Reverse Osmosis Water Dispenser Faucet Ideas
Whether you’re forced to drink subpar public water (that’s saying it mildly) or just playing it extra-safe, investing in an RO filtration system is a smart move. Ever since their inception in the 1970s, these systems have been growing in popularity organiccbdnugs, and with good reason. They do a great job of removing that slight metallic tinge and/or chlorine odor from your water, and that’s only half the story.
What Is a Reverse Osmosis Faucet?
A reverse osmosis faucet, or an RO faucet is simply a faucet that comes with your water filtration system, or one that you use in conjunction with it. Granted, the best option here is to have a matching set, just for the sake of compatibility, but more often than not you will be able to get away with customizing your kitchen setup. Given the fact that an overwhelming amount of RO systems come with subpar faucets out of the box, more likely than not you’ll need to upgrade.
What Are the Benefits of an RO Faucet?
The arguments in favor of reverse osmosis faucets are pretty much the ones you may have already heard about reverse osmosis systems in general. For a start, you get clean water, mineral-rich and free of nasty chlorine odor and taste that are all too characteristic of tap water. Moreover, using an r o faucet is simple and convenient, and the whole process from installing, using and maintaining it is user-friendly. Also, on a similar note, using a faucet compatible with your RO system is not only convenient and good for your health, but it’s also cost-effective; in other words, it’s good for your wallet. Just think of the money you’d save not buying bottled water. Besides, you get a clear control of your water quality – sure thing, bottled water is always labeled as clean, but sticking a crown on a frog’s head won’t make it a prince. The fact of the matter is that you can never be sure where that water has been sourced from.
Types of RO Water Faucets
Painting with a broad brush, we can divide all the reverse osmosis faucets into Air gap and non-air gap. The main difference would be the purpose. If you’re only using a filter, but not a full osmosis unit, then you don’t have a drainage connection, and all you need is a standard faucet. On the flipside, if you do have a reverse osmosis unit, you still have the choice of either getting or not getting an air-gap faucet. The point of having the air gap is to make sure that no water comes back to your osmosis unit from a stopped-up sink drain. Think of it as a safety valve, which is definitely a useful feature and a big plus.
That said, the hole you need to drill for an air-gap faucet needs to be larger in order to accommodate all the hardware, so there’s your silver lining. On that note, while a standard faucet requires one single tube to operate, its air gap counterpart will need three – one to handle the upward drain water, another for the downward drain water, and yet another for the drinkable water. These are usually color coded, so that you have an inkling of what connects to what (red, white and blue, respectively). Also, air gap faucets tend to have somewhat noisy, gurgling operation, which you might or might not get used to after a while.
Top 3 RO Faucets Reviews – The Reverse Osmosis Faucet Top Choices.
To save you the trouble of going by trial and error method, we did all the legwork, and found three top rated r o faucets out there.
Kingston Brass KS3195NML Magellan Design
The Kingston KS3195NML Magellan is an oil-rubbed bronze reverse osmosis faucet that takes about 10 to 15 minutes to install, regardless whether it’s your first or umpteenth time doing it. Of course, you do have the option of having an expert set it up, but it does cost extra. It features a quarter-turn handle (or Magellan style lever), and the head swivels a full 360. Unlike countertop reverse osmosis water filters, this is a single-handle, single-hole water control mechanism with a ceramic cartridge system that won’t drip, and the lever is definitely convenient, so that you won’t ever have to worry if you turned the knob hard enough. You get about 8-3/4 inches of spout clearance on a 4-3/4-inch spout projection. It’s a deck mount, and if you’d like to install it on your kitchen counter, you’ll need about a half-inch opening.
It comes in three distinct flavors – Oil-rubbed Bronze, Polished Chrome and Satin Nickel, so you can pair it up with the rest of your plumbing. Whichever way you go, you van fully expect that the faucet will last you a long time, and should survive anything and come out none worse for the wear – neither finish collects scratches, doesn’t tarnish easily, and, most importantly, won’t corrode. Again, the body is made of solid brass rather than plastic, like so many cheap options out there, which should pretty much guarantee a long lifespan. Best of all, provided you’re the initial buyer, you can count on a limited 10-year warranty from the manufacturer.
