumpy Plumber.
#plumbing
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[@HobnobWithBob]

I, for one, certainly appreciate you recording all of this advice from your dad. Great knowledge to have at some point in a homeowner's life.

[@yvonnejackson1696]

Fantastic! I hate plumbing with a passion but I do it anyway so I will learn how to do stuff myself. I live in a very rural area where it is very difficult to find quality professionals. You’re the greatest. So much help to this jack leg plumber.

[@richardbennett6237]

Thank-you ! You've made me think over my buying choices ... and convinced me to go with the Brand Names for a better faucet. Thanks again, Grumpy Plumber ! I'll recommend you to my friends.

[@brittblanton8342]

Thanks for the information Jim 👍

[@bigtime911]

Can u did a video how to winterize your plumbing in home?❤

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

The easiest way to winterize your home is to pump RV antifreeze that is non toxic in all your pipes. That sounds easy but you have to have the water heater disconnected or bypassed. If you can do your own work, it can be fairly simple but takes time. If you own a motor home, you know how to do it. Otherwise, I would hire it done or leave heat on at 55 degrees.

[@dickdaley9059]

The faucet job I struggle with the most is replacing a leaky cartridge. New ones are pricey and it takes an act of Congress to get them out of the valve body.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

No kidding! I know what you mean!

[@Dimeloloco13]

I love Kraus!

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

Interesting. I’ve never heard of that brand but there are a lot of quality faucets out there. European plumbing manufacturers make some very good quality plumbing fixtures. I just installed a Vola wall mounted lav faucet that was absolutely fantastic to install.

[@franciscoortiz3575]

Thank you so much sir I love your tutorials I did follow the cold water feed into the house into all of the connections and everything appears correct. They did recently install a single shower handle valve in the bathroom. Could that be the culprit? There are no mixing valves on the system.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

The single shower handle valve could be the culprit. Is the faucet left in the open position? If valve is left in the open position and you have separate shutoffs to the fixtures, like the shower head, that could cause a cross connection. This is something to look at also.

[@franciscoortiz3575]

No, the shower valve does not have separate shut off connections and it’s left in the closed position but I’ll double check everything I did notice that the hot water heater which is electric does not have an expansion tank

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

It’s not necessary to have an expansion tank on an electric water heater. There is a valve that’s open. Go around the house and feel all the cold connections to a faucet and see if they are warm.

[@franciscoortiz3575]

@@TheGrumpyPlumber thank you my friend, I was able to go directly to the Coldwater feed into the house and I ran a separate line directly to the first floor apartment and it resolved the problem. Thank you for your invaluable advice.

[@Mark-rw3kw]

I have Delta faucets in my home, and recently upgrading my kitchen faucet to a new Delta (purchased and installed by Home Depot), and they are not made of plastic. The Delta kitchen faucet I got was not unique to Home Depot. I know that 30 years ago Delta faucets were not that great, but they have upgraded their quality. I believe they also have a lifetime guarantee for the original purchaser, because when my 15 year-old Delta shower cartridge starting dripping they sent me a new cartridge for free.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

That’s good to hear as Delta was getting cheap. I use to install a lot of Delta faucets. Delta and Moen were my faucets of choice years ago.

[@Mark-rw3kw]

@@TheGrumpyPlumber Not sure what you mean by cheap. Delta faucets are not inexpensive these days.

[@thesetruths1404]

I only buy and install the big name brands that have lifetime warranty and have been around for decades. Oftentimes its Delta. They aren't always all brass, and usually aren't, but if I call or email them for parts they always send them to me free! Yes they cost 2 to 4 times as much as the no-name or weird named Amazon and eBay stuff, but I can get parts and they're free to my door!

[@1969EType]

Any love for Vintage Brass faucets out of California? Also, Delta service is great. I moved into my house which already had a Delta faucet on the kitchen sink that was leaking. I called Delta and they sent me a replacement cartridge for free even though I didn't buy the faucet from them.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

I’ve never heard of Vintage Brass faucets. A lot of companies make the bodies and buy the stems from major manufacturers like Grohe, Brass Tech and Hanns Grohe. If they use those parts, then it’s probably a good faucet. However, the quality of the finish and how long it lasts is another issue. Delta is a good company.

