Faucets range from tens of yuan to thousands, with a difference of several orders of magnitude. Why is this? Where is the gap between faucets? Let's see:
wood tissue
Faucet materials can be divided into: zinc alloy, brass and 304 stainless steel. Because plastic and pure iron faucets have been basically eliminated, they are no longer introduced.
1 brass
Brass faucet is the mainstream faucet material, and many big brands mainly use brass faucet.
There are many kinds of copper, including copper, bronze and brass. The copper content of brass used in faucet is about 59%, which is Hpb59- 1 brass. In addition, lead is added to copper, the content is between 0.8% and 2%, and the rest is mainly zinc. Why add lead? The main reason is that if there is no lead, the machinability of brass is poor and it cannot be machined. But it is this kind of lead that will precipitate when brass is put into water. The problem of lead precipitation mainly depends on the lead content in brass. If the standard Hpb59- 1 brass is used, the precipitation amount is far lower than the national standard, which is absolutely safe. However, some manufacturers use inferior brass that does not meet the standards. The content of copper is only 40%-30%, but the content of lead is high. Such a faucet is really a poisonous faucet.
There is little lead precipitation from high-quality brass faucets, so don't worry too much, which is less than the lead content in the automobile exhaust that we cross the road every day.
It is almost impossible to buy an all-copper faucet for tens of dollars in the market. A faucet needs about one kilogram of brass, and the copper price is 60 thousand yuan/ton. Therefore, it is basically impossible to use standard brass for faucets with extremely low prices.
High-grade faucet is made of pure copper metal blank by heating and stamping, and then the solid workpiece is hollowed out by numerical control equipment. The product modeling of this process is difficult, and it is only suitable for simple modeling products.
There is also the use of metal grinding tools for casting, heating copper into liquid state and pouring it into metal grinding tools for one-time molding.
The above modeling methods are all used by high-grade faucets.
In order to reduce the cost of low-priced faucets, the factory adopts casting technology, which heats copper to liquid state and then injects it into sand mold for molding. Due to the loose structure of copper parts cast by sand mold, sand holes are easy to penetrate through the shell, so they should be soaked with leak-trapping paint before processing.
This is the main reason why the price of the same brass material is very different.
2 zinc alloy
Zinc alloy is mainly zinc, and zinc alloys such as aluminum, copper, magnesium, cadmium, lead and titanium are also added. The main characteristics of zinc alloy are moderate hardness, easy forming and good plasticity. Zinc alloy has good corrosion resistance in air, and most of it is used to make the handle of faucet.
Zinc alloy has good plasticity, can be made into different styles and shapes, and has good corrosion resistance in the atmosphere, so zinc alloy is generally used to make faucet handles. At present, whether in domestic or European and American markets, the handle of faucet is mainly made of zinc alloy. More than 90% of faucets sold in the market are made of zinc alloy.
However, because zinc alloy is easy to process and is made of metal, most people can't tell the specific material. Many manufacturers of faucets use low-priced and low-quality zinc alloys with very low zinc content. Low-quality zinc alloy has poor corrosion resistance in water, and the long-term use quality cannot be guaranteed, which leads to the image of zinc alloy faucet becoming low-quality and low-price, and the market has been stinking.
3 304 stainless steel
The standard stainless steel faