Wow - apparently I can't type or spell tonight (?)!!

There's about 17 inches between my faucet head and the sink. No splashing on regular flow because of the aerator. If I push the spray button while the pulldown part is still docked, a little spray will land on the counter in front of the sink.

riverspots -

What do you mean because of the aerator? What does an aerator actually mean I guess?!

So you're saying that when it's spraying, that's the only time it splashes?

My sink will be an apron-front sink which means that if it were to splash in front of the sink, it would I guess be splashing on the floor which is already old and worn. Hmmm...

bump

While height increases the velocity of the water drops when they hit the sink, most of their velocity is determined by the spray head design, the water pressure, and the control settings. Highly aerated water tends to splash less (feels softer). Splash direction is then a matter of angle between the spray and the surface.

Unfortunately, unless one has a way to actually test a faucet against a sink with the same distances as one intends to use, it is very difficult to estimate just how splashy or not a faucet will be.

An modest (run-of-the-mill, i.e., cheap) faucet may be better in this regard if it doesn't extend far over the sink and the sink has tapered sides. Then the spray hits the sink side at an angle and the splash goes downward.

I can relate that the Brizo Pascal tends to splash when in spray mode when pointing directly down into a Ticor S112 relatively rectangular sink. This can be minimized by keeping the flow down and disconnecting the spray head from the faucet so that it can be angled at different directions. I usually use this mode only for rinsing the sink.

When the Pascal is in the aerated mode, the splash is much less, but if a flat pan is being washed up high, splash mistakes are easy to make. A design with more aeration, with flow spread over a larger diameter, might have been better in this regard.

This relates to the never-ending question of pull-down vs. pull out. The more angled the faucet head toward the user, the more splash will be reflected toward him when the sink bottom is relatively flat -- unless -- the spray hits the side of the sink on the user side, in which case it will be directed downward.

So, it may be useful to mock up the sink faucet arrangement and look at the spray direction from the side to see where it hits the sink and the angle of the sink at that point. Pretend the flow is a light beam and the sink sides are mirrors.

kas

thanks so much Kas!

It's hard for me to fully understand but I get most of it. I know that the wall faucet I'm considering would reach from the wall and end just before the center of the sink bot probably not quite the center. I know it has an aerator. But that's all I know. The sink will be a Shaws 30" wide farm sink, 8.5" deep (inside of sink) which is rectangular but I have no idea how flat the bottom is. The distance from the faucet's spout to the top of the sink (counter height) is 10.5" if I put it up on the wall 4". Hence the 19" total distance.

Thank you SO much for taking the time to explain all that in such helpful detail!

Here's the faucet, although I'm not sure there's enough info to be helpful:

Here is a link that might be useful: The actual faucet (from the website)

The head of the faucet should be lined up with the center of the sink drain, ideally so the water flows directly into the drain. That helps minimize splashing to a great degree.

The measurements needed are on each of the schematic downloads (specs) for the products on most websites -- they need to be matched up to tell exactly what's going on.

If, for example, your drain center is 8" from the back of the sink, check the length of the faucet projection to the center of the spout. Say that's 8" also. Then to that add how far the faucet is set back for the spout to sit over the drain. Say that's 2". That total tells you where the water will fall as the spout swivels.

As kaseki explained, some of this has to do with the degree of water restriction in the faucet and with water pressure. Powerful faucets tend to splash more.

However, in general, the higher the spout from the bottom of the sink, the more splashing is likely to occur. Lining up the faucet head and drain should take care of most of it. Deeper sinks help as well.

Thanks rococogurl!

You wrote that the higher the spout from the bottom of the sink, the more splashing, but then also wrote that deeper sinks help. That kind of confused me, sorry! Do you just mean that if the sink is deep enough it's harder to get splashed in the face or something?

I thought that in a single sink (not two sinks in one but just one big open sink), that is wide (e.g. 30"), most would want the drain offset so one can put a dishpan on the side without the drain, or a big pot or something, without blocking the drain? I wonder if it's worth it to give that up in order to have a better chance of less splashing.

This is so annoying! For the VERY expensive price of the sink and faucet, I don't want to end up miserable w/ too much splashing! Ugh!

Thank you Rococogurl - that helped a lot. :) My latest question however is about the disposal. How does it matter, re. the disposal?

