Even if you have pot filler, you have to carry the pot back to the sink to dump/drain/wash.

Yes, that's what I've always thought! And if there is pasta in it, it's a big pot of very hot water. Now a drain would be useful!

If you do't use it every day, what is the quality of the water sitting in the pipe?

Hi Beth ... I totally agree with what the others above have stated. At first, I thought wow, neat idea for our new build. But as anglophilia said, the pot, eventually, still has to be carried to the sink.... I personally think it's a waste of $$' which could be spent elsewhere. But then, I never had one, so do I really know what I'm missing.? Lol I'm sure there are others who absolutely adore their pot filler and couldn't be without it. Cheers!

I agree with what everyone wrote above, and also have always wondered, what if something fails on the pot filler, like a washer or something? Does water come gushing out all over the cooktop? I don't like the idea of a water source not paired with a drain.

We had a potfiller for 15 years and never had anything fall on it and cause water to gush out. We never had any kind of leak or problem with it at all. Yes, you still have to carry the pot of water back to the sink, but it is convenient to just fill up at the stove (eliminates one trip). It's also great for adding water to soups and such that you are cooking. It was one of those things that I could take or leave, but DH loved it. We have a Dornbracht potfiller sitting in the garage for this kitchen, but can't install until backsplash is chosen and installed.

I have a prep sink fairly close to the range. I could probably pull out the faucet to reach the stove but never had the need to try.

Never had one until we moved into the rental house we are currently in. Have yet to use the pot filler. We wont be adding one to the new house.

@sheepla....dog bowl water filler, no kidding great idea..time for a new invention. !

I'd put this in the category of "nice to have, but not essential". If you get a pot filler with TWO "on" handles, you're highly unlikely to have a leak through both.

Let's make a list: What can you add?

Pros:

- Easy to fill pots on the stove ... nice if you need just a little more water and don't want to walk away from what you're cooking ... easy if you want to set a pot to soak after cooking. Okay, that was several pros at once, but they are closely related.

- Especially nice for people who can their own food (full canners are heavy!)

- Convenient for elderly people or others for whom the weight of a full pot could be problematic.

Cons:

- May mess up the look of a pretty backsplash.

- Possible, but not a realistic option if your cooktop is on an island.

- Depending upon what you're doing, you may have to carry the pot to the sink to empty it (pasta, yes, you're dumping the water; soup, you'll eat it up).

- Pot fillers are not always available to match your sink faucet.

- Probably not a great choice for families with small children. Who doesn't have at least one kid-flooded-the-house story?

Could go either way:

- If you already have water "in the wall" behind the stove (for example, if the refrigerator's in the same cabinet run), then it won't cost much to add a pot filler. On the other hand, if you'd have to run a water line across the kitchen just for the pot filler, it'd be pretty expensive.

My personal opinion:

I'm going to have a pot filler in my new kitchen. I can, and I cook lots of soups and stews in the winter, so I think I'd use it often enough to justify the cost. My bathroom "backs up to" the kitchen, so the plumbing will already "be there", meaning that a pot filler won't be a labor-intensive install.

MrsPete, they do have island/deck-mounted potfillers!

It's not, as I still have to lug the pot to a sink when done cooking.

Ours will be on a filtered, unsoftened, hard water line water for drinking, filling the dog bowl and cooking. The same water line will connect to the fridge for cold water and ice. The pot filler won't be going to the back of the range but just to the side of it for easy access. I have no desire to reach across a range to get water.

We have one. We're using it fairly often. It's fun. It's frivolous. We could definitely live without it.

To add to the "cons"....

• No drain beneath it to catch drips or leaks or overflows.

Be sure you have easy access to the water shutoff valve so you don't have to run to the basement (or wherever) to shut it off.

I also wonder how long it would take to discover you have a pipe leak (pinhole or other) - especially if the leak is not enough to noticeably reduce the pressure.

If you don't use it every single day and use a large quantity, I would think the water sitting in the pipes would be an issue - and since you don't have a drain beneath it, you can't run the water for a minute or two to get fresh water.