[@Bob_Adkins]

The last "quality faucet I bought took 2 minutes to fill a gallon jug. I bought a cheap Chinese faucet for $50 and it fills it in about 35 seconds. The appearance and function are just great. If it breaks, instead of spending $30 for a ctg, I'll just buy another faucet.

[@billy2bob63]

Hey Jim off subject but does the washing machine drain have a water trap to keep septic gas from coming through that drain back into the house? I know that air vent tube on the roof in that area in the winter time somedays I can smell gas from the septic tank which you have stated as normal. That washing machine drain smell just happens rarely but it just started a couple of months ago. Just wanted your opinion! Thanks Jim and Son! 👍💯♥️🇺🇸

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

A wash machine drain must have a trap on it. It must be a 2” drain with a trap. It needs an 18” to 30” riser. Make sure that the vent is clear. If you are able, run water from the roof down the vent. Hopefully this will help you to make sure it’s plumbed correctly.

[@billy2bob63]

@TheGrumpyPlumber Ok thank you! 👍💯♥️🇺🇸

[@BethS19995]

Bought Hans Grohe. After several years they replaced faucet handle for free.

[@RVail623]

An unrelated question on water heater expansion tanks: do you recommend installing a 2.1 gallon water heater expansion tank with the Schrader valve at top & water inlet at bottom, or vice-versa? In order to maximize the durability of the rubber membrane. Some localities also require a vacuum breaker in addition to an expansion tank. Thoughts? A local water company recently upgraded their water meters to enable remote reading via cell radio signal. Which evidently also updated the valve type from "open loop" (allows back flow) to "closed loop" (blocks backflow). Thus making the water heater's T&P relief valve leak whenever pressure builds up. Thanks.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

If you need to install an expansion tank, the rule is you install a 2.5 gallon expansion tank on a 40 gallon or smaller heater. A 50 gallon or larger heater needs a 5 gallon tank. They are supposed to be installed on the cold water side inlet between the shut off valve and the inlet.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

P.S. when you install extra equipment, it is more cost and maintenance for the customer. The way to find out if a heater needs an expansion tank is to take a pressure gauge, connect it to the drain at the bottom of the heater, open the valve and that will tell you the pressure on the heater and the whole house. If the pressure is up to 70 lbs., that can be high for a house. Turn the thermostat up to the highest temperature and watch the pressure gauge. If the pressure gauge starts climbing, the temperature pressure valve will blow off at 125 lbs. or 150 lbs. depending on the valve. That tells you you need an expansion tank. Why add a device if you don’t need it. I don’t understand the purpose of the vacuum breaker.

[@RVail623]

@@TheGrumpyPlumber Some Massachusetts based YT plumber videos say that a vacuum breaker is mandated in their area. My Arizona city water meters were recently upgraded to "remote read by cell signal", which seems to have blocked any backflow function. Thus creating need for a WH expansion tank. City water is ~89 PSI, so a PRV needs to be installed to bring down the in-house water pressure to ~65 PSI. As is, the T&P relief valve (40 gallon WH) gushes hot water whenever heating. And: which expansion tank orientation results in maximum longevity of the rubber membrane: water inlet at bottom, or at top?

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

The expansion tanks I have ever used have only one opening and it’s a 3/4” MIP. It’s an expansion tank so you can use it in any position. A lot of times cities require back flow valves on irrigation systems and hot water heat boilers.

[@rayvelasco2059]

Most Excellent ¿

[@jstasiak2262]

In a previous video you mentioned Newport Brass faucets, but you didn’t mention them this time. Do you still recommend Newport Brass? Why or why not?

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

I highly recommend Newport Brass. Good eye for noticing I did not mention in this video.

[@JamesBrown-db9pk]

brand name good all metal and us made

[@Radioman.]

Do you have an opinion on Gerber. Been around for a long time.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

Gerber is a good competitive plumbing product.

