View Full Version : Old Delta stock at big box store
SteveW
02-28-2009, 01:39 PM
I just special-ordered 4 Delta bathroom faucets - $200 each in pearl nickel - from one of the big box stores. Just got the faucets delivered to the house and they were the conventional Delta faucets, with the usual black rubber or silicone seats, plastic ball, and springs. I had really ordered Delta's new "Diamond Seal" faucet which looks the same but has a sealed cartridge, long Pex risers (so no additional riser needed).
Apparently the big box is still using up old stock -
I ended up ordering the faucets through an online source recommended by Delta - same price, but has the Diamond Seal technology. The new cartridge is diamond-impregnated and designed to last 10 times longer than the traditional ball and seat model.
Just a heads-up. The faucets from the big box were otherwise fine, and had metal drains (not plastic as some have reported).
One of the problems I had with a kitchen faucet is that the box did not mention it had the long risers with captive nuts and ferrules, and they were both 1 1/2" too short, and I was out of EVERYTHING I could have used to extend them and they did not send MIP adapters with the faucet so convention faucet flexs could be added to them.
jimbo
02-28-2009, 05:11 PM
It sounds like you paid too much. The model number for the Diamond Seal is not the same as some other model, so probably the knucklehead who wrote up your order didn't know the difference. Blue or Orange do not typically stock those kind of items in their own distribution centers. They come from the vendor, in the case of Delta, from the Brasscraft Distributrion Center, who packages all that stuff for them.
SO either you ordered the wrong thing, or you got ripped off!
SteveW
02-28-2009, 08:37 PM
Jimbo,
I think it was an innocent mistake on the part of the 20-year-old kitchen/bath advisor guy. I brought in the actual Delta brochure complete with model numbers but still didn't get the right one. We took 'em back today and did get a refund.
HJ,
How frustrating! Sounds like you had to make an unscheduled parts run. Not fun when you are in the middle of a busy day.
Especially when it was a Saturday and the customer had an appointment and had to leave. Meaaning I had to finish it Sunday. And, I have a difficult time believing that ANYONE at HD would correlate the number for the correct faucet with one of the same design if it had a different number to send the wrong one.
master plumber mark
03-01-2009, 08:13 AM
I think what you got is good.....I would keep it...
I have already had fun with their new diamond seal technology and have had to tear out a complete tub faucet becasue of it..... I am very leerey of it all
What you presently have is tried and true and will probably last you 35 years, and you will be able to get theparts anywhere...
why dont you just ask them for a discount for getting the old stuff and be happy that you did...
SteveW
03-01-2009, 12:14 PM
I already took the "old" ones back and have the new style on order -
I have not had great luck with Delta's spring-in-the-rubber-seat technology, for some reason - seem to leak after a year in my house - so am looking forward to the new cartridges.
Mark - what kind of trouble did you have with the new stuff?
jimbo
03-01-2009, 02:00 PM
I already took the "old" ones back and have the new style on order -
I have not had great luck with Delta's spring-in-the-rubber-seat technology, for some reason - seem to leak after a year in my house - so am looking forward to the new cartridges.
Mark - what kind of trouble did you have with the new stuff?
The rubber seat and spring design is so good, it has been copied by almost every company on the planet, including the chinese.
Some would put it on a par with ceramic disc, which is what the diamond seal thing is. You may be the only plumber on the forum who doesn't like it!
valpohawkeye
03-05-2009, 08:52 AM
While I agree that many box stores have poorly-trained staff, HD does employ hundreds, if not thousands of licensed plumbers to staff their plubming departments. I know this because I'm a licensed plumbing contractor and I work full time for HD. Each store in my district has a licensed plumber on the payroll. Additionally, I have several people in my department who can easily distinguish faucets by their model numbers.
Especially when it was a Saturday and the customer had an appointment and had to leave. Meaaning I had to finish it Sunday. And, I have a difficult time believing that ANYONE at HD would correlate the number for the correct faucet with one of the same design if it had a different number to send the wrong one.
