Waterstone pull down. Made in California.

I just ordered a Hansgrohe yesterday and had an interesting talk with the salesperson. She said that Moen and some other companies used to have lines that would be considered high end. Then they started selling to big box stores and in order to do this switched out many of their parts to plastic and changed manufacturing techniques to be more mass market. Can't say which other brands - we were talking about Moen because I am replacing a 10 year old Moen faucet. She had only good things to say about the Hansgrohe except price - but it was actually only a $100 + over the Moen price for similar style faucet.

I have the Moen Align spot resistant stainless. It actually is spot resistant! Always looks clean, no problems in 2 years. So far so good.

My Grohe Ladylux is 13 years old....no problems. My Kohler Bellera is a year old...no problems(I just put one in the house I'm working on, my 2nd). My Grohe Ladylux Pro is a year old....no problems. I have rental houses and people are not kind or careful with my houses....and these have survived!

we installed this a few months ago. Hansgrohe 10821 Axor Starck Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet with High-Arc Spout, Magnetic Docking Very Happy.

daisychain01

"She said that Moen and some other companies used to have lines that
would be considered high end...."

While it may be that Moen sells through the Big Box Stores, and that the products the company sells in these stores are sometimes not their best products (Moen denies that any such thing is done), the overall quality of Moen faucets has improved during the 15 years, we have been tracking the company, and are equal to Hansgrohe, at least at the high end.

Moen, of course, makes faucets at just about every price point, and a $150 Moen kitchen faucet intended to compete with Peerless is likely to have plastic parts, and will not compare well to a $500 Hansgrohe, but a $350 Moen will compare very well indeed.

Both brands are generally of very good quality, using top-of-the line components in most instances, and excellent, reliable cartridges. Moen has the better customer service, but not by a lot, and, overall, the better finishes including its new spot free finish which is indeed spot free.

Both companies are American owned. Hansgrohe/Axor , although made in Germany, is owned by Masco which also owns the Brizo-Delta-Peerless lines of faucets and Newport Brass.

In our price-to-value scoring, we judge the Moen line of faucets a slightly better value for the price than the Hansgrohe line, but the difference is not great.

You may have been up-sold by a person who was not entirely careful about telling you the whole story.

You can find out more about both brands (and another 100 or so other brands) at StarCraft Faucet Reviews and Ratings.

I like the Grohe look an have a house full of their stuff - 3 shower sets, body sprays, kitchen faucet and soap dispensers. Had it put in when we were building the house in 2006/2007. Also had a LadyLux in my previous house.

When it comes to reliability I am bit disappointed to be honest... the kitchen faucet the most. Its a K4 main kitchen faucet in stainless. Very cool and ergonomic etc... nice contemporary look and finish is great. Main faucet body will outlast the house. Thats said... the pull out spray head is plastic, and while it looks nice and matches the actual stainless steel body I have to replace it every 2 years roughly... the rubber covered spray switch button just dissolves for some reason. Its a bizarre effect, its like the rubber suddenly starts getting sticky and falls apart within few months. Also the flow restrictor insert in the spray head starts getting noisy right around the same time and makes this horrible high pitched whine. Its impossible to pull out after you put it in, so basically you have to trash the spray head and put a new one in.

In theory they have a lifetime warranty on parts, and I did get few sprayheads from them over the years but they are a real pain to deal with - the Grohe USA warranty dept. They are kind of rude when you call and they now require receipts to provide replacement parts. And guess what, I don't have one because I bought this w/the house. And when I told them that they already sent me few before they said that they don't keep track in their system so I am out of luck. I may have a shot if I send them a copy of the deed to the house but at this point this is really annoying me to be honest so I am seriously considering dumping Grohe as a brand and going w/Hansgrohe or Kohler.

They just don't behave like a real high end brand here in the US, at least any more...

Moen Motion sense is the bomb. I disabled the front feature because it's annoying. Just wave over the top. I like that you don't have to touch it, just wave.

We really like our Delta Trinsic faucet. Love the MagnaTite Docking feature. It can be purchased with motion sense (can't remember what Delta calls this technology) but we opted not to do that since we find it easy enough to turn the water on, even with messy hands. We use the back of our hands against its single lever.

I have an American Standard (Soft Colony or something? the least objectionable big faucet that the local hardware store had in stock for my plumbing emergency) that I bought for my preremodel kitchen when the Kohler Simplice I had recently installed failed. It's on my prep sink now because it's close enough to my Hansgrohe stupidbig Allegro plus pro whatever. I like them both equally. (This is actually my second HG Allegro pro because I like really big faucets. My short arms prefer a long spout.)

In the past few years I installed a Delta lavatory faucet and AS utility faucet in bathrooms. They have behaved well.

My kitchen remodel also included a new bathroom where we used Grohe faucet and shower set. Those things spot up like crazy and the spots don't wipe off. All my faucets are chrome, all are on the same water source, and only the Grohe has spot issues.