[@nataliecarrow658]

We are trying to figure out whether this demand on water heater is worth it or should we try to attempt to get this regular water heater electric one that we have the only problem is the space they built the house I guess around the space of the water heater so we would have to tear down the wall to get the water heater out unless there’s another way to get the water heater out but again I’m real concerned about why we don’t have pressure for our water in this house please answer me soon

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

Do you have low water pressure just on the hot water? If you do, you probably have a blockage on either the inlet or outlet water supply. If you remove the piping on the top of the heater, the pipe is probably corroded shut. Knock the corrosion out with a screwdriver and hammer. Now, if you have to replace the heater, you’ll have to remove the wall. Now, let’s talk on demand water heaters. They make electric on demand heaters but you need to have a lot of wattage….400 amp breaker panel. If you have natural gas or propane, you can use an on demand gas heater. You should consult a plumber or two if an on demand heater is feasible.

[@chadsimmons6347]

Got a question for Jim & Jordan, what if you guys were rough-in plumbers on a big apt. complex & told to toss away the leftover material? wud-ya?

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

Yea, I’d toss it right into my truck. That job must have been a time and material job.

[@lindachiappetta421]

I have all Kohler faucets. no problems.

[@Seer645]

My plumber told me to be Leary of box stores selling name brands made for them exclusively. To ask if they have parts in stock for a particular item.

[@Mark-rw3kw]

He told you that because if you buy the fixture from the plumber, they charge more money than the box stores. I have found Delta faucets at Home Depot to be the same as sold anywhere else. Even if they were custom designs for Home Depot, the internal parts and cartridges, etc are the same.

[@Seer645]

Thanks. My plumber also told me his business had a limited selection. His main point was to be sure they stocked the parts.@@Mark-rw3kw

[@marybroderick8265]

I wouldnt trust Amazon or second party sellers anymore after getting used or counterfeit merchandise.

[@Mark-rw3kw]

Amazon does have a lot of counterfeit parts, but I know that Delta has a "Delta Store" on Amazon and you are getting the real stuff, but maybe beware of buying Delta products not listed in the Delta Store.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

If you know what you are looking for and have the brand name, you should be okay with shopping at Amazon. I just bought a part from a supply house and it came from Amazon.

[@Mark-rw3kw]

@@TheGrumpyPlumber One nice thing about buying from Home Depot or Lowes is that they will do installation, usually about $100 labor for a faucet, if you buy the faucet from them. Finding a plumber these days is difficult.

[@yvonnejackson1696]

Advice I read about ordering name brand items: Go to the website and order them there. Of course you can always get a lemon there but it’s less likely.

[@Mark-rw3kw]

@@yvonnejackson1696 If Amazon has a "Delta Store" (or some other manufacturer store), and the item is sold and shipped by Amazon (the website will tell you that), one can be pretty sure it is authentic. Plus Amazon accepts free returns and pays return shipping, and for items that expensive shipping is free (even if one is not an Amazon Prime member).

[@BradThePitts]

I've done countless kitchens and bathrooms and I have found that IKEA has the best VALUE in faucets. They're certainly not the best and they only have about 10 styles at a time, but if you're on a budget it's a great way to go. I just purchased one today and the box says, "Made in Hungary."

[@ytfuertes]

Your son should edit he video to show images of the examples you are describing. Just a suggestion.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

Noted

[@user-eq7jr9ox4s]

Hi guys. I live in an old house. I am getting stinky smells in the living room and near the attic access. The living room is over the access to the crawl space. We are getting tired and falling asleep. The fire department read hydrogen sulfide. Sometimes the toilet stops mainly in the mornings. Do you know what my problem could be?

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

Look in the crawl space for a broken sewer line. You are probably smelling sewer gas.

[@armandgosselin9964]

Try Riobel a Québec manufacturer

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

Really? I’ll check that out.

[@Skidmarks368]

I identify as a quality faucet!

