A question about pot filler faucets.

[Packard]

The other day I was watching an home makeover show which featured a complete kitchen overhaul.

They incorporated two (2) separate pot fillers. One was at the stove, obviously intended to fill stock pots with water.

The other was near the floor, intended to refill dog water bowls.

I’m not sure either of these make sense.

In a restaurant, the pot filler will fill several large pots per day. So the water in the line is constantly being flushed out.

But at home, when perhaps 2 or 3 quarts of water pass though the lines per day, that does not happen. And with no sink, running the water to flush the lines seems impossible.

The dog bowl filler is even more problematic. Dogs, with their keen sense of smell, will pick up odors in the water that would make drinking it unacceptable. And again, no reasonable way to flush out the lines.

In any case, residential pot fillers seem like a mistake to me. The TV shows are popularizing them.

 

[Cheese]

Actually, I installed one "near" the range and consider it to be one of the best moves I've made. It's connected to a 10" water filter downstairs that contains a 0.5 micron carbon block filter element. The filter cartridge is rated for Chlorine Taste & Odor, Giardia/Cryptosporidium, Cyst, Taste & Odor, Rust Particles and Sediment
The "pot filler" is used for all cooking water, along with all pet food/dish water, drinking water, coffee & tea water and all the water for the plants. The ice maker in the freezer is also attached to the carbon block filter. I performed a quick usage study and found that the pot filler provides about 18 gallons of water per week or about 450 gallons per 6 months which is perfect for the filter I'm using.

Once the outer wrappings are removed from the filter, you understand why these are called carbon block filters. The filter is a hollow 3/4" thick wall chunk of carbon 10" long.

 

[Packard]

Actually, I installed one "near" the range and consider it to be one of the best moves I've made. It's connected to a 10" water filter downstairs that contains a 0.5 micron carbon block filter element. The filter cartridge is rated for Chlorine Taste & Odor, Giardia/Cryptosporidium, Cyst, Taste & Odor, Rust Particles and Sediment
The "pot filler" is used for all cooking water, along with all pet food/dish water, drinking water, coffee & tea water and all the water for the plants. The ice maker in the freezer is also attached to the carbon block filter. I performed a quick usage study and found that the pot filler provides about 18 gallons of water per week or about 450 gallons per 6 months which is perfect for the filter I'm using.

Once the outer wrappings are removed from the filter, you understand why these are called carbon block filters. The filter is a hollow 3/4" thick wall chunk of carbon 10" long.

None of the home makeover shows has mentioned filtration. I wonder if that is common practice or if it is Cheese being smarter than the average home owner.

How often do the filter cartridges have to be replaced? How easily are they replaced? I remember visiting my parents’ home for lunch occasionally and they would recruit me to replace the filter cartridge that was under the sink. It was one of those on-your-back-and-sweat jobs that was perfect for adult sons, but not so much for 65 year old parents.

 

[leakyroof]

For the dogs, if you have a big thirsty breed, that line will ALWAYS be flushed..... For a Pot Filler Faucet, I agree that it may be more for show than gets used in an upscale kitchen, BUT, as Cheese noted, if you really are going to use one, and you really Cook, you'll wonder how you did without one.
I fully expect that in a few years my Wife is going to want me to retrofit one to our Kitchen, as her hands are getting weak and she doesn't like to walk a full pot from the sink to the stove if it's heavy. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome affects her after years of computer work/keyboard usage.
It will look right in place in the kitchen, as she has her 5 Star 48" wide 6 burner stove, with double ovens below and a grill/griddle section between the burners. I installed a stainless steel back splash between the stove and the high capacity venting hood as a continuous piece up the wall between the two, so a faucet coming across that back splash will look right at home.....

 

[Vondawg]

Actually, I installed one "near" the range and consider it to be one of the best moves I've made. It's connected to a 10" water filter downstairs that contains a 0.5 micron carbon block filter element. The filter cartridge is rated for Chlorine Taste & Odor, Giardia/Cryptosporidium, Cyst, Taste & Odor, Rust Particles and Sediment
The "pot filler" is used for all cooking water, along with all pet food/dish water, drinking water, coffee & tea water and all the water for the plants. The ice maker in the freezer is also attached to the carbon block filter. I performed a quick usage study and found that the pot filler provides about 18 gallons of water per week or about 450 gallons per 6 months which is perfect for the filter I'm using.