Finally, if you must have a pot-filler, then be sure you can access the plumbing behind it in case you have problems with it - I don't think you'd want to have to chop a hole in the wall to get to it.

I always thought I wanted one and looked long and hard at them but then I decided that it saves one trip is all and it's the easy trip because it's the COLD water! You still have to bring the HOT water back to the sink to drain your pasta! So I decided not to get one.

Thanks everyone! People are saying what I've been thinking--I'd have to dump the water anyway, it's not that far to the sink, and it is not free :-)

10 years ago when we built this kitchen, we didn't put in a pot filler and didn't put in a prep sink. I've never wished for a pot filler. I've many times wished we had a second sink.

We have one in our recently completed kitchen, but the water was there because we relocated the range to where the sink was previously. I use it for pasta water, soups, anything I am adding water to already on the stove, and also to fill the coffee pot up every morning and the tea kettle on the stove. So we do use it daily but the water was already there and it was not expensive. Ours has 2 levers you have to turn so we have not had a flooding accident.

The fear of leaks is over rated. A good pot filler has a double valve system. Just as you would have a shut off to a fridge ice maker and water and water to any other faucet of course you would have one for the line to the faucet of the pot filler. As for plumbing in the walls the average house already has plumbing behind the walls that can develop leaks just as easily. People don't shut off water to the house every time they leave for a couple of hours do they? What about the water heaters, the in wall plumbing to the toilet? It's silly to think a properly installed pot filler is any more a threat than any other plumbed device or piping. Pot fillers tap into nearby existing water lines. It's not like there are 50 gallons of water standing in the pipes. I'd worry more about the multiple unused plumbing in multiple bathrooms so many home have that are seldom to never used.

MrsPete, they do have island/deck-mounted potfillers!

Yes, but they're funny looking and extremely expensive (unless you're also placing the sink in the island and are bringing water into that area), which is why I called them "possible but not realistic".

Be sure you have easy access to the water shutoff valve so you don't have to run to the basement (or wherever) to shut it off.

I also wonder how long it would take to discover you have a pipe leak
(pinhole or other) - especially if the leak is not enough to noticeably
reduce the pressure.

If you don't use it every single day and use a large quantity, I
would think the water sitting in the pipes would be an issue - and since
you don't have a drain beneath it, you can't run the water for a minute
or two to get fresh water.

Finally, if you must have a pot-filler, then be sure you can access
the plumbing behind it in case you have problems with it - I don't think
you'd want to have to chop a hole in the wall to get to it.

I think these are "cons" to all plumbing. For example, I had an "invisible leak" behind my dishwasher and didn't know it until damage was done -- yet no one says, "Get rid of dishwashers because this could happen!"

The fear of leaks is over rated.

Definitely. Two valves would have to fail before you'd have a leak. You're right that you're much more likely to have a leak in the ice maker.

We had our plumber go back and put a shut off valve on our water line to the pot filler. He thought we were nuts. We didn't care.

No, but DWs, etc., are needed and used a lot, so the risk is worth it. Plus, the plumbing for DWs and icemakers is not inside the wall, so you are much more likely to detect a leak fairly quickly.

Regarding other plumbing in the wall - yes, but again, you need it, so you take the risk.

You should weigh the risks and benefits for you - including how much you actually use something, it's cost, water quality, how risk-averse you are, etc.

For me, personally, it was not worth it. When we remodeled, we were concerned about the leak issue with our plumbing in general b/c we had the gray piping that will, over time, most likely develop pinprick leaks. While the risk was less for us b/c we have well water and chlorinated water accelerates the deterioration, I decided that since we had some of the ceiling open it was time to replace all the water lines in our home, not just the Kitchen. I was not going to take the chance that leaks would develop and ruin my new Kitchen! :-)

My prep sink is fairly close, so if I need water it's just a step to the right to get to the sink for water and another step to the left to get back to the cooktop. A prep sink is much more useful than a potfiller!

Note: The dripping and overflowing issues, though, are unique to pot fillers since they do not have a drain.