I wish SOMEONE here has that exact sink and a very tall faucet so they could give me their experience, tell me where their drain is, etc. You'd think it would be more common! I had pretty much decided on that faucet but now feel completely unsure with all these variables and without others' personal experience. It's a huge financial gamble since there are no returns, unless I'm over-concerning myself about what a "splash" really means. Maybe I'm imagining it a lot worse...I have no idea!

I also don't know if the sink people will allow me to order the drain to be exactly where I want it (?). I doubt it. It's probably either offset in the same place each time or else in the center. But w/ a wall faucet you can't just make it land where you want like you can like w/ a deck-mounted faucet. So now I'm assuming that either the math works out by chance (what are the odds?) or else I have to get a deck-mount, all because of this stupid issue? My goodness the homework never ends...

I started another thread asking for personal experience w/ their tall faucets, but I just realized it may have been insulting cause I wrote that I didn't get many responses on this thread but that's not what i meant! :-o I just meant that I wanted more feedback from those w/ that particular sink (Shaws 30") and a very tall faucet.

So please forgive how that reads! This thread has been very helpful in understanding the physics but just doesn't help me when it comes to actually knowing what to do since my situation is so complicated (e.g. having a wall faucet may mean I have to just take the splashing...so I now want to know how much splashing is splashing)!

Thank you...

Rococogurl - I'd still like to know what you meant with regard to the disposal (?).

I have a Shaws fireclay sink and a tall faucet (Rohl Perrin and Rowe Bridge Faucet - probably U4719L according to my contract (for what that is worth:-P). The distance from the end of the neck of the faucet to the bottom of the sink is 19 inches. My old sink was not at all splashy. I was surprised by the splash when I first used the new sink, but it is not enough of a splash to get me wet at the sink - it seems to be worse when objects are stacked up in the sink and then the splash reaches out of the sink and onto the counter, but not in a major way. I just mop it up. When I put my hand in the stream, there's a splash that goes around the area that also reaches the counter. Again, it is easily mopped up.

I don't know if water pressure would also calculate into the equation or whether an aerator of some sort on the end would help. I plan to ask a reputable plumber about it next time he is here.

Maybe I can ask one of my kids to do a you-tube of it next week-end so you can see that it is minor, not major, but present, at least in my configuration.

The location of the drain isn't as much a problem with the splashing - - the splashing, again, is worse when things are in the sink and is pretty much contained by the deep sink when the sink is empty.

Let me know if a you tube would be of interest.

Honestly, the splash is the least of my concerns in my kitchen, but it is wise to ask questions before you buy the faucet and sink. It's always better to know what to expect instead of having installation day surprises.

I have the same set up as plumeriavine- shaw's sink and P&R bridege faucet. My faucet measures 20" to the sink bottom. Hmmmm. Just did a splash test for you. Put both hot and cold water on at full blast. No splash. I have not noticed an issue with this at all. I could see if dishes were loaded up in the sink but I try not to let that happen. ;0)

I am wondering if there are low flow or high flow versions of the bridge faucet. Will call Rohl tomorrow.

Thank you so much Plumeriavine! That's funny - that's the exact same faucet I was planning on getting before I became so obsessed w/ the idea of getting a wall-mounted faucet w/ built-in sprayer (so I would have less to deal with, in theory anyway)! It's also interesting that your faucet and sink's distance is the exact same as w/ mine re. the faucet I want.

Big question for you here: does that faucet come with an aerator? You seem to be saying that it doesn't. Where is your drain located in the sink and does your faucet point right down into that?

I know the faucet I want does come with an aerator built in - either that or you can order one to come with it. I just don't understand if that's a fix-all.

The splash issue may not turn out to be a deal-breaker but it's worth finding out about. It WOULD be a deal-breaker if I were getting a wood countertop though, for obvious reasons. I just don't see that as being acceptable if one's spending thousands of dollars, you know?

I think if our sink's filled with dishes which it will be sometime if not a lot of the time (!) and it splashes on people in that case, then we have more of a problem than someone would whose sink is empty 99% of the time!

Thanks so much - and yes I'd LOVE a video! How spoiled would I be to get that from you??! ;)

Just saw your response too Dotcomgone - thank you! Cute name by the way...
Do you know if yours has an aerator?

Re the disposal, when it's used you want a good amount of water going directly down the drain so it works efficiently.