It’s important to note that this puppy is not compatible with R O systems or hot water, so if you need something to dispense hot water, this definitely isn’t the right thing for you. The reason for this is that this is not an air gap faucet, but you don’t have to worry about having a backflow issue. On that note, some users do report installing it with their RO systems, but unless you really know your way around plumbing, it’s not really recommended. If you must have this r o water faucet with for your hot water system, you can always get a quick connect adapter (not included) and get it fixed.
Metpure Reverse Osmosis Faucet
The Metpure Reverse Osmosis Faucet is a non-air gap Coke-style reverse osmosis kitchen faucet. The whole thing installs pretty much in a matter of minutes, and you’ll get everything you need to do it with your purchase (well, short of diamond drills to chew through the granite of your kitchen counter, but that’s beside the point). Speaking of drilling, you’ll need at least a half-inch hole, as well as a 3-inch shank for painless installation under the sink. The whole package includes the ceramic disc lever faucet itself, as well as an escutcheon plate, a gasket seal and lock washer and nut, a 1/4-inch tube nut and matching tube insert and sleeve for non-air gap RO filtration systems, and even a complimentary Metpure RO faucet wrench. What it doesn’t include are faucet adapters, though you can order some proprietary Metpure adapters straight off the internet.
It comes in two variants, depending on the finish – Brushed Nickel and Chrome, either of which will feel right at home in your kitchen. Either one is a great choice to substitute any generic plastic faucet you may have received with your filtration system. On that note, the body of this faucet is made of solid brass, which, coupled with the protective finish (either nickel or chrome, makes little difference beyond aesthetics), makes for a durable and long-lived reverse osmosis water dispenser faucet. Granted, the interior is made of plastic, but the rest is solid metal throughout. You’ll have about 8-1/2 inches of clearance (height from the sink surface to the tip of the spout, or 10-3/4 inches from the escutcheon to the crest of gooseneck (peaking of which, the gooseneck swivels a full 360).
It’s also important to note that the whole construction is lead-free and NSF-certified, so you don’t have to worry about buying a poisoned chalice (if you’ll pardon this pathetic attempt at a pun).
iSpring GA1-B Heavy Duty Water Filter Designer Faucet
The iSpring GA1-B Heavy Duty Water Filter Designer Faucet is pretty much what it says on the tin – a heavy-duty faucet for reverse osmosis system with an exterior made of solid brass, which goes a long way to increasing its survivability. If you’re looking for an air gap faucet, you might want to look elsewhere, but it’d be a shame to pass up on this one. The GA1-B is a great upgrade for whatever plastic faucet you have that came with your RO filtration system, and it’ll look nice, too. The footprint is quite efficient, and the entire thing measures about 11 inches in height (with a 6-1/8-inch reach), so if you have precious little space on your kitchen counter, this is definitely the way to go. Moreover, the spout swivels a full 360, so you can orientate it whichever way you need it at any given moment. You should expect a bit of wiggle, but that’s perfectly normal – it might feel weird at first, but it’s nothing to worry about.
This faucet comes with everything you’ll need to attach it to a quarter-inch tubing, and the locking clips on the connectors go a long way to preventing any leakage (granted, there’s a chance you might get a defective faucet, but you can always demand a substitute). The faucet stud requires no more than a half-inch hole, though you will need to have a cover plate if you wish to accommodate for any already existing holes. Speaking of holes, you get the standard 7/16-inch threaded connectors on the bottom that will do a nice job connecting to either 1/4-inch or 3/8-inch polyethylene tubing.
Now, here’s the tricky part – the faucet comes in five different finishes, so be careful when choosing the one that matches your décor. You can go with the Antique Brass, Antique Wine, old and dependent Brushed Nickel, Oil Rubbed Black or Polished Chrome, whichever floats your boat.
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