All the water consumed and used for cooking is unsoftened. The pot filler was the easiest way to bring unsoftened water into the kitchen, and the only reason I have one.

Not all of us are big strong men like you.

My mother has a potfiller....called Daddy. She uses a small saucepan to bail the big pot once the water cools down (or waits for Daddy). If it's boiling water. If it's stock, it gets ladelled into containers and frozen. Some people put small sinks for draining right by the stove. And they were just talking in the Appliance Forum about whether one could use an in counter steamer as a pot drainer.

Without a potfiller one can use a bottle, jug, or bowl.

I designed a pot drainer for the same reasons you mention, but it was a little Rube Goldbergian, and I ended up with the stove within sliding distance of the sink.

We contemplated one when we were looking at a layout that put our stove on the opposite side of the room from the sink---it still doesn't address the draining problem, but I would say only 30 percent of pots that are filled with water in our house are later drained (b/c the water ends up as soup, gets cooked into the grain, etc.---pasta's the one big draining dish).

Still, it was a messy solution. We ended up just putting the stove back on the same side as the sink. We do have friends with toddlers who put one in and love that it allows them to fill a pot one-handed if they have a child in arms, though. (Again, doesn't help with draining....) So if that's a concern, could be handy!

I am considering one just to cut down on the lugging since the sink is on an outer island. I also do a lot of canning and think it would be easy to add a little water to the canning pot as the water level boils down. Otherwise, I'd be walking back and forth to add pitchers of water.

I got a pot filler because I like how it looked over my stove it matches my cabinet hardwear and sink faucet I have a small kitchen with a lot of features and it was another nice detail. I found one on ebay in oil rubbed bronze for under 200.00 I use it all the time even for small pots of water and my sink is only an arms length away

I think they look really cool.

Is it a worry to have a water source without a sink/tub/drain under it? If you had an expensive floor or a finished floor beneath the kitchen, would you reconsider the pot filler?

I considered it. But then
I realized, like the OP, that it only solves the problem half the time concerning pots of water.
I know when I measure water to add to a pot I want to be able to dump if I overfill the measuring cup.
I rarely just add random amounts of water to anything
If I overfill the pot, I would have to carry it over to a sink to dump a little (or ladle it out & take that to the sink), cart it back to the cooktop, then carry it back over to the sink later to dump...I've now added an additional trip.
There's no drain for overflow or faucet drips if a leak/drip develops
Any leaks in the plumbing will be inside a wall...so once you discover it (and how long will it take to discover?) you have to knock a hole in the wall & through your backsplash (unless you're lucky enough to have access from the other side...you'll still have to knock a hole in the wall, but you won't have to disturb the backsplash much).

To me, a much better solution was a prep sink on the same wall run as the cooktop. It's perfect for prepping and cooking! The prep sink is only about 3' away, so only a couple of steps. (My main/cleanup sink is across a 6'6" aisle from the cooktop.)

I will say, though, they do look cool!

Lastly, check Code in your are to be sure they're allowed...

Honestly, there are many things in a kitchen that I can live without. I love cooking and have cooked amazing meals in rough places, I'm well aware you don't need all the bells and whistles to really use a kitchen well.

This said, the one bell and whistle that I wish I had was a pot filler. The main reason why is not lugging, but filling giant pots. If you can or cook in giant pots for tons of people, a pot filler is amazing. Even with a high faucet, you are still juggling to get that huge pot into and out from under that faucet. You can empty a pot into anything, but filling it, that's another matter.

If you don't use huge pots for cooking or canning, I wouldn't get one. But for those of us who do, it's something we covet.

In my original all out kitchen wish list, I had a pot filler. But, like you, I thought that it did not solve the water draining issue. So, it did not meet all of my efficiency criteria. In paring down my kitchen costs, I gave up the pot filler and the warming drawer. I realized, I would rather have a large prep sink very close to the rangetop and my double ovens would have a warming function. So, I was able to eliminate these 2 items from my wish list. Plus, I couldn't get the future image of a dripping faucet over my rangetop out of my head.

