Faucet Connection Size

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Sobershea

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A review on the kitchen faucet I am interested in stated that "The water lines on this faucet are smaller than my existing faucet, so my water pressure has diminished considerably." The specifications on the faucet list a "Connection size" of 3/8" Compression. If I hadn't read the review I would have purchased the faucet, however, my water presser isn't that hot and I am concerned that the "connection size" could be an issue. Other faucets have a 1/2" connection size. So, can I blindly purchase a faucet based on looks, or do I need to take connection size into consideration?

TIA
 

Basement_Lurker

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It makes no difference. The outlet on your shutoff valve is 3/8, and the supply tubing you would be using is 3/8. A number of kitchen faucets are now coming with the option of having the 3/8 flex lines already installed directly into the faucet body.
 

Jadnashua

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The Feds have put limitations on the flow rate of many valves used in a home. You can easily reach that max flow with a 3/8" line. There may be some older ones still on a shelf somewhere, but even then, a 3/8" supply line is/was fairly typical.
 

Terry

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The restriction is at the aerator, not the supply lines.
We've been using 3/8" for over fifty years.

Shower heads, kitchen faucets and bathroom faucets all have restricters in place, but not at the supply line.
 

Jimbo

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Even when the faucet had 1/2" IPS inlet connections, the internal tubing was much smaller. And for years, ALL the flex lines we have used were the same ( approx 3/8) tubing, just with 1/2 or 7/16 or 3/8 ends on it.
 

Thatguy

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Using this
http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/copperloss.htm
and fitting an equation to the values given for type K copper at 2 GPM, for a 3/8" tube the pressure loss will be twice as much as for 1/2", 8 PSI rather than 4 PSI, but this is per hundred feet of pipe.
Fuhgedit.
 
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