I've had my two high arch faucets for more than six months now. The only time either sprayer doesn't retract fully is on my prep sink and that's a function of too much plumbing jammed into tiny space where the hose is getting caught on something underneath. (I need to call the plumber back.) It's not a faucet issue, per se. Splashing only occurs when I turn an item the wrong way under the stream when the water is on full blast. Again, that's more user error than the faucet.

I absolutely love my high arcs. Makes cleanup much easier, which, in turn, makes cooking seem like more fun. Who knows....maybe you'll like to cook when you have a kitchen that functions better!

It depends on brand and model, and I'm happy with KWC pull-downs (10.261.002.127) which get a lot of use.

More generally, you're quite right that if you never pull a sprayer head out you are unlikely to develop problems putting it back. But if you feel no need for the sprayer, why go to the extra expense of a pull-down faucet?

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like I don't need to be afraid of the high arcs/arches.

You are right Theresse, that's a bit more expensive than I was aiming for! OK... a lot more expensive. :) I love the look and your counter-top! So pretty!

Umm.. actually Colin3, I'd use it to wash the dogs! :) My sink here is too small to do so anyway which is why I haven't tried it. But, come to think of it I'll have a big garage sink at the new house so can wash them in there. And, I might cook again someday when I have time. Maybe. I cook for the dogs if they need special food - that counts, right? =)

Woof!

I have the Delta Leland pull-down faucet. Less than $250. It has a magnet that makes the faucet part "stick" back to the gooseneck part. And underneath the sink, the hose is weighted so that it retracts without effort. I would never go back to a regular faucet with separate sprayer. I love this faucet.

Here's a not so great shot of my faucet:

I have a Ladylux Cafe. I've had it for eight years and have no problem with the pulldown sprayer. I like it very much.

I also have the Delta Leland. Mine has the chrome finish, and I got it on Amazon for $155 with free shipping and no sales tax. I specifically chose it for the magnetic docking feature, so that it would always lock in place. And, as fivefootzero mentioned, the weight on the hose is quite substantial. I am thrilled with it.

I have a Moen pull-down faucet with their Reflex Technology, and it retracts automatically and beautifully. I love having only one hole in the counter to clean around. And I, too, use it to wash my dog. The hose is not as long as I expected,maybe 18" or 20" or so, but I can still manage to wash the whole 50 lb Springer. It's actually quite easy with the pull-down faucet. It's also easy to pause the flow of water when I'm moving the spray head to a different part of the dog, or to shift from spray to stream.

BTW - don't mention washing your dog in the sink on the Plumbing Forum. Last year I asked whether the gauge of the stainless sink would matter since I was putting my dog in the sink, and I managed to completely gross out someone who informed me that s/he would certainly not want to eat at my house. (I said I was washing the dog, not cooking her!) Actually, I was quite amused at the reaction.

Awesome to find this thread today because I also am starting to look for a goose neck with pull-out sprayer and need to start educating myself.

Do all of the pull out sprayers have that feature where they stay pulled out if you let go? What are the other features to look for in this type of faucet?

Thanks in advance.
MissLivvy

Some of the Delta's have magnets.

My Price Pfister has a lead weight over the stainless hose. It pulls it down steadily, but I need to direct the sprayer into its resting place.

Others like Grohe have a retraction spring. The ones I've seen in stores are noisy and I worry about their longevity.

Our Kohler Simplice retracts and stays in place better than our Elkay Moda, but like Breezy, I know part of the problem is too much stuff under the prep sink that interferes with how the weight works on the hose. I love having the pull downs. We've had ours over 4 yrs.

Misslivvy, other things you might want to watch for is if the pull down actually has a spray option (the Simplice does and the Moda doesn't, so I miss that feature at the prep sink), and whether the spray option stays engaged when you're not holding the button and after you turn it off. It's nice not to have to hold the button down, but also, it's frustrating when the kids engage the spray and it comes on the next time I turn on the faucet and don't expect it. ;-)

As Breezy said, also, I only find splashing to be a problem with user error... When we hold things in the stream of water too high and too close to the faucet. I imagine it depends on the depth of the sink, too....But ours aren't super deep. (7-9")

Good point about the features, rhome410. With the Moen pull-down with Reflex, one push of the button on the head makes the spray stay on while you're using it unless you flip the switch back to stream (i.e., you don't have to hold anything down), but after the water is turned off, it always turns on with the stream setting, so no surprises.

You can set the head of the sprayer in a pot on the counter and leave it to fill, but then when you release it, it retracts to position by itself. You don't have to seat it.

But with Moen, you need to make sure you get Reflex technology. Mine was about $320, but that was last year when they first came out. I think you can get them for less.

My Kohler simplice works wonderfully. It's been in 9 months and I've had no issues with it not retracting and I use it multiple times a day. I'm a stay at home mom with little kids so I live in my kitchen. I pull it out to get all the junk that sits in my farm sink so its used heavily. I recently went to stay with family in Houston and my aunt has a separate sprayer and I can't tell you how many times I drenched myself while hitting the button and pulling the sprayer out. I like my pull out for sure!

I bet your builder has only seen store display ones. Seems like the weights are never properly installed on those and they dangle and look terrible. I don't know how they sell any with those displays...

Once adjusted, they retract just fine, unless you snag the hose on a dish rack in the cabinet. :P

We've had our Hansgrohe for almost 4 years and it retracts with no problems. At the beach we have a Grohe and the only time it gives us a problem is when the weight gets snagged on something under the cabinet. It's very easy to adjust it when that happens though. I love our pull down faucets.

Our Waterstone has a counterbalance weight - so if it ever is out of adjustment - just modify the weight and all fixed - Installed for about 1-2 months and locks in place perfectly (The name of the faucet is positive lock pulldown)