Water Fall wall mounted taps - are they all the same but rebranded?

[Farrella]

Hi, I am about to buy a wall mounted water fall basin tap, and a builder warned me to be careful as a lot of them are "very low quality" and he's had to replace quite a few. Not sure how correct he is, but I shopped around and saw many different sellers on amazon, ebay and various online shops selling a tap/mixer that look identical but at different prices (from £40 to over £100), different brands (Vellano Reve, Zenith Dunk, Desire etc) and different lengths of guarantee (5 years, Life guarantee, 10 years).

Do they vary in quality or are they all just rebranded versions of the same tap? Here are two of many "versions":

Vellamo Reve Wall Mounted Waterfall Bath Mixer
Waterfall Wall Mounted Modern Sink Chrome Lever Bath Filler Mixer Tap TB3203 | eBay

I'd be happy to pay extra if the more expensive ones actually have a better finish and are higher quality despite having exactly the same dimensions and design. I know that there are lots of bathtubs that have identical designs but differ hugely in quality in materials and finish.

Thanks for your advice!

Elsa x

 

[king of pipes]

Why bother asking for advise on here you have made your mind up buy them have them fitted and enjoy descaling and polishing them every week , it wont be long till they look tatty your choice thats me done now . kop

 

[Farrella]

Maybe you haven't read my original question? I asked if anyone knows of high quality versions of this water fall design as there are so many different sellers selling this design, but so far the only suggestions have been different designs. Not sure why you feel the need to be so aggressive?!!

So far I have bought mostly branded items by Hansgrohe, Villeroy & Boch and Keuco. But they don't make the water fall design I'm after.

And I'll be installing a water softener/descaler too.

 

[king of pipes]

Not being aggresive Farrella thats not in my nature far from it but i have been doing this for a very vey long time have fitted dozens of these taps bath , basin ect they look nice to start with but unless you address the scale issue you will regret you decision sorry if you took my recommendations the wrong way i am sure my colleagues will be along soon to add their comments. Regards kop

 

[Gasmk1]

Water Square bath 2 hole set

there you go bit more expensive

 

[Farrella]

Thanks for the suggestion, that is closer to the design I like (the basin version) 🙂

So why wouldn't the Crosswater Water Square suffer from scale issues compared to the cheaper one I linked before? The cheaper one's design does look better too (and I have no problem paying more, my sink unit is Villeroy & Boch and was sadly rather pricey... )

 

[Harvest Fields]

Thanks for the suggestion, that is closer to the design I like (the basin version) 🙂

So why wouldn't the Crosswater Water Square suffer from scale issues compared to the cheaper one I linked before? The cheaper one's design does look better too (and I have no problem paying more, my sink unit is Villeroy & Boch... )

It will suffer from scale.

 

[Farrella]

I see, so the more expensive water fall tap has the same scale problem as the cheaper one.

But a water softener/descaler would solve the issue, right?

 

[Harvest Fields]

I see, so the more expensive water fall tap has the same scale problem as the cheaper one.

But a water softener/descaler would solve the issue, right?

Anything chrome mate and not solve but reduce

 

[Farrella]

Sorry I'm not sure what you mean with this sentence?

"Anything chrome mate and not solve but reduce..."

I found this, though I don't know the brand and the cheaper has a most aesthetically pleasing design(!)....

Vado Synergie Wall Mounted Basin Mixer With Waterfall Spout

 

[Gasmk1]

He means chrome helps reduce but brass or gold plate are worse,I think

 

[Harvest Fields]

He means chrome helps reduce but brass or gold plate are worse,I think

Yes I have found chrome is much better the gold plate and brass and water softener doesn’t stop it completely.

 

[Welder]

If I may, a bit of enlightenment as I have an unhealthy interest in taps... 😱

Fact is there are just a TINY number of 'manufacturers' who DO NOT import from China. LeFroy Brookes are one. However, even those made here such as Perrin & Rowe (actually cast in Essex I believe), can/will/do use chinese cartridges because European cartridges are 4-6 times the price. Bristan taps are made in China, Pegler taps are made in China, Hudson Reed taps are made in China. I could go on & on.

