Kitchen sink faucet - plastic --- did I fall asleep

It has been a while since I had to replace any faucet in my kitchen. Went to Lowes today to replace it, my wife picked out the faucet from looking at the wall hangings, it was a known brand and home we went.

I opened the box and the soap dispenser was plastic --- looked like metal and chrome to me when it was hanging on the wall.

It was a pull-out neck. The pull out piece was all plastic ---- looked like metal chrome to me when it was hanging on the wall.

Back in my day spending $120 on a kitchen faucet meant you were really getting something but today it means you are getting plastic. I told my wife it is going back!

I am now shopping online at one of the companies that are advertising on your forum. I have a few questions to ask about plastic before buying anything.

Man why is everything you buy today crap!?!?!?!

urdrwho said:

Man why is everything you buy today crap!?!?!?!

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First and foremost, it is ALL ABOUT THE $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Secondarily, blame algore. Much of the plastic found in faucets now is to comply with the lead laws.

jimbo said:

First and foremost, it is ALL ABOUT THE $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Secondarily, blame algore. Much of the plastic found in faucets now is to comply with the lead laws.

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If al gore did not invent the Internet, we'd not be doing any online shopping

Lowes/HD get the big name brands to make them their own junk product lines. If you look at their model numbers, they're different than the ones a plumber will supply you with. You can find better stuff at some suppliers. I usually figure out the difference in product line numbers so you don't get the box store grade stuff and look on there for some decent deals.

That said, there is still a lot of plastic in things these days. $120 is a relatively cheap kitchen faucet these days... you'll have to spend 50-100% more than that to really be in the quality market. Perhaps part of the problem is just not accounting enough for inflation?

I am starting to feel old! https://terrylove.com/forums/images/smilies/eek.png

When it cost $250 to buy a kitchen faucet of quality, there has been a shift and I didn't change with it.

Maybe a trip to one of the plumbing houses will make me feel better. https://terrylove.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.png

The reason I need to change the current one is because there is a hole in the neck. When I moved in this house it had the same kitchen faucet that was installed in the 1906's. It worked fine except it was a two handle system and I wanted the one handle. So I changed it out and replaced it with a Peerless. Rusted through in 10 years.

I do like what I see online at Light in the box. Never heard of it before and saw it on this site. They profess to be all brass.

mtcummins said:

Lowes/HD get the big name brands to make them their own junk product lines. If you look at their model numbers, they're different than the ones a plumber will supply you with. You can find better stuff at some suppliers. I usually figure out the difference in product line numbers so you don't get the box store grade stuff and look on there for some decent deals.

That said, there is still a lot of plastic in things these days. $120 is a relatively cheap kitchen faucet these days... you'll have to spend 50-100% more than that to really be in the quality market. Perhaps part of the problem is just not accounting enough for inflation?

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quote; If you look at their model numbers, they're different than the ones a plumber will supply you with

The different model numbers is NOT always because of quality. They do the same thing with televisions and everything else. That way you CANNOT find the "identical item at a lower price elsewhere", because the same item elsewhere has a different model number.

Try doing mattress shopping sometime. There is no way to compare mattresses from store to store because each store has a different name for their mattress. It may be a mattress under the same brand name, it may look the same as the previous store but they have created a consumer buying nightmare with all the different names. King kong sleep all night at store A may be the same mattress called King kong sleep all day at store B but you can never compare by model name.

So the marketing people have done the same to faucets? Errrrr!

hj said:

quote; If you look at their model numbers, they're different than the ones a plumber will supply you with

The different model numbers is NOT always because of quality. They do the same thing with televisions and everything else. That way you CANNOT find the "identical item at a lower price elsewhere", because the same item elsewhere has a different model number.

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urdrwho said:

When it cost $250 to buy a kitchen faucet of quality,.

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I don't agree that you HAVE to spend $250 to get a good kitchen faucet. "quality" is a matter of perception and definition. I can find you a "solid brass" faucet under $75, but that doesn't mean I vouch for the quality. A Delta or PP today will have much less solid brass then in the past, but that doesn't make them junk.
Cars have less steel, and lower gauge steel, in bodies etc. today, but that doesn't mean I would like to have my '51 Studebaker Champion back!

yeah, i agree that less brass isn't directly equal to junk. it is symptomatic of some other problems, and nobody can argue with the difference in longevity between the old school equipment and today's equipment.

however, consumers have changed too, and not many will want the same faucet 30 years from now, so its not really that significant in some ways. i buy mostly PP myself, generally not the box store ones, though sometimes i will grab one there if i need it immediately. i also use delta, but their stuff in particular seems cheaper to me from the box stores than from plumbing supply houses, so it makes me nervous. i just prefer to avoid the box stores for pretty much all fixtures (toilets, faucets, etc), and use other suppliers for my Totos (which you can't get there anyway) and PP faucets.

i guess i have to qualify, i personally can't find a quality kitchen faucet that i don't hate for under about $250. there are some pretty ugly ones out there that are probably decent quality and a good bit cheaper, but i'd never buy them.

Comparison to the car made me consider what "quality" is today. Maybe plastic compared to brass doesn't mean it is not quality.

Just came back from a plumbing house I've used in the past. The counter guy felt that quality is a dying matter in the faucet world and showed me some of the $300 faucets that in his word "will last about 10 years". So what the heck, just buy the cheapest thing out there that my wife likes and expect to be changing it out in 10 years.

I guess I'm just an old dying breed because I like my copper piped house opposed to the plastic tubing in the new modern houses.

jimbo said:

I don't agree that you HAVE to spend $250 to get a good kitchen faucet. "quality" is a matter of perception and definition. I can find you a "solid brass" faucet under $75, but that doesn't mean I vouch for the quality. A Delta or PP today will have much less solid brass then in the past, but that doesn't make them junk.
Cars have less steel, and lower gauge steel, in bodies etc. today, but that doesn't mean I would like to have my '51 Studebaker Champion back!

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jimbo said:

Cars have less steel, and lower gauge steel, in bodies etc. today, but that doesn't mean I would like to have my '51 Studebaker Champion back!

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if you find that car, i'll take it