Difference between ceramic cartridge and check valve taps

[Jonny]

Hi
I'm buying a new kitchen mixer tap, and I've found two with the exact same specs, brand and price, other than one having a 'ceramic cartridge' and the other having a 'check valve'.
What's the difference between the two, and which would be preferable?
Thanks for any replies

 

[Ric2013]

Ceramic cartridges are generally an alternative to the old-fashioned washers, and work amazingly until they go wrong. It's the way that specific tap shuts off the water. Make sure it's a known brand you will be able to get spares for, unless you don't mind chucking the whole thing in a not too distant future.
A check valve is a backflow device designed to stop mains pressure cold from forcing the hot back into the cylinder when tap is in use, if you have a cylinder and not a combi boiler, that is, or to prevent the dirty water in, say, the sink, from being sucked back down the mains under fault conditions, and similar Bad Things happening.

You aren't comparing two comparable features, so I can't answer the second part to your question, I'm sorry to say.

To give an analogy (because I love analogies), it's a bit like saying 'one car has an automatic choke, and the other has seatbelts - what's the difference and which would be preferable.'

Main thing is to check the specification to make sure the tap is suitable for the pressures your waters have - if you have tank-fed hot water, then you most likely have 0.2bar on the hot side at most.

 

[Jonny]

Ceramic cartridges are generally an alternative to the old-fashioned washers, and work amazingly until they go wrong. It's the way that specific tap shuts off the water. Make sure it's a known brand you will be able to get spares for, unless you don't mind chucking the whole thing in a not too distant future.
A check valve is a backflow device designed to stop mains pressure cold from forcing the hot back into the cylinder when tap is in use, if you have a cylinder and not a combi boiler, that is, or to prevent the dirty water in, say, the sink, from being sucked back down the mains under fault conditions, and similar Bad Things happening.

You aren't comparing two comparable features, so I can't answer the second part to your question, I'm sorry to say.

To give an analogy (because I love analogies), it's a bit like saying 'one car has an automatic choke, and the other has seatbelts - what's the difference and which would be preferable.'

Main thing is to check the specification to make sure the tap is suitable for the pressures your waters have - if you have tank-fed hot water, then you most likely have 0.2bar on the hot side at most.

The hot water is fed by a tank, but it's a mega flo tank, which I thought was high pressure? The specs of the tap say the minimum pressure must be 1bar.

These are the two taps I'm looking at:
Grohe BauLoop Monobloc Mixer Kitchen Tap Chrome | Kitchen Mixer Taps | NoLinkingToThis This one has 'check valve' in the valve type specification

Grohe StartEdge Monobloc Mixer Kitchen Tap Chrome | Kitchen Mixer Taps | NoLinkingToThis This one has 'ceramic cartridge' in the valve type specification

 

[ShaunCorbs]

There both the same type so will use ceramic valves

The part that your looking at are the ISO valves

One has check valves in for in balanced pressure eg water main cold and gravity hot

And yes you have a high pressure set up as your tank is fed from the mains

 

[Jonny]

Thanks, so it doesn't make a difference which one I buy?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

No down to you probably use the same insides

 

[Jonny]

No down to you probably use the same insides

Ok thanks for your help

 

[king of pipes]

As above eithier or really . kop

 

[Welder]

Check valves are a seperate item when its possible to get backflow within the body of the tap. They are required under water regs so that cross contamination (contamination of potable water) cannot take place. Make sure BOTH are fitted. Even with an unvented cylinder, you will still have unequal pressures in the hot & cold.
Hope that further clarifies.