Most kitchen faucets have a flow rate of 2.2 gpm. Pot fillers can have a much higher flow rate; 5.5 gpm is not uncommon. When I fill a pot, I don't want to stand around waiting for a water-saving device (my sink faucet) to fill it. I think lower flow rates usually make sense for sinks, but given how I always seem to be starting dinner late, I'll take the faucet that is designed to fill quickly at my stove. Heck, I'd probably use it to fill my coffee carafe too. Waiting for coffee is hard enough already!

"Is it a worry to have a water source without a sink/tub/drain under it? If you had an expensive floor or a finished floor beneath the kitchen, would you reconsider the pot filler?"

1. Get a good plumber
2. Don't walk away from the pot when you are filling it.

So many people pooh-pooh them because they fear the water leaking....well, most refrigerators have a water supply without a drain.

I love mine, it is great for adding water to pots even when they are cooking. It looks great. We use it for a lot of stuff

As far as the weight of the pot and having to dump it, I have to say that if I'm making soup, or something in my big old Le Creuset pot, it usually stays on the stove and is served from there anyway. Even with pasta, I've taken to just using a big strainer with a handle and putting the pasta directly into the serving bowl.

I certainly have more "pros" than "cons" regarding ours.

I must really be living on the edge because not only do I have a pot filler, but also a cork floor. Combine those two items together on GW and you would think I need to build an Ark because certainly a flood must be coming to my kitchen!! (I say that because a lot of people hear "cork floor" and offer their opinion that the floor will be ruined if there is a flood). I'm such a rebel.

I plan to have a pot filler, however, not using the water for cooking, but rather for cleaning. I nearly always soak my pots and pans, reheating, if necessary, to loosen stuck-on bits. My kitchen is small, so I usually return the pan to the range to soak and queue up for cleaning, rather than fill up the sink or take up counter space. Now, pre-remodeling, I do the back-and-forth routine. In the new kitchen, I will have a separate prep sink which will include a separate faucet for filtered drinking and cooking water.

We've had a pot filler for over ten years. We have a small kitchen, two cooks, and no room for a prep sink. The pot filler allows one of us to fill a pot at the point of use without bothering the other one at the sink. We make a lot of soup & stock, fill the kettle, add to gravy, use a measuring cup under it for rice or other grains, boil beans, and many other things that do not end up being drained. When we do make pasta, then we haul the pot over to the sink to drain it. But that's the only time that I can think of that the pot filler does only 1/2 of a job.

I think it's one of those things that you don't realize the use of until you have one.

I am pretty horrified by the idea of a plumbing outlet without a drain.

First, in terms of leaks--a dripping potfiller faucet has nowhere to go except somewhere bad. What are the chances that you are ready and waiting the very first moment a faucet starts to leak? Zero. Leaks and drips can go on quite a while before you notice them. Plus, you sleep a third of the day, and work another third. And are you sure you'll always be standing there when a clueless guest decides to fill a water glass or worse, rinse their hands without noticing there's no sink??

Second, in terms of practicality. Potfillers are one of those kitchen gadgets that to me, don't seem to reflect the necessities of actual cooking. When I'm following along with Julia, or CooksIllustrated, or simply trying to make a fast meal, I am not focused on kitchen maintenance. I'm focused on cooking. That means if I hold up a measuring cup and it's a little overfull, I want to dump it out instantly. If I need extra water in something, I don't want to focus on keeping my arm from catching on fire as I reach across a range, I want to concentrate on how much water I think I need. And as noted frequently, most things that require filling also require dumping. (I don't understand the stock comments--don't people strain the carcass and vegetables out of stock before using it?) Almost the only thing I can think of boiling and then not straining until the pot is cool is a lobster, and that doesn't happen much.

Conversely, if you want an easier way to fill a pot without struggling to get it under the sink, just use a pull-down or pull-out faucet. They move water faster than a separate sprayer, and you can just leave the pot on the counter as you fill.

