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Why Are Good Taps So Expensive? Use The Data to Tell You The Truth ……

ClassificationBlog 9033 0

“They are both the same taps, why do some cost 300 RMB and others only 30 RMB?” When you take it apart, the structural configuration is not complicated. It’s just a tool for getting water out. How can it be sold at such a high price? Is this profiteering or is there another reason?

The Difference Between A 300 Piece Faucet And A 30 Piece Tap

The faucet is mainly composed of several parts

  1. valve spool
  2. the main body material
  3. surface coating

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The spool is a very important component on a faucet, just like the human heart. Its quality directly determines the life of the tap. The spool is connected to the handle. The opening and closing of the tap, the size of the water flow and the alternation of hot and cold water are all controlled by the spool.

The best spool on the market today is the ceramic spool. It is durable, has a good seal and does not drip. Its performance is stable in all aspects. The main bathroom brands are basically using a ceramic spool.

taps

Faucet Valve Core Identification Method

1: Switch the faucet handle, feel it with your hand. When switching up and down, there is no obstruction in the middle of the feeling. (Obstruction is bad)

2: The valve spool switch to half, stop. Then hit it in place again and compare it with the feeling. The top half and the bottom half feel the same. (A slightly higher grade spool can only do this)

3: When the spool is left and right (adjusting hot and cold), (use the above method first) then look at the lightness and weight. A good quality spool is “idle” when you turn it left and right, which means it feels very light in your hand.

4: Use your index finger and middle finger to gently hold the faucet handle and move it gently up and down. Observe whether it is flexible and not loose, whether it has a blocking feel and whether it has an oil damping feel. If it is flexible, does not feel blocked and has a heavy, oil-damped feel, you can buy it.

Main Material

The main body material is currently the most common material for faucets: 304 stainless steel, copper, zinc alloy these three categories. But please remember one thing: all materials can be made into any style, any shape, any appearance of a colour. So you can’t tell its material just by the appearance and weight of the product.

304 Stainless Steel Mixer

Let’s start with the most popular 304 stainless steel mixer. Stainless steel taps that look the same on the outside are actually very different!

We should not look at the surface, but more at the bottom. The bottom is often the truest indication of the material and workmanship of the mixer.

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This is the one on the far left. When you unscrew the bottom mount and the tooth tube, we can see that the shell is made of stainless steel tubing cut to shape and then welded together. Such taps are prone to leaks. In the middle, the construction is similar. The stainless steel tube is welded to the shell, but the internal spool base and fittings are unified using stainless steel parts. The model on the far right is made of solid stainless steel bar stock. A hint of machined traces at the base is evident, and the lines are fine and sharp, making this faucet strong and durable.

Brass Taps

Brass is also divided, now the domestic quality faucets are generally used 59 copper (H59), that is, 59% copper, the lead content of less than 1.9% of copper. This is the national standard of 59 copper. Businesses that can use 59 copper are already very conscientious.

However, there are some businesses that do not honestly use 59 copper.

Industry experts say: for the so-called “all-copper faucet” in the market at prices below 100 yuan, many are second-hand recycled copper or lead content seriously exceeds the standard copper. Real quality copper faucet prices are generally from 300.

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In addition, according to the faucet manufacturing process, it can be divided into sand casting and gravity casting.

Due to the loose structure of the copper parts of the sand casting, it is easy to have trachoma through the shell, so you must use a special patching paint (glue) to soak and do negative pressure filling before machining. This way there will be a transparent layer of paint inside the shell.

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The left side of the picture above is a flip sand casting, and the right side is a fine casting. The inside of the fine casting will also be rougher, with a strong sense of sand and small black sand residue.

Gravity casting is a process where the metal liquid is injected into the casting mould under the action of the earth’s gravity, also known as gravity casting. Taps made with gravity casting have a relatively dense structure and are free from trachoma.

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The picture above shows a genuine gravity cast part. The product has good pressure resistance and long service life. The price of a gravity cast part is usually double that of a sand cast part.

Zinc Alloy Mixers

The “alloy” usually referred to by bathroom hardware merchants means “zinc alloy”.

The 2014 national standard: GB 18145-2014 “Ceramic piece sealed spout” clearly states that “the amount of lead precipitated per litre of water should not exceed 5 micrograms”. There are also clear regulations on the precipitation of antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, hexavalent chromium, copper, mercury, selenium, thallium, bismuth, nickel, manganese, molybdenum and 16 other heavy metals.

No.Element nameLimit values/ug/LNo.Element nameLimit value/ug/L
1LeadStatistical value Q≤510Copper130.0
2Antimony0.611Mercury0.2
3Arsenic1.012Selenium5.0
4Barium200.013Thallium0.2
5Beryllium0.414Bismuth50.0
6Boron500.015Nickel20.0
7Cadmium0.516Manganese30.0
8Chromium10.017Molybdenum4.0
9Hexavalent chromium2.0

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However, zinc faucets with harmful metals that exceed the standard by tens and hundreds of times are still on sale in the market. The use of these faucets during the production period is a serious health hazard! The inside of a zinc alloy angle valve was used for a long time. Blistering, oxidation and the precipitation of large quantities of harmful substances. The material becomes brittle and needs to be removed for maintenance.

Plating

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After the tap has been ground and polished into shape, the surface should be plated with nickel or chrome to prevent the tap from oxidising. After nickel or chromium plating, the tap is subjected to a neutral hydrochloric acid test. The plating should be rust-free for a certain period of time after the test.

Consumers in the purchase, the best faucet placed in a well-lit place to see, the surface of the faucet should be bright as a mirror, without any oxidation spots, burn marks, no porosity, no blistering, no leakage of plating, uniform colour. No burrs or grit when touched by hand. After pressing the faucet with your finger, fingerprints quickly disperse. And it is not easy to attach dirt.

To get a good faucet with high quality, visit WOWOW online shop to find the most suitable one!

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