Once the outer wrappings are removed from the filter, you understand why these are called carbon block filters. The filter is a hollow 3/4" thick wall chunk of carbon 10" long.

Nice job !……big surprise…class install as expected, you’d be surprised how much I’ve picked up from you thx

 

[Cheese]

None of the home makeover shows has mentioned filtration. I wonder if that is common practice or if it is Cheese being smarter than the average home owner.

How often do the filter cartridges have to be replaced? How easily are they replaced? I remember visiting my parents’ home for lunch occasionally and they would recruit me to replace the filter cartridge that was under the sink. It was one of those on-your-back-and-sweat jobs that was perfect for adult sons, but not so much for 65 year old parents.

As I became older and smarter? I placed the filter housing downstairs next to a cold air return so that you'd never hit your head on either the cold air return or the water filter housing unless you were an idiot. It was also easier to change water filter elements overhead while standing on a short Systainer as opposed to changing them from underneath the kitchen sink lying on your back...that 90's solution was always a mystery to me.
And your parents choice of filter location under the sink is not unusual as the current filter manufacturers to this day still refer to the filter systems they sell as being for "under cabinet installation". Sheesh...let's make this whole process easier. Catch the clue bus...when you change out water filter elements there will always be some water spillage, it's inevitable and unless the underside of the sink cavity is totally enclosed in rubber, you'll be mopping up water.
So here's my riff on the situation:
Whole house water filter installed downstairs for easy access, 3/4" copper lines with large radius elbows (tubas) for maximum water flow, hot & cold water lines marked with colored tape, all ball valves located next to the area they serve for ease of control.

 

[Hipplewm]

My pot filler filter feeds the pot filler, kitchen fridge icemaker, garage fridge icemaker and stand alone icemaker plus dog bowl filler - I have 2 great danes and they alone will drink a few 2 gal bowls of water a day in the winter, much more in the summer, but they also have a horse watering station in the yard they have access too.

 

[Packard]

My pot filler filter feeds the pot filler, kitchen fridge icemaker, garage fridge icemaker and stand alone icemaker plus dog bowl filler - I have 2 great danes and they alone will drink a few 2 gal bowls of water a day in the winter, much more in the summer, but they also have a horse watering station in the yard they have access too.

But does the typical residential pot-filler owner move that much water? Most people I know, even cooks, rarely make large pots of soup. And pasta seems to go in 4 quart pots. And unless you are an Old World Italian cook, pasta once a week? I have had large dogs (German Shepherds, Dobermans, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, for most of my life, and I really can’t see the advantage of the pot fillers for that application.

I always washed out the dog bowl each morning. Not an easy thing to do with a low mounted pot filler. Maybe it was my choice of dog bowls. I always used large stainless steel bowls that only needed to be filled 2/3 of the way. Maybe it is the HGTV cache that drives this. I don’t get it.

(My spell checker has been making crazy, non-sensical word substitutions throughout this post. All of my corrections throughout this post have been to undo the spell checker. Maybe spell checkers are big fans of pot fillers.)

 

[Cheese]

How often do the filter cartridges have to be replaced?

Once every 4-6 months...you can easily tell when it's time to change the filter because filling up a pasta pentola takes longer than normal. It's also obvious in the flavor of the water, there's something off with the taste.

How easily are they replaced?

Everything I need to change the filter is within a foot of the filter. To change the filter, I shut the ball valve, remove the water pressure by pressing a button on the filter housing, unscrew the lower housing, remove the old filter, insert a new filter, reattach the lower housing and open up the ball valve.

Typically though, once removed, I'll wash the lower housing in soapy water and rinse it thoroughly. I'll then fill the lower housing with clean water and let the new carbon block filter soak in it for 3-4 minutes while I'm cleaning the o-ring. I then wipe a very small amount of Vaseline on the o-ring before I reinstall it in the lower housing and screw the housing back on. It's really an under 10 minute affair all done in the standing position.