Almost the only potfiller setup that ever made any sense to me belonged to erikanh, who added a small integrated prep sink thingy right underneath. I can't pull up the thread on this technological embarrassment of a site, of course.

I agree with autumngal. Our prep sink will probably have a difficult time filling our large pots but it's easier to drain. Our main sink is much farther away from the stove in the new layout. We're a big pasta family and I make 2 or 3 boxes at a time. That's a HUGE pot. I'm getting a pot filler and cannot wait to use it. (my cabinets are being installed as we speak). I also like the look. For us we're rewiring and replacing all the plumbing in our 1825 house so in the big picture it wasn't much more of an added cost. If we didn't replace all our pipes and check out the pipes coming into the house I would have been worried about lead solder. Before, they told us to run the water for a minute before using for cooking. With the new pipes we don't need to. Yes, we have a wood floor in the kitchen but I'm not worried about that.

I am putting in a pot filler for the sole reason of being able to easily fit my big pots underneath to fill them. Mine will be right next to my sink, not by the oven.

I don't mind having to carry pots - I hate not being able to fit them under the faucet in the first place. I do quite a bit of bulk food prep and canning. For most of the day to day cooking, this isn't a big issue for me.

Cathy

I wasn't meaning to pooh-pooh those who chose pot fillers. I think they look cool too.

But for the cost of the plumbing and fixture, I could get - oh, how about a heavy-duty KA mixer to build the biceps, or a beefy Robot Coupe to replace my 20 year old food processor, or even that Heckler & Koch P7 I've been eyeing . . .

Weighing the pros and cons, that's life.

I saw a photo of a large hearth/hood which contained a pot filler over a square stainless sink. It was about 12" from the cooktop, so there was still a landing next to the cooking surface. That combo made a great deal of sense to me.

I have to admit, I might think twice about the possiblity of water leaks.

The part I hate is not carrying a pot of cold water from the sink to the cooktop. It is carrying the really hot pot full of nearly boiling water from the cooking surface to the sink to drain. Actually makes more sense to have an extra sink than pot filler, if you think about it.

The potfiller was almost going to go when I realized we were over budget (who isn't?), but we ended up keeping it. Years of violin, volleyball, and typing all day long have yielded pretty weak wrists, and my prior potfiller was my DH.

I love ours. I love that I now use the huge multi-cooker much more often because I'm not worried about carrying it over from the sink to the stove. Yes, emptying it can be a pain (still have to call DH for that), but when blanching veggies, and even with pasta sometimes, I'll use either a spider to fish things out, or I'll use the pasta insert that just pulls out. It's nice to wait for the water to cool down before dumping it all out in the sink anyway.

Do I get nervous about leaks? Absolutely. So I double check both valves all the time. But I still like it.

Another added benefit is that it's closer to the dog bowls, so I use it to refill water bowls too, to keep water flowing through those pipes more often, which is another complaint I see sometimes.

A pot filler with a high flow rate is great for filling canning pots and other large kettles--but a lot of pot fillers on the market now are meant for looking cool and being conveniently placed rather than rapidly filling large pots, and have the flow rate of a standard kitchen faucet. Sometimes using one of those is a requirement of building code and/or insurance. Make sure you know the requirements and what you're getting.

Ccoombs1...I forgot about the water sitting in pipes issue...you're right. We are also on a well and, yes, it is recommended you run the water before using it.

As to "...most refrigerators have a water supply without a drain..." Yes, but you don't have the refrigerator water line pouring water directly out onto your counter, it goes into a contained area...sorry, but that's not a valid comparison. (Besides, we did have a leak in the water line that went to the icemaker in our old refrigerator and I don't know how long it was there. But, it leaked into the freezer compartment and we had ice all along the back of the freezer...at least it didn't leak onto the floor!)

Several people mentioned having to struggle to get their pots under the faucet...the easier (and less expensive) solution to that is a pull out or pull down faucet. I can't remember the last time I put a pot in the sink to fill in my kitchen...old or new. I always fill them on the counter w/the faucet head resting on the pot edge. Yes, I did overflow one once, but it was right next to the sink so most of the water ran from the counter into the sink, not onto the floor or all over the counter (or into a cooktop/range).

