The cheap Delta 2-handle faucets in our bathrooms are leaking, and
replacement of the O rings only slowed the leaks. And I think they're
ugly anyway, so this is a good excuse to replace them. :-) I found
posts recommending Moen, Price Pfister, and Delta, but then I've found
just as many posts complaining about them. I know to look for metal
parts instead of plastic (but I don't really know *where* to look for
plastic). And we have hard water. I'd prefer to keep it under $100 - I
know a $19.99 faucet isn't going to be the best quality, but I also
know a $500 faucet isn't necessarily better than a $100 faucet. Would
we have better luck with better Delta faucets - did ours fail because
they're Delta, because they're cheap, or because of our hard water or
some other factor? Any brands/types I should consider, or avoid?
Thanks
Tracy

wrote in message
oups.com...
The cheap Delta 2-handle faucets in our bathrooms are leaking, and
replacement of the O rings only slowed the leaks. And I think they're
ugly anyway, so this is a good excuse to replace them. :-) I found
posts recommending Moen, Price Pfister, and Delta, but then I've found
just as many posts complaining about them. I know to look for metal
parts instead of plastic (but I don't really know *where* to look for
plastic). And we have hard water. I'd prefer to keep it under $100 - I
know a $19.99 faucet isn't going to be the best quality, but I also
know a $500 faucet isn't necessarily better than a $100 faucet. Would
we have better luck with better Delta faucets - did ours fail because
they're Delta, because they're cheap, or because of our hard water or
some other factor? Any brands/types I should consider, or avoid?
Thanks
Tracy


Every faucet has to have some sort of soft parts, whether rubber or plastic.
I never had any problem with Moen products, even though the internal part
which they call the "cartridge" is made with plastic. In fact, minerals in
water are less likely to cling to plastic. As far as cost, the cheap Moen
faucet in my basement uses the same internal parts as the fancy one in my
kitchen (also a Moen). The difference is purely cosmetic. The company stands
behind their products, too. A few years back, the dip tube in my water
heater began to send hard little plastic crumbs into all the pipes. Some of
them mangled the cartridge in my Moen shower faucet. I went to the Moen site
to email them and ask for the correct cartridge model, since I'd lost my
instruction sheet. They responded the next day and said they were shipping
me the right part at no charge. I wrote back saying that the problem was in
no way related to a defect in their product. They said "We just want you to
fix the problem quickly and be happy", or something to that effect.

My house if full of delta faucets. Every time one goes bad I replace it
with a Moen. With a Moen you just replace the cartridge and Moen will send
you one for free if you ask. With Delta, you got the ball, little pieces of
rubber and springs. The moen just seems to be better engineered in my
opinion.


wrote in message
oups.com...
The cheap Delta 2-handle faucets in our bathrooms are leaking, and
replacement of the O rings only slowed the leaks. And I think they're
ugly anyway, so this is a good excuse to replace them. :-) I found
posts recommending Moen, Price Pfister, and Delta, but then I've found
just as many posts complaining about them. I know to look for metal
parts instead of plastic (but I don't really know *where* to look for
plastic). And we have hard water. I'd prefer to keep it under $100 - I
know a $19.99 faucet isn't going to be the best quality, but I also
know a $500 faucet isn't necessarily better than a $100 faucet. Would
we have better luck with better Delta faucets - did ours fail because
they're Delta, because they're cheap, or because of our hard water or
some other factor? Any brands/types I should consider, or avoid?
Thanks
Tracy

wrote in message
oups.com...
The cheap Delta 2-handle faucets in our bathrooms are leaking, and
replacement of the O rings only slowed the leaks. And I think they're
ugly anyway, so this is a good excuse to replace them. :-) I found
posts recommending Moen, Price Pfister, and Delta, but then I've found
just as many posts complaining about them. I know to look for metal
parts instead of plastic (but I don't really know *where* to look for
plastic). And we have hard water. I'd prefer to keep it under $100 - I
know a $19.99 faucet isn't going to be the best quality, but I also
know a $500 faucet isn't necessarily better than a $100 faucet. Would
we have better luck with better Delta faucets - did ours fail because
they're Delta, because they're cheap, or because of our hard water or
some other factor? Any brands/types I should consider, or avoid?
Thanks
Tracy

Another vote for Moen here....My house is all Moen as was my last house. The
only problem I ever had was when a housecleaner forced one of the knobs and
broke the plastic stop inside the stem. I had no problem finding the part
and repairing it. I have never been a fan of Delta....good luck, Ross

I'll tell one anti Delta story. I had a Delta faucet with the pull out hose
in the kitchen. In other words no separate sprayer. Starts leaking and I
follow the instructions for dissassembly that comes with the bag of parts.
Well they made no mention of special procedures to follow if it had the pull
out nozzle so I immediately ruined the hose thanks to their lousy
instructions. I ripped out the faucet and put in a moen. The moen hose is
connected so it cannot be ruined if you follow Moen standard disassembly
instructions.