You mean that you have the entire catalog memorized, and when someone gave you a number, such as this person did, you can, "Ah ha! That looks just like model so and so we have on our shelf so let's give him that one." Either you are pulling my leg or you don't belong at HD.
valpohawkeye
03-05-2009, 03:00 PM
Perhaps I misunderstood the intent of the quoted post. You seemed to suggest a box-store employee is too poorly trained to realize that "DST" in a Delta model number means diamond seal technology. I don't have the catalog memorized but I did manage to figure that out.
Redwood
03-05-2009, 09:08 PM
So Valpohawkeye what happened to your plumbing business that made you opt for a Smockman Career?
Do ya think you could get your people to sort through the bins and get them in order. Everytime I go there the bin for the part I need seems to be an "assortment bin" :mad:
Gelo30
03-05-2009, 10:16 PM
happened to your plumbing business
I can feel the crisis right now. Is there still future for us?
valpohawkeye
03-06-2009, 05:54 AM
Nothing "happened" really. I worked in a family-owned business for 6 years, but we all know that sometimes family and business can't be together forever. I went to a mid-sized HVACR company as a tech and did pretty well for myself there for several more years.
However, HD opened up their Master Specialist program which allows them to match what you made in the field (within reason) to work on the floor, as long as you have a license. It means no more being on call every third week, no more attics or crawlspaces, so I applied and got it.
Sure, some of the guys I worked with in the field think it's funny that I wear on orange apron, but it's a fairly secure job, I make good money and they give me a certain degree of autonomy to grow the business here.
Redwood, yeah sometimes the bins can be a mess. After I come back from a couple consecutive days off, they need a bit of TLC. I usually hit them in the AM to get everything where it belongs. HD is really emphasizing customer service and keeping things readily "shoppable", so hopefully you'll see some improvement in the near future.
Maybe you misunderstood the original question. He stated that he had chosen the diamond seal technology faucet and therefore should have used the correct model number, BUT that Home Depot had substituted faucets with the conventional seats and springs. The ONLY way that could happen is if the stocker KNEW that the two faucets looked the same and ignored the model number specified.
valpohawkeye
03-06-2009, 03:22 PM
Maybe you misunderstood the first post. He didn't specify HD, you did in a later post. I'm not trying to argue anything other than the fact that you implied an HD associate would be unable to ID the correct faucet because we're just "aprons".
Maybe you misunderstood the original question. He stated that he had chosen the diamond seal technology faucet and therefore should have used the correct model number, BUT that Home Depot had substituted faucets with the conventional seats and springs. The ONLY way that could happen is if the stocker KNEW that the two faucets looked the same and ignored the model number specified.
master plumber mark
03-06-2009, 03:32 PM
The rubber seat and spring design is so good, it has been copied by almost every company on the planet, including the chinese.
Some would put it on a par with ceramic disc, which is what the diamond seal thing is. You may be the only plumber on the forum who doesn't like it!
we recently had to tear out a 1700 that has some sort of flaw in the body that you could not just change out the cartridge..
maybe it was just a fluke,
I had heard that they let the chinese make them for a while. I guess quality controll was hell and they pulled the line back to the USA.
I still wait for the day a bunch of crud goes up the pipe when someone installs a water heater and gets into one of those new valves... then that will tell the story.
.
e
When someone mentions "big box store" the most frequent one is HD. HD is becoming a generic term for poor quality and service.
valpohawkeye
03-06-2009, 06:03 PM
Wow, you just can't help yourself, can you. Aren't moderators supposed to maintain appropriate decorum and not fan the flames?
Besides, how many other "big box" stores are putting licensed plumbers and electricians in nearly every store to better help homeowners? Not exactly exemplary of poor quality or service.
Redwood
03-06-2009, 08:11 PM
Besides, how many other "big box" stores are putting licensed plumbers and electricians in nearly every store to better help homeowners? Not exactly exemplary of poor quality or service.
The ones I have met have been less than impressive...
Here I made you an apron...