If you really want a pot filler, go ahead, it's your kitchen after all! We're just presenting the pros & cons...with the cons, in this case, being the most important that you need to be aware of when deciding on one. You need to know the "worst case scenario" b/c you are dealing with a water source with no drain and no undercabinet access like a sink...

What "contained area" would a refrig water line leak pour out into? The wall? or the floor? The compression fittings on the 1/4" supply line are what's going to fail, or a kink in the line itself creating a pinhole. And as far as the water-sitting-in-pipes spiel, well, that sort of discounts the ol' ice maker, don't it? That water doesn't get purged before ice is made. Same would go for the water dispenser.
The water-sitting-in-pipes spiel is tiresome, really; if your PF is all new plumbing, as mine is, it is piped with lead-free solder, so there. It would only apply if you new PF were hooked into an old PF supply line, which "ain't bloody likely" in the parlance of the day. If your concern is about well-water that contains bacteria or ?? then I'd say if the bacteria are tolerant to being boiled (wouldn't most pot-filler water end up heated past 140*?) then you have bigger problems and should think about some kind of ultraviolet water purification or a chlorine injector.
Casey

o.k., i have to comment on Marcolo's fear about his friends mistakingly using the pot filler to rinse their hands... WHAT??? Even my SIL who didn't realize that a non-catholic shouldn't take communion in a catholic church will be able to figure that one out!!! Sorry... not buying that this is a real fear!

I'm getting a pot filler. As beekeeperswife said, get a good plumber if you're worried about leaks. If the plumbing is done well, my guess is you won't have leaks for at least 30 years...at which time your kitchen will probably need other fixes and a new update anyway.

As for needing to drain water from the pot, that's true, but if the pot filler can eliminate half the pot-lugging, that's still worth it if you're filling pots often. And as plllog said, wives will appreciate pot fillers more than men.

Plus, they're just cool looking. Might even help resale value just a wee tiny bit when it's time to sell the house.

A practical note:
If your range has to be a certain distance from the wall on which you install a pot filler, the pot filler will have to reach further than one mounted on a wall where the backsplash is flush against the wall. Okay did that make sense? Kinda' sorry I decided to forego caffeine.

Hmmm. I think someone is calling me a liar! LOL.

I've seen people turn on pot fillers without thinking more than once. Very common to see people at open houses do it, exclaiming, ooh, a pot filler, isn't it cool? They do turn it off when they realize the water is spilling down their pants. But by then, the water has already spilled down their pants.

Plus, most people these days are not as rigorous about making sure a faucet is tightly off as they used to be. I always walk into kitchens or baths and find people have left faucets dripping a little. In a sink, a little drip is wasteful but harmless. Over a range with electronics, it's a little different.

To pot fill or not to pot fill . . .
The benefits of a pot filler far outweigh the cons for me.
Here's why.
Seven years ago I fell and fractured my RIGHT wrist while carrying our 15 month old DGD.
I hit a small break in the sidewalk tripped and in trying to break our fall and protect her head,
which thankfully I did, I broke my wrist and needed a steel plate put in to remedy the break.
Two years ago I AGAIN fell on a rise on a sidewalk.
This time watching our DGS ride his two wheeler without training wheels and not watching where I was walking.
(I guess it's true you can't teach an old dog new tricks!)
The result - a badly broken LEFT wrist.
Three days later and just before surgery, I slipped on a throw rug and broke my RIGHT arm.
The saga continues . . .
Two days after surgery a tornado warning was issued
and all patients were moved to a hallway where I was instructed to sit in a particular chair.
I did so but unfortunately said chair, had unlocked casters and was in front of an open doorway . . .
Yes, indeed, the chair flew through the door and I fell landing on my already broken arm!
No wonder my DF jokingly called me "Grace"!
Now NOT having to lift and carry any size pot of water to the stove is a plus.
Chances are I would spill some water, slip on it and, well, you get the not so pretty picture!
I don't worry about leaking pipes we used an excellent plumber, our DSIL, and top notch materials.
So while a pot filler might not be for everyone they suit me just fine.
Oh, and as for emptying, I don't.
Whatever we are cooking is usually served in small bowls and easily managed and what is left is stored the same way.
As far as I am concerned our pot filler is a life saver - especially since the life it saves could be my own!

