How to choose a bathroom faucet with a shower: plumbing tips

Sooner or later, the problem of major repairs in the bathroom rises before every homeowner. Our goal is to publish a certain rating of bathroom faucets with a shower, which will help a person far from the plumbing to choose the not too expensive and most reliable device.

Of course, it will not be about specific models, but about the general characteristics that should be used to select a mixer.

Classification

So, on what grounds do we have to choose a purchase?

1. Body material. On sale you can find products made of brass, silumin, stainless steel, bronze; lovers of the exotic, if desired, can find products from plastic and ceramics.
2. The method of controlling the temperature and pressure of water. This may be a lever or two separate cranes.
3. Type of switch for shower. It can be push-button, ceramic or lever.
4. Shower hose. The mixers are equipped with prefabricated hoses of stainless armor and a rubber core, and one-piece - of plasticized PVC.
5. Watering can. It can be molded, collapsible, equipped with rubber nozzles and a mode switch.

By the way: if desired, it is easy to change the hose and watering can after the purchase. The price of the issue is no more than 300 - 400 rubles for a quite high-quality set.

Go shopping

So, we are in the store. Before us is a showcase with countless mixers. We proceed to study them.

Material

To begin with, we discard the above-mentioned exotics: the ceramic body may crack with a sudden change in water temperature, while the plastic case is depressingly low in scratch resistance. The bottom line is metals.

Silumin also discarded. Its low mechanical strength does not always allow to safely go through the installation; about some kind of happily and happily we are not talking in principle: broken threads and a burst case when replacing the Kranbuks are commonplace for silumin products.

From the point of view of mechanical strength, bathroom faucets with bronze and stainless steel showers are approximately equivalent; brass is somewhat softer. However, the strength of all these metals is excessive in normal operation; while the cost of stainless steel and bronze is much higher than brass.

The conclusion is obvious: our choice is a brass mixer. It is desirable - with a chromium-nickel coating: it retains its original appearance for a long time, whereas bare brass darkens with time.

Control

Which bathroom faucet with a shower to choose in terms of temperature and pressure control? Which is more practical - cranes or a lever?

From the point of view of the author, it is more practical in the bathroom faucet with separate taps, and not with screw cranes, but only with ceramic ones. Why? Yes, simply because this scheme does not require any maintenance in principle and is extremely durable.

For comparison:

• Any screw kranbuksy need periodic replacement of gaskets. The thread also wears out over time, and sooner or later the valve turns in an attempt to close it.
• Single lever mixer is free from this problem; However, a large area of ​​ceramic plates in the cartridge with a developed silicone grease between them requires considerable effort for their mutual displacement. The lubricant is produced in 1-3 years of operation. A great effort, willy-nilly, applied to the lever, sooner or later will be the cause of the breakdown of the cartridge itself, the handle or the stem under it.

Switch

The most durable and high-quality bathroom faucets with shower are products with a ceramic switch. They are easy to distinguish from others: the switch device allows the handle to make a full turn.

How does such a switch work and how is it better than competing products? In this case, the scheme of the bathroom faucet with a shower (more precisely, the switch itself) strongly resembles ceramic Kranbuksu: the water opens and closes when the ceramic plates move each other.

The area of ​​rubbing against each other surfaces is small, which provides minimal effort on the handle; There is no noticeable wear. In fact, in the absence of mechanical damage, the switch has an unlimited resource.

For comparison, we again mention the typical problems of other schemes.

Important: ceramic shut-off valves are sensitive to large suspensions - sand and scale. The presence of coarse filters at the entrance to the apartment is required.

What to do if you still manage to break the ball switch by turning the plates stuck in a scale? Instructions for repairing the mixer do it yourself are not difficult: just remove the handle, unscrew the nut under it and replace the switch cartridge. Its cost is no more than 250 rubles.

Shower hose

And here the choice is ambiguous. Each of the options offered by manufacturers has its advantages and disadvantages.

• Hose with metal armor requires periodic replacement of the core. Liming rubber over time makes it fragile, and the appearance of leaks becomes inevitable, like the collapse of capitalism. But the hose retains flexibility at any water temperature.
• Plastic products, on the contrary, when cooled to +5 - + 10С when cold water is turned on in winter, lose their flexibility and become rather inconvenient to use. But the resource of such a hose is almost unlimited; the author has happened to see them whole after 10-15 years of use.

Watering can

Here, on the contrary, the recommendations are quite unambiguous.

The correct watering can should have:

1. Mode switch. It is really convenient.
2. Liner with rubber nozzles. They are smelled much more slowly than plastic or metal; accordingly, the watering can no longer require cleaning.

1. Disassembly capability. Sooner or later, nozzles will have to be cleaned.

Overall quality assessment

In addition to the listed parameters, all types of bathroom faucets with shower must meet certain quality standards.

What to look for when buying?

• The heavier the body, the better. Mass speaks of wall thickness and indirectly indicates that the manufacturer did not save on materials too much during the manufacture of the product.

In addition: it is impossible to visually distinguish chrome-plated silumin and brass, but in terms of mass - easily. Silumin much easier.

• The gander must have sufficiently thick walls so as not to crease at the very first random impact.
• The presence of the aerator is welcome. It allows you to significantly save water.

• Valves and the switch should be turned without significant effort and jamming.
• It is better that the gaskets in the kit be translucent (silicone) and not black (rubber). Silicone better tolerates prolonged contact with hot water.

Conclusion

Here, in fact, all the selection criteria. We hope that the above recommendations will help the reader to make a successful purchase.

The video in this article will traditionally offer additional information. Successes!