[@krclinton]

We are retired and in a fixed income. I recently bought a used kohler sink with eight inch faucets from Facebook marketplace. We had an older smaller pedestal sink. The plumber charged $800 to install it and then said the hiot water faucet (Kohler) was leaking and we had to replace the whole unit because the faucet didn't have a washer so couldn't be fixed Is this true? (we kept the faucet anyway because we like the style and just keep a washcloth there.)

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

I am so sorry you had this happen to you. You probably have the 8” center lav faucet that was one of the most popular ones Kohler made. The number of the old original part would be a RP7004 or a 7002. The old part was a two piece cartridge, a stem with a washer that screwed into a cylinder that was the faucet seat. Now the new part is all one piece. It could be difficult to remove the old stem but it can be done. You must remove the cylinder that the seat is in. I don’t have the new part number but you can call Kohler at 1 [phone] and their tech support is extremely helpful and will give you the part number. Of course you’ve had this faucet for years and the plumber said it wasn’t repairable. Tell tech support that the Grumpy Plumber said they would help you out.

[@krclinton]

Thank you so much for your help. We will givenit a try.

[@nataliecarrow658]

I had the Same problem with my water heater it started to smell like rotten eggs it never gave me any pressure like it should have so I went and got a AC guy friend of mine that told me to get one of the demand on water heaters so he install the demand and water heaters the smell what away the problem is is we didn’t have the pressure to make the water hot he was saying that the water pressure that’s coming in from the city is not much pressure so I called the city and they came out they put a new meter and changed everything up but still there’s no pressure so does having no pressure make the demand on water heater not heat your water or do we have another problem or do we not need a demand on water heater do we get a regular standup water heater

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

Has the city told you how much water pressure and volume you have on the supply pipe to your house? Most on demand heaters are based on volume that flows through the heater to make hot water. I believe it’s about 8 gallons a minute. Hopefully you have 3/4” supply pipes to your heater. You didn’t say what brand of heater you have. Hopefully, you didn’t buy a Bosh.

[@kimlewis7057]

My dishwasher is not getting water to it . The drain under the sink has no water visible but the dishwasher does run. It is about 2 1/2 yrs old. Help! Single Mom.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

It sounds like you have a bad water feed valve in the dishwasher. If it’s 2 1/2 years old, I’d get on the phone and call the manufacturer immediately. It should still be in warranty.

[@franciscoortiz3575]

My good friend, why is hot water coming out of my cold waterlines it’s on my cold water supply lines including the toilet?

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

You have a cross connection somewhere. Do you have a faucet that you leave constantly open that you control by a single handle shut off? Do you have a large tub with a volume control that has three positions? You might be using two of the three and leaving the third open. You need to look for a mixing valve that you leave on all the time. That’s what causes the cross connection. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say. It’s like a bypass valve that is open and causing the water to mix.

[@Gemni65]

Delta

[@ckelly5141]

You-Who.....paperboy? I’ve got a plumbing question for you? 😝

[@JustTheGuy37]

How about how to find a quality 2.5 gpm kitchen, bathroom faucet.. anything under 2.5 gpm is garbage.. Or How about a Pot filler that can mix cold and hot water to get 3.5 gpm or more.. Then custom make a way to have a pull out sprayer that can do 2.5 gpm. Instead of the EPA trying to force us into using less water.

[@TheGrumpyPlumber]

Move to a foreign country and maybe they can help you.

[@JustTheGuy37]

@@TheGrumpyPlumber With all your expertise, I thought you would have a sound answer..

[@ronduckett5017]

ALWAYS KEEP YOUR MANUAL IN YOUR KITCHEN JUNK DRAWER OR YOUR VANITY!!! You'll have part numbers and phone numbers!!!

[@michaelfarris2556]

See, the beard is gone. What gives, but you're right a junk facet sucks. Im getting ready to change out one. Didn't even last a year. Back under the sink, I go, that's why plumbers make good money. I'm no plumber

[@JamesBrown-db9pk]

yup buy crap then do it 3 times over

[@eponymousIme]

"Grumpy plumber" is redundant. 😂

[@gregoryderosa8045]

Buy a faucet online... bad advice!! 😅 with all due respect.