Sorry my reply is so long!
~ Nonnyx2

Nonnyx2--

It is normal to have falls as much as you do. It is NOT normal to have so many breaks. RUN, don't walk, to a pharmacy and start a calcium and (this is important) vitamin D regimen TODAY. Then make an appointment with your doc to go over ideal dosage and what else you should be doing, and to schedule a bone density scan. But even without the appointment, you can start 500mg calcium, 200mg vit D 2x day. It's conservative.

We considered it, but our range is on an outside wall, and we live in a climate that can get very cold. Frozen water pipes up in the wall by the range, not a happy thought. So consider location (you, geographically, as well as that of the range).

I have a prep sink about 2 feet from the range, and if it had worked out would have loved a potfiller mounted on the wall between the two such that it could generally live over the sink (for drip/leak safety) but swing over the range when needed. Consider this kind of option: best of both worlds.

slateberry51

OT

Thank you, dear heart, for your concern.
I do take vitamin D and Calcium. The falls causing the breaks to my wrists were hard ones.
The fall re the arm was because I was off balance trying to protect my broken wrist.
I was walking through a doorway half asleep at 3 AM to go to the bathroom.
I turned sideways so as not to hit the door frame and caught my foot on a throw rug on our Pergo laminate floor.

I tried to grabbed the back of a glider rocker but it rocked forward and toppled over.
I went along with it and hit both the rocker and the floor.
The break was, ironically, at the neck of the humerus which now seems funny but then just hurt like the dickens!
I ended up with pins in my arm/wrist and only a sling to support the broken arm as it could not be cast.
I told my surgeon that my theme song had been 'Big Girls Don't Cry', but that's a lie they do,
and I was changing it to 'I Fall To Pieces'.
After the second fall I told him, "What was I thinking!? Big mistake! That one has to go!
I now have two favorites 'I Will Survive' and 'Staying Alive'!
So far they are working out!

Your suggestions are wise ones for all of us as we journey on this beautiful but rocky road of life!
Blessings.
~Nonny

Personally, I opted not to have one and only begrudgingly allowed outlets to be installed in my beautiful (imo, anyway) mosaic backsplash because code required them!

That said, I have a sink little more than a dishwasher width away from my stove, so i don't have far to "lug" my water.

Like many things, it is perfect for some, not for others. (I'm thinking of the Never-M-T, the foot faucet control, the whole house vacuum toe-kick thing for sweeping, the countertop button to control the garbage disposal, in-fridge water dispenser vs filter faucet at sink, etc, etc.)

I documented how many times I would have used a potfiller over my stove in a one week period. How many times? One. That's it. I think part of this is that I don't cook (or eat) pasta and I cook rice in a rice cooker. I am huge on veggies, mostly raw veggies, so don't do much big pot cooking of those either--sometimes a bit of water at the bottom of a pan for steaming, but prefer to usually roast veggies in the winter.

I opted out of one. It wasn't a huge expense or hassle since we are doing a whole house remodel, but it was one of those things that I opted to save a bit on to be able to spend on other areas that I really loved.

I am sure there are people out there who would use a pot filler every day--I think you should think about how you cook and what you cook. This should point you in the right direction for your own kitchen. It's great for all of us to consider this question. It's what will make our kitchens uniquely ours and perfect for each of our lifestyles.

This has been a really helpful thread. I'd just assumed we'd get one, but now I'm reconsidering. I also don't know whether 1) I'd really use it all that much and 2) it never occurred to me that I'd STILL have to lug heavy pots full of water (to dump them out.) (duh!)

The fear of inaccessible leaks inside a wall gives me pause. At this point, just identifying any item to shave off the budget is certainly attractive.