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Stainless steel sink decisions. Elkay, Blanco, or Kohler

last month

We are needing to make a sink decision soon. I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of researching sinks and reviews which has been a bit overwhelming. Lots of sinks to choose from! I want a single bowl under mount style which is going on a peninsula with Quartz countertops. I like the idea off an offset drain but I am not opposed to a center rear drain either. I am looking specifically for opinions from anyone who has any of these 3 sinks installed and in use. Thank you!

Elkay Crosstown Workstation
Blanco Quatras
Kohler Strive

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Comments (4)

PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
last month
I run a sink replacement business. I'd install any of those fine quality sinks. The finish on the Blanco's is second to none, however, you're going to pay for it. And the brighter the finish, the more the scratches show.

If you want the stainless look in a composite sink, order the free Elkay Silvermist sample chip please.
Gwen H
Original Author
last month
Joseph Cortlett, thank you. This is a beautiful sink. I ordered some sample colors. Thought I had my heart set on stainless steel but looking at this one is making me think I need to go see one. Most reviews on this are excellent. I did see one reviewer on the Elkay website say hers cracked when she was draining boiling pasta into the sink. Elkay replied recommending to always run cold water when pouring boiling water into the sink. I can follow the rules but not sure family or friends cooking in my kitchen would know to do that if I wasn’t hovering. Always has to be one negative reviewer to get into your head, right? BTW, I like that positive reveal pictured above.
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Krauss is made in China despite the German name. I have one in my laundry room. It came with a drain, grid and is the single bowl. It seems fine and looks nice. It was a little rough feeling when I got it but not anymore. Perhaps it had some sort of coating on it or something. The grid and drain seem a little on the cheap side but it is doing the job well so far and has been installed for about a year. It doesn't have that bling shine like a Franke would have but neither does it have the price. Sometimes you just don't need a $1000 sink!!! So far I am happy with it in every way.
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Misslivvy - Both Blanco and Elkay are very well established companies that stand behind their products. Knowing that's the case, there are three specific things I would want if it were my sink. #1 - A noisy sink (from running water or the clattering of dishes) bugs me, so I'd want to know what's on the underside of the sink to absorb the sound. #2 - I once broke a wine glass when it fell over in my old sink. That's when I found out the hard way the not all stainless steel sinks have perfectly flat bottoms. The angle on the bottom of my sink made it impossible for my good wine glasses to stand upright. Won't make that mistake again. #3 - This isn't a big deal to everyone, but for me, I like to know I'm spending on products that are made in America. Here are links to the spec sheets on the 2 specifc models you mentioned. The Elkay sink says it has their sound-deadening material on the underside, but the Blanco spec doesn't mention sound deadening so I'm not sure what it has. Both spec sheets show side view diagrams. Looks like both have a bit of an angle to the bottom, but the Blanco sink is definitely drawn so that it doesn't look as level as the Elkay. Finally, the Elkay spec sheet does say this model is Made in USA, but the Blanco spec doesn't say where it was made. I'd go with the Elkay. Hope this helps. Good luck. http://www.elkayusa.com/cps/rde/xbcr/elkay/01-110G_ELU(H)2816.pdf http://www.blancoamerica.com/inter/kt/HeilerPPMKatalog/hlr-system/USA/Sinks_Bowls/BLANCOSTELLAR_Super_Single_Bowl/Spec_Page/441024.pdf
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There is no qualitative difference between the sinks. Both are made in China from 18/8 stainless. Many folks still think that Blanco, a German company, makes its own stainless sinks in Germany -- hence the high German prices. It doesn't. Most of the stainless sinks sold by Blanco in North America are manufactured in China by Yingao Kitchen Utensils Co., Ltd., New Star Hi Tech Enterprises Co., Ltd. and Binoya Metal Products Co., Ltd. which also makes stainless sink accessories for Elkay. Both of these are ISO-9000 manufacturers with solid international reputations. We know of no Blanco stainless sink made in Germany, or even in Europe. Luxart, Hajoca's in-house brand, is an equally good 18/8 stainless sink for about 25-30% less because you are not paying a premium for the Blanco name on the Chinese sink. Luxart sinks re also made in China (or maybe Taiwan). Unfortunately, I can't remember right now which Asian factories make them, but I do recall that they also have solid international reputations and ISO-9000 certification. Luxart sinks are priced like Chinese sinks, not like European sinks. Hajoca is the largest privately owned wholesale distributor of plumbing and heating products in the United States,. It stands solidly behind its in house brands. We have never had an issue with a Luxart sink (or faucet either), but if we did, I have no doubt Hajoca would take care of it. As long as the thickness of the steel is the same (18 ga. at least, 16 ga. is better) go for the lowest price. It's the better deal.
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Comments (5)
I have this sink in the low-divide 60/40 configuration. As with many more contemporary sinks that have the squarer design, there is not enough slant to the drain. I used to have an older Elkay in my old home and this was not an issue. I like the more contemporary design, but I find this somewhat annoying. I imagine this may be a problem with all sinks of this design.
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Rachel
last month
Built a new home in 2020 and I have the Kohler Strive, but in my last home (built in 1994) I had an Elkay. The Strive is very pretty, but the shiny surface does show scratches more than my Elkay did. I tried using the grids for two days, but absolutely hated them. So you may want to consider if the scratches will bother you. You may want to consider stainless with a more satin finish.
Gwen H
Original Author
last month
Joseph Cortlett, we visited the plumbing showroom today. Narrowed it down to three choices. All are single bowl sinks.
1. Stainless steel Elkay Crosstown (not the work station) with an offset drain. The girl in the showroom told us she has this sink. She said anytime she has scratched it it is buffed out easily and that it does not water spot like a Kohler does. True? The bottom grid is included.
2. Elkay Quartz Luxe in Silvermist like you previously recommended. The only downside to this one is that you cannot get this in an offset drain, only a center rear drain. I love the feel and the color of this sink so much. She tried to demonstrate how it wouldn’t scratch and got a little aggressive and I think she may have actually scratched it.
3. Elkay Quartz Classic in either dusky gray or black. This one has an offset drain. However if I bought a grid for this or the Luxe from the same manufacturer, the grid is ridiculously expensive. Would I need the grid?
  The stainless steel sink is least expensive and the difference between Luxe and Classic is negligible. Is it worth it to give up the offset drain to get the nicer Luxe? Other thoughts?

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