We have the Kohler Simplice that StarCraft lists up there ^^^ -- SS version. No problems whatsoever -- highly recommend front mounting the handle: all the drips from wet hands end up in the sink and not on your countertop.

I have the Waterstone PLP Pulldown Kitchen Faucet 5600 in polished nickel. I really like it. In fact I'm ordering another one to put on my island prep sink.

Grohe is not made in China. They have an agreement with Chinese Joyou, which manufactures and sells faucets etc. for the Chinese market. It also sells Grohe products under license in China.

It's different from hansgrohe.

I have had a hansgrohe faucet from Costco for about 3-4 years now (200.00). It's solid brass and no problems so far (Metro High Arc)

http://www.costco.com/kitchen-faucets.html

Thank you all for your suggestions.

5pacey - That is awful. I can't believe CS treated you so badly. There are so many brands to choose from. No reason to put up with rude service.

nosoccermom - I do know that the Parkfield kitchen faucet is made in China because someone asked on Amazon and the seller verified from the box that it's made there. And the one Grohe faucet I saw at HD was also made in China.

When I was looking for faucets I saw the Parkfield and loved the look. Not many faucets I like the look of, btw, and yes, it is one of the very few if not the only Grohe faucet made in China.

We have the Moen Essie

Bought Hansgrohe Cento faucet from Costco. While most parts are brass, the swivel neck broke in 6 months. We are 2 adults, no kids, and we don't cook at all and eat out only due to work schedules, but we make a lot of coffee, juices, etc.

Hansgrohe was very responsive in covering it under warranty, but it needs original receipt, model #, pic of it installed, etc. Replacement parts came in 1 week. No wonder it broke so quickly. They were plastic rings!

I plan to use the faucet until it brakes again, then get a faucet with ALL solid brass parts. Very disappointed with Hansgrohe product wise. After sale service was good.

5pacey is on the mark. Be careful with Grohe, it is not the brand it used to be. It has been bought out by Lixil, a Japanese home improvement company (that also owns American Standard in North America and Asia). The following is from our review of the brand at Grohe Faucets Review and Rating:

"The staid, but reliable, engineer-driven bathwares company of the
20th century is gone. In its place is a new company that is very
bottom-line oriented and marketing driven. Its new Japanese masters are
certain to make major changes in how and where the company's products
are manufactured, distributed and sold, but, even now, the Grohe brand
in the U.S. is undergoing tidal changes that are likely to redefine the
brand's reputation over the next few years.
"

"Few Americans realize that Grohe is actually the
Moen
of Europe. It manufactures faucets at all price levels: economy,
mid-price and premium. Until recently North Americans never saw economy
or mid-price Grohe faucets. Grohe America imported only the premium
end of the faucet line, made in Germany, fostering the illusion that
Grohe faucets were all upscale, luxury items equivalent to
Graff, Hansgrohe, KWC and Dornbracht.
"

"Grohe changed the rules starting in 2005. Capitalizing on the
company's reputation as a maker of luxury faucets, Grohe America has
begun flooding the U.S. market with Grohe's lower-end products made
mostly in China and Tailand, moving Grohe sales onto the internet and
into the discount stores. Grohe faucets have begun showing up in very
un-exclusive and un-Grohe-like places, including mass retailers such as
Home Depot, Amazon and even Wayfair and e-Bay. What's next, Walmart?
What happens to the Grohe brand as it becomes associated with lesser
quality faucets is well known — it will, over time, cease to be viewed
as a premium brand. We think the caché of the Grohe trademark in the
North American marketplace is on a downward slide. Expect the average
price of Grohe-branded faucets to come down nut also expect considerable
overall quality and style erosion as the new company's new masters
attach the Grohe name plate to its cheaper, mass market faucets, priced
to sell at discount venues....."

"We think Grohe has embarked on a of brand cheapening
process to drive up revenue in North America in the short term at the
sacrifice of long-term brand viability. Initially the availability of
low-priced Grohe faucets will spur sales as customers snap up what they
believe to be bargains on a luxury faucet. But, over time the buying
public will come to realize that the Grohe marque no longer represents a
high-quality upscale faucet suitable for heavy duty use in a busy
kitchen, but a lesser product more suited to a little used laundry sink.
"

"We don't think a Grohe is a smart investment right now. Let things
shake out a little, then we'll see. We think Grohe prices, even at
discount venues, are a little steep for what have become mostly China- and
Thailand-made faucets. Faucets made in Asia should, in our opinion, be
priced like Asian faucets, not like Northern European faucets, even
economy Northern European faucets."

That was written in 2015, but our opinion has not changed in the interim.

