What materials are faucets made of ? How to distinguish a quality product from a cheap fake. A look from the inside.
Faucet body. Quality faucets are made of high-quality and high-tech brass. Brass can be primary, i.e. obtained from primary copper and zinc ( smelted from ore), and secondary, from recyclable materials ( industrial waste and scrap). Silumin is an alloy of aluminum with silicon. Chemical composition - 4-22% Si, base - Al, a small amount of impurities Fe, Cu, Mn, Ca, Ti, Zn, and some others.
The Al-Si alloy ( silumins) has very good casting properties. Silumins are resistant to corrosion in a humid atmosphere and sea water, compared to aluminum they have greater strength and wear resistance, but are extremely fragile. It is for this reason that Chinese fakes that have flooded the plumbing market are two or even three times cheaper. Any minor jump in water pressure in the system, and the mixer body will crack. Also, silumin is much faster subject to corrosion than brass. You can distinguish such a mixer elementarily - by weight. ZAMAK is a family of alloys based on zinc and alloys of aluminum, magnesium and copper. It belongs to zinc-aluminum alloys. It is widely used in furniture fittings.
They are distinguished by 100% content of the above metals. A distinctive feature is white metal, the absence of a yellowish tint on the inner parts of the body. Components Fasteners and ball regulators in single-lever versions are made of brass and stainless steel. Some Western companies use plastic, making casings for cast brass bodies, handles of single-control ( single-lever) mixers, shower heads, etc. The outer parts of the fittings are nickel-plated to protect against corrosion, and then coated with chrome, white or colored enamel. Coatings can be gold ( matte and shiny), bronze and marble. When decorating handles in a particular style, designers use glass, crystal, wood, natural marble, polished onyx, as well as combinations of various materials.
Which coating is preferable? Enamel is beautiful, but not very durable. Nickel can cause allergies, and gold is expensive and requires special care.
Chrome is considered optimal. The fact is that no microorganisms live or reproduce on the surface of this metal. The galvanic coating should be uniform, without scratches and characteristic black specks. As a rule, all plumbing fittings ( faucets, bathroom accessories, shower equipment) have a chrome coating. European faucets and plumbing fittings have a high-quality three-layer chrome coating that is resistant to abrasion and aggressive environments. Low-quality, cheap faucets use a cheaper coating that is prone to rapid abrasion. Such a coating lasts no more than a year, then it begins to peel off and come off the body of the faucet. About balls and plates It would seem that this is a simple matter - a device for mixing hot and cold water in adjustable proportions.
With its help we control the pressure, temperature of water and its reduction into one stream. But this concerns the simplest models, intended, for example, for a sink. Often there is a need to direct the flow into one of two ( or even several) mains. Bath-shower mixers supply water to the tap or to the shower. And can also be equipped with a switch for supplying water to the washing machine. The most widespread are single-lever devices with a shut-off valve. The valve is made in the form of ceramic plates made of aluminum oxide, assembled in a replaceable cartridge together with a drive mechanism. All designs of ceramic cartridges use two polished ceramic plates, or discs, very tightly adjacent to each other.
The plates have holes of a special shape. When one plate is turned relative to the other, their holes coincide, opening the way for hot and cold water. It enters the mixing zone and then flows into the spout. When closed, the plates are pressed so tightly, almost at the molecular level, against each other that water and air have no chance of penetrating between them.
The connection can withstand water pressure up to 15 atm. And, what is important, the ceramic plates do not wear out for a long time. High-strength ceramics increase the mixer's resistance to water hammer. The sealing plates of the working valve - the basis of the ceramic cartridge - are made of wear-resistant aluminum oxide, fired under pressure at a temperature of 1200 ° C. Some manufacturers subject these elements to ultrasonic grinding.
Crane box is usually equipped with a rubber valve with a rotary-translational drive. Not a very practical solution, because the performance of the taps is determined by the wear of the gaskets. And although mixers of this type are perfectly adapted to our conditions and are easy to repair, their service life is short: the gasket is gradually “eaten away” in 6-12 months, sometimes breaks and, eventually, stops shutting off the water. But in the eyes of many consumers, the low price of a crane box of 100-200 rubles, partly compensates for its short life.
The eyeliner can be rigid ( brass or copper tubes with a crimp connection) and flexible ( metal-polymer hoses). In the first case, adapters will be required, which are not always included in the mixer kit. With qualified installation, the reliability of both types of connection is the same. Working with copper eyeliner requires the use of a special tool and not every plumber from the housing office is up to it. One of the most common mistakes is overtightening the connections.
This leads to thread stripping, gaskets being squeezed out and, as a result, to hopeless damage to sometimes quite expensive equipment. The connections are tightened manually, without a key, and to be on the safe side, they are tightened just a little bit with a tool.