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2/Redwood39/smockmanapron.jpg
Sandpiper Plumbing
03-06-2009, 09:27 PM
Well, maybe the Home Centers near you employ someone with a brain but most of the employees in the plumbing aisle of my local home centers are idiots. I wouldn't want them in the field, they're a hazard and the advice I hear them give sometimes makes my cringe. Luckily, I don't visit Cheapo Depot or Blowes very often, we don't buy our material there, but sometimes have no other choice for a quick tool or some hardware. I always breeze thru the plumbing aisles to see what's in stock, what the prices are, and listen to some of the dribble and jiberish spewing from the smockmen.
valpohawkeye
03-07-2009, 06:29 AM
I'm clearly not cool enough to hang out with you "real" plumbers, even though I had to work just as hard to get my license as any of you. I will share this in leaving, though.
I will frequently find "real" tradesman intentionally putting fitting bins and other product in disarray. At first I thought they were just vandals or idiots or both. However, in talking with other plumbers and also management here, I've concluded that tradesmen don't like their trade "devalued" by people being able to make simple repairs themselves. They want customers to get fed up with trying to do it themselves so that they will, instead, call a service company to do it.
I'm finding that same elitist attitude here. It's kind of ironic to find plumbers whose sh!t doesn't stink.
Maybe the fact that they are hiring more qualified people, who probably cost more is the reason there are so few of them. Many times if there were a catastrophe in any area of the store, there would be few, if any, employees injured. And this is not with just HD in case you feel singled out. ANYONE who "misplaces" merchandise intentionally IS a vandal, regardless of his experience or credentials.
Dunbar Plumbing
03-07-2009, 09:28 AM
I'm clearly not cool enough to hang out with you "real" plumbers, even though I had to work just as hard to get my license as any of you. I will share this in leaving, though.
I will frequently find "real" tradesman intentionally putting fitting bins and other product in disarray. At first I thought they were just vandals or idiots or both. However, in talking with other plumbers and also management here, I've concluded that tradesmen don't like their trade "devalued" by people being able to make simple repairs themselves. They want customers to get fed up with trying to do it themselves so that they will, instead, call a service company to do it.
I'm finding that same elitist attitude here. It's kind of ironic to find plumbers whose sh!t doesn't stink.
Oh hell I know mine stinks!
I misjudged "travel time" between chair and toilet and even though I made the last turn into the bathroom to the straightaway...
lost it. Couldn't get my shorts down quick enough and my slow-close toilet seat didn't swing up fast enough, it's real bad.
Gotta bring in shop vac and garden hose, disinfectant, some Renuzit! air fresheners and possibly some counseling after this is all over with.
The movement however was quite satisfying. I was impressed!
Anyway, I'm friends with a few of the licensed plumbers that work at HD. Only one that I'm aware of in my area would I trust for good logic, but he told me he's not allowed to talk code anymore.
Code being the recommendation of any product. I find this disturbing, but I see their point as "code" can be conveyed by personal interpretation in so many different variances.
But I'll agree that just because they brought in "licensed" individuals, there's no guarantee that this move indicative of professionalism, it just lessens the odds that bad advice is given, like it has been so known for.
cwhyu2
03-07-2009, 11:06 AM
Personally I do not go to the big box stores for plumbing supplies,but it is fun
to walk around in.
Redwood
03-07-2009, 05:30 PM
I work Saturdays and supply houses are non-existant in most of the state after 12 noon...
So yes I do end up in big box stores...
I cringe at the thought....
Anyway ValpoHawkeye...
Welcome to the forum and please do join us in helping people out...
Just put on your thick skin and you can be our Homey Cheapo whipping boy!
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2/Redwood39/thwip1.gif
You'll find we just happen to be a bunch of guys that love plumbing.
At times the only thing we like better is being a ...
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2/Redwood39/Ballbuster.jpg
quote: "99% of Being Smart...
Is Knowing What You're Dumb At"
That is like asking someone what they don't know. How do they know what they do not know, if they do not know it? You wouldn't know you were dumb at it until someone asked you a question about it, then you would feel stupid.
Redwood
03-07-2009, 06:26 PM
I'd say it's kinda like the Magnum Force line HJ...
"A good man always knows his limitations"
Jay Mpls
03-07-2009, 06:28 PM
The HD near No. Minneapolis (fridley) also has a master plumber in the aisle.
The man has saved me some headaches and alot of time when having to deal with the homedumpster.