 

[peter halle]

I am glad to read that pot fillers actually get used. I'll pass. I am more risk adverse these days and more lazy. Having one of those faucets above a cooktop where there isn't a drain for them and they can accumulate grease from cooking that needs to be cleaned causes a hard pass from me.

Peter

 

[Hipplewm]

But does the typical residential pot-filler owner move that much water? Most people I know, even cooks, rarely make large pots of soup. And pasta seems to go in 4 quart pots. And unless you are an Old World Italian cook, pasta once a week? I have had large dogs (German Shepherds, Dobermans, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, for most of my life, and I really can’t see the advantage of the pot fillers for that application.

I always washed out the dog bowl each morning. Not an easy thing to do with a low mounted pot filler. Maybe it was my choice of dog bowls. I always used large stainless steel bowls that only needed to be filled 2/3 of the way. Maybe it is the HGTV cache that drives this. I don’t get it.

(My spell checker has been making crazy, non-sensical word substitutions throughout this post. All of my corrections throughout this post have been to undo the spell checker. Maybe spell checkers are big fans of pot fillers.)

Not sure what is typical, we just built a custom house and had the oppurtunity based on our kitchen/fridge configuration to make it work and my filter is behind the wall in the garage - which also means I have an easy access panel with a shutoff for EASY maintenance. If i didn't have that I wouldn't have done it, but it allowed me to feed several things off that one tap, so it made sense and the pot filler was more or less a bonus - but we do use it heavily. We can and make soup and even for steaming vegetables.

 

[Packard]

I don’t get the dog bowl application.

Moat dogs will deposit some (or a lot) of saliva when they drink. So you are going to have to wash, or at least rinse out the bowl each time you fill it.

So you are going to have to bring the bowl to the sink anyway, so what’s the point of a bowl filler at that point.

(If. You don’t rinse the bowl, in my opinion you are short-changing your dog.) I also washed out the cats’ bowl each time, but I fed them canned food and they drank very little water.

 

[Cheese]

I don’t get the dog bowl application.

Moat dogs will deposit some (or a lot) of saliva when they drink. So you are going to have to wash, or at least rinse out the bowl each time you fill it.

So you are going to have to bring the bowl to the sink anyway, so what’s the point of a bowl filler at that point.

(If. You don’t rinse the bowl, in my opinion you are short-changing your dog.) I also washed out the cats’ bowl each time, but I fed them canned food and they drank very little water.

I'm not understanding this disconnect, and there is one...so what's the point of poisoning your dog/cat with unhealthy water because you're too lazy to give the pet the water they deserve?

This is really a discussion about human and pet health issues. If you produce clean water for the pets that's a winner.
If you produce clean water for humans that's also a winner.
So what's the next step?

 

[Hipplewm]

I don’t get the dog bowl application.

Moat dogs will deposit some (or a lot) of saliva when they drink. So you are going to have to wash, or at least rinse out the bowl each time you fill it.

So you are going to have to bring the bowl to the sink anyway, so what’s the point of a bowl filler at that point.

(If. You don’t rinse the bowl, in my opinion you are short-changing your dog.) I also washed out the cats’ bowl each time, but I fed them canned food and they drank very little water.

My dogs share water with horses, donkeys, chickens etc - they drink water from the Atlantic Ocean, pluff mud, mud puddles etc - and now I am supposed to sanitize their water dish in the garage before refilling. I can PROMISE you, that is by far the cleanest thing they drink from all day.

 

[Packard]

My dogs share water with horses, donkeys, chickens etc - they drink water from the Atlantic Ocean, pluff mud, mud puddles etc - and now I am supposed to sanitize their water dish in the garage before refilling. I can PROMISE you, that is by far the cleanest thing they drink from all day.

I treat my pets as members of my household.

“Daddy, I’m thirsty.”

“The trough is by the barn. Help yourself.”


I still don’t get it.