If you might remember that Kohler Gilford sink with the integral backsplash I linked to on a thread. That download might tell you how far above the sink the faucet is mounted -- could be used as a guideline for a wall installation. Or, the company that makes the faucet you like might be able to suggest same if you try their customer service.

To supplement rococogurl's comments, when the disposal cover is in place, there will be more splash than when it is removed and there is a hole there. However, the disposal may splash its contents without the cover. I haven't tested that yet as my kitchen is still a work in progress.

Another factor I wonder about is mechanical damping at the sink surface. There might be more splash from a stainless steel sink than from a ceramic sink or soapstone sink due to the material properties of the respective surfaces.

Anyway, the problem isn't so much splashing from the sink bottom, as that is mostly upward and not to the counters. The bigger issue is splash from pans with flat surfaces being washed higher up, particularly when aimed at the user. I think the Brizo Pascal is harder in its aerator mode than the ancient faucet that we had pre demolition.

kas

I'll try to figure out exactly what I've got today. Something else to consider if wooden countertops are in the idea bucket - - when your hands are wet, you'll transfer moisture to the handles (if any) and the countertop area unless you dry your hands before touching the handles. That'll be a habit everyone in your house will need to possibly do.

I used to have butcher block countertops in some places. They were not very forgiving and, once, the wood did catch fire in a freak accident.

My old faucet did have a pull out sprayer. The part on it that wore out first (at not an old age) was the button controls that had a rubber-like substrate with the buttons. The circular buttons developed cracks in the rubber around the buttons at about 5-6 years old.

I'll look into the aerator issue - whether I have a built in one- and whether or not my faucet is high or low flow. There is no secondary aerator attached to the end - - those are kinda ugly IMHO. I am also no curious as to whether or not mine is lead free.

My current faucet flow lands at the rim of the drain, if that helps. I'll try to photograph it later.

If the faucet were farther forward, more of the splashiness would come on me than it now does.

When my oldest is home this week-end from college, I'll see if she could video the whole thing.

Rohl is sending me a lower flow aerator. My current aerator is 2.2. Maybe it will make a difference in the splashing. I'll know by the week-end.

rococogurl -I can't believe I couldn't figure out what you meant by the disposal! It's been so many years (years and years and years) since I've had a disposal that I just wasn't considering the fact that yes, water needs to be flowing down there while it's turned on (duh)!

I'm going to try their customer service now, thanks!

Kas - all good points you raised, thank you!

Plumeriavine - yes that's another reason why I gave up on a wood counter - cause of all the people and all the times throughout the day that the faucet would have wet water dripping over it from people turning it off after washing their hands!

Thanks so very much for looking into that for me. My other thought about having a lower-flowing aerator is that: isn't there some point at which the lower flow thing has gone too far and we just don't have enough flow/pressure? I assume we need a certain amount just to be able to say we actually have a sink and a faucet and can clean in there you know?! ;)

I personally think it's velocity/distance and faucet restricter combo. We've had 3 different faucets in the same sink and they have been very different from each other -- water pressure (arguably very strong) has been the same. I have ss and fireclay sinks. No difference IMO in re splashing.

What's nice is that Rohl sends the lower flow aerator at no extra charge to its customers, so I'll get to try it and see if I like it or not.

Maybe other faucet companies do that, too.

My poor contractor. I just emailed him explaining what the holdup is and he probably thinks a person just can't get much more neurotic than me! But common...an expensive faucet that can't be returned had better not splash too much. That would suck!

Can you go to a show room nearby that has the faucet you want set up? Where are you? There are a few showrooms in the Boston area that have working faucets and sinks and a very large selection in my opinion. Maybe you could check it out that way?

For what it is worth, you've made me super-conscious of my faucet flow now!!! Not a bad thing -- splashiness in my sink is worst when objects or hands are moved up or down in the stream between 6 and 8 inches from the faucet head. This seems to be where I usually put my hands and dishes, oh well!

Plumeriavine - oh no! I'm sorry I made you so conscious of any splashing problems. :( I wasn't aware of these problems myself until reading about it on this forum and getting lots of general warnings about high faucets from googling. Now I'm right there with you, only I haven't gotten the faucet/sink yet and STILL WANT TO so keep trying to convince myself it won't be too annoying!

atagirl - No we have no showrooms like that - man that would be GREAT!