The issue of 'quality' used to be of the quality of brass and finish. Today however, it's about how much ZINC or plastic is used in the taps INSTEAD of brass. Brass does not wear out in normal use. Chrome plating on brass wears out (wears away) but rarely peels off. Chrome plated brass doesn't 'pit' normally. When you see pitting you will feel that the weight of the tap seems quite low too. This is cos the thing you have in your hand is zinc not brass. Exposed to water continually (oh - like in a tap...?) it literally eventually turns to dust which is why when you pull the shroud off a tap that's leaked past the spindle o-rings its just a mush and so scrap (worthless as that too).

Making a tap body out of it means its life is 12 months IF YOU ARE LUCKY but you'll buy it for pennies.

Best advice I can offer the OP is to call the 'manufacturer' 😀😀😀 (what a joke that is) and ask which parts are made of brass.

I'll leave you with one more thing. 'Manufacturers' are allowed to say stuff is Made In England if a "significant aspect of their 'manufacture'" is carried out in country. That means if they repack 'em here there are 'officially' Made in Britain. Ask Ideal Standard too. 😡😡😡

Have fun 😉

 

[king of pipes]

Heres one i changed today lasted 4years and would not fully shut off unbranded (Victoria plumb )and grubby looking . kop

 

[Farrella]

Interesting Yorkshire Dave! And thanks for the photo KOP.

Strangely this cheaper tap has lifetime guarantee

http://www.drench.co.uk/vellamo-reve-waterfall-wall-mounted-basin-mixer-tap

While the much more expensive Vado has 12 year guarantee

http://www.drench.co.uk/vado-synergie-wall-mounted-basin-mixer-with-waterfall-spout

I suspect hard vs soft water has much to do with lifespan...

 

[Welder]

Notice it looks pitted on spout if it is its mainly Zinc.

'Manus' not daft... The warranty is offered cos they know most folk will simply change 'em or will have lost their proof of purchase. The margin is so high they can afford to change a few and not dent profits.

It's called Neo Libralism...

 

[Farrella]

Good to know about the zinc vs brass issue. I must say though that I have a £450 Hansgrohe German shower and to be 100% honest my cheaper £50 tap from ebay (Chinese) looks better and is heavier (though I have another one that is light and looks plasticky, so they are not all made equal). But the Hansgrohe probably has better internal bits and will last longer.

 

[Welder]

Very much so. The internals for hansgrohe taps for example are made by Fleuhs in Germany - the Rolls of conventional tap cartridges - until we came along 😉 Fluehs even export to China for their high end products. Oh the delicious irony.

Fact is, China can and does produce some real quality items. Unfortunately Western greed dictates we tend to buy the crap end.

Did you know Grohe & Hans Grohe are German brothers? Same as Aldi & Lidl. Lots of falling out in German families 😱

 

[Farrella]

Ha I did know that Hansgrohe and Grohe were brothers, but not Lidl/Aldi... Based on aesthetics I've always preferred Hansgrohe, though I own both.

Yes I was in China last year and was really impressed with their bathroom shops selling Chinese made higher end gear. Of course most of that stuff I'd never seen in the UK, seems like we mostly import the cheaper stuff. They have a gigantic market themselves so the high end manufacturers probably already have their hands full without exporting.

 

[Farrella]

Regarding my original question, I've been doing more research and it looks like a lot of the taps I've been looking at are all in fact the same two taps (70% of them have the same part number and dimensions...just with very different price tags and marketing).

 

[Ric2013]

Oh heck. FWIW, I think the open style waterfall taps look cool too, and perhaps if you wipe it dry with a microfibre cloth every single day it'll stay clean. It seems like most of the 'quality' manufacturers are out, so you may as well order a couple of what you can get and decide which seems best. I had a customer order some cheap taps from Victorian Plumbing and these were stiff as anything when new until I took them apart and bothered to put some grease in, so I think if they are real tat, then you'll probably guess by looking at them.

It's gonna be a risk, but if you like them...