@StarCraft- we are talking about the thingy that water comes out of when you move a lever, right? In the grand scheme of things, not a big deal who makes mine. I have a Grohe that works and looks great. Has a good warranty as well. Yes, I got it from an online discount retailer- welcome to 2016 ;) It looks like the Moen faucets above are also lovely, what is wrong with being the "Moen of Europe?"

Has anyone heard of the Kalia faucets from Canada? Really lovely designs, lifetime warranties, but I don't know where they are made, and not much out there in terms of reviews.

ETA: Link to website

All the plumbers we asked told us to get Delta or Moen as they rarely have difficulties, good warranties, customer service and easy to get and replace parts. We didn't listen and went with sigma faucets, all of which we replaced in less than 3 years. They were gorgeous but would break and leak. We now have Moen and no problem.

We have had our Moen Motionsense Arbor for 2-3 years now, and have had no issues. I love this faucet. The hands free part is fabulous to use. I find myself waving my hands in front of other faucets, like at work or at friends houses, out of habit, and it is frustrating when they don't magically turn on for me. Lol.

johnsoro25

We are talking about the thingy that water comes out of when you move a lever, right?

Dead on!. It's usually called a

fau • cet

/'fôsit/

noun NORTH AMERICAN

a device by which a flow of liquid or gas from a pipe or container can be controlled; a tap

Pleased to know you have had good luck with your Grohe. Nothing wrong with being the Moen of Europe.

Interesting. According to German newspapers, the Chinese subsidiary, which manufactured and sold Grohe's "cheap lines", went bankrupt last summer. Still haven't been able to determine which Grohe faucets have been actually manufacture din China.

According to another article, the premium lines, i.e.are manufactured in Germany, the medium lines in Portugal, the American faucets in Canada, and the simple lines in Thailand.

Delta Trinsic owner here. Delta 9159-AR-DST Single Handle Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet from StarCraft's list. It's been installed for a little over a year. I have an intermittent problem with the spray diverter button. I sometimes find it difficult to switch. And I had a weird leak in the hose that turned out to be a loose connection between the hose and spray head. Other than that, it's been trouble free. I love the faucet. It's solid and looks great! Mine is the champagne bronze finish.

nosoccermom

Joyou AG is indeed bankrupt and has filed for the insolvency in Hamburg as of May 2015 . It will undoubtedly be reorganized minus about $300 million in debt at some time in the future. At about the same time, Grohe closed its Canadian faucet plant and trucked all of its machinery to an abandoned American Standard factory in Monterrey, Mexico where it is setting up shop. American standard pulled out in 2014 and moved that production to China. These two events are probably going to result in a short supply of Grohe mid-price and economy faucets for a time.

Portugal does not appear to be a major source for Grohe faucets sold in North America. Grohe's designer faucets and faucets with special finishes are made in Lahr, Germany. Grohe's mid-priced and economy lines for North America are made in Thailand, China and Mexico. Grohe makes the same faucets in several places, so it's a crap shoot where a non-designer Grohe faucet is made. Look for "Made in ???" on the box.

It's quite surprising (or not) how vague the Grohe site, or the download brochures for that matter, are regarding where their faucets are actually manufactured, considering that German law requires country of manufacture to be prominently displayed.

Also, a few years ago, there was a huge uproar about fake Grohe, Dornbracht, etc. fixtures that even showed up at official trade fairs.

http://www.designmena.com/thoughts/35-copies-dornbracht-fittings-seized-customs-ish-2013

(In fact, Swiss customs has signs that they can confiscate any counterfeit goods that you're wearing, e.g. when you show up with a fake Hermes scarf around your neck or a fake Rolex)

Totally agree with javiwa about the Kohler Simplice faucet. We purchased the smaller version, K-597, in chrome from Build.com in 2012 for a rental house. No problems so far and the tenants love it. DH also mounted the handle in the front as it works for right or left-handed people, and keeps wet hands in the sink and off the counter.

sherri1058

Kalia is a French-Canadian company that appears to design its own faucets, but has them manufactured in China. We know nothing yet about the cartridges used in the faucets or how well its customer service responds to customer concerns, so we have no rating on the company We are still compiling information, so we are not prepared to share very much.

Our review of Kalia faucets has been published and is available at Kalia Faucets Review and Rating.

StarCraft I can't find anything about Rubinet of Canada on your site. We purchase a 8JHOL several years back and love it. But we are moving and building a new kitchen. Want to buy again, but can't find any reviews anywhere, and don't know if anything has changed with the quality/production/etc. Any information? Thanks in advance!

I have have had the Ladylux Cafe with Black finishes for my main kitchen sink and another Grohe faucet for my prep sink -- going on 15 years. Both hoses have sprung leaks and had to be replaced (not surprised in 15 years). Other than that the only thing I don't like is the black rubber on the handles and spray heads are wearing.

I am in the market for a kitchen faucet in our vacation home. I think I am going to look at Moen this time. I just can't see paying $500+ for a faucet anymore.