"Art" wrote in message
ink.net...
My house if full of delta faucets. Every time one goes bad I replace it
with a Moen. With a Moen you just replace the cartridge and Moen will
send you one for free if you ask. With Delta, you got the ball, little
pieces of rubber and springs. The moen just seems to be better engineered
in my opinion.


wrote in message
oups.com...
The cheap Delta 2-handle faucets in our bathrooms are leaking, and
replacement of the O rings only slowed the leaks. And I think they're
ugly anyway, so this is a good excuse to replace them. :-) I found
posts recommending Moen, Price Pfister, and Delta, but then I've found
just as many posts complaining about them. I know to look for metal
parts instead of plastic (but I don't really know *where* to look for
plastic). And we have hard water. I'd prefer to keep it under $100 - I
know a $19.99 faucet isn't going to be the best quality, but I also
know a $500 faucet isn't necessarily better than a $100 faucet. Would
we have better luck with better Delta faucets - did ours fail because
they're Delta, because they're cheap, or because of our hard water or
some other factor? Any brands/types I should consider, or avoid?
Thanks
Tracy

wrote:
The cheap Delta 2-handle faucets in our bathrooms are leaking, and
replacement of the O rings only slowed the leaks. And I think they're
ugly anyway, so this is a good excuse to replace them. :-) I found
posts recommending Moen, Price Pfister, and Delta, but then I've found
/snip/

I have all Moen faucets in my home, and haven't had to replace more than a
couple of cartridges (free from Moen) in 15 years.

Would
we have better luck with better Delta faucets - did ours fail because
they're Delta, because they're cheap, or because of our hard water or
some other factor?

Delta faucets are excellent. Put in the right maintenance parts and they
should be fine.

Given that we have three faucets leaking (despite replacing the
O-rings) and all are less than 6 years old, I'm not inclined to say
*all* Delta faucets are excellent. I know of at least three that are
not. ;-) But these are probably the very cheapest Deltas (builder's
model).

So, do all Moens have a cartridge? I was looking around on the Lowes
website and some models specifically mentioned the cartridge, some said
they had ceramic disc valves, and some didn't say anything at all.
Tracy

wrote in message
ups.com...
Given that we have three faucets leaking (despite replacing the
O-rings) and all are less than 6 years old, I'm not inclined to say
*all* Delta faucets are excellent. I know of at least three that are
not. ;-) But these are probably the very cheapest Deltas (builder's
model).

So, do all Moens have a cartridge? I was looking around on the Lowes
website and some models specifically mentioned the cartridge, some said
they had ceramic disc valves, and some didn't say anything at all.
Tracy


What's the diff? You're not going to find a faucet which contains only
metal. And if you could, why would you want it? Metal is more easily etched
by the minerals that build up around the various surfaces.

As far as the Delta faucets vis-a-vis hard water (or any faucets, for that
matter), there are water supplies which are SO full of minerals that
expecting more than 5 years without faucet maintenance is simply
unrealistic. Without knowing what yours is, it's impossible to predict how
any faucet will endure.

From my local water authority's web site (Monroe County, NY):
Hardness Water hardness is a measure of the mineral content of water. Our
water, which has a Total Hardness of between 5.6 and 7.6 grains per gallon,
is considered "moderately hard". By way of comparison, before they switched
to MCWA, many local communities used ground water supplies with Total
Hardness values of more than 20 grains per gallon.

Any idea about the actual hardness level of your water?

I really like the newer ceramic disk faucets. These use two ceramic disks
that have holes in them to meter the flow of water rather than using washers
and O-rings to effect a seal. They are excellent in hard water areas as the
ceramic disks are harder than the calcium.

I installed one in my bathroom about 8 years age and still doesn't leak a
drop.

See:
http://www.americanstandard-us.com/c...&catID=Faucets


Careful for the wrap. This will explain the ceramic disk valve.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.
wrote in message
oups.com...
The cheap Delta 2-handle faucets in our bathrooms are leaking, and
replacement of the O rings only slowed the leaks. And I think they're
ugly anyway, so this is a good excuse to replace them. :-) I found
posts recommending Moen, Price Pfister, and Delta, but then I've found
just as many posts complaining about them. I know to look for metal
parts instead of plastic (but I don't really know *where* to look for
plastic). And we have hard water. I'd prefer to keep it under $100 - I
know a $19.99 faucet isn't going to be the best quality, but I also
know a $500 faucet isn't necessarily better than a $100 faucet. Would
we have better luck with better Delta faucets - did ours fail because
they're Delta, because they're cheap, or because of our hard water or
some other factor? Any brands/types I should consider, or avoid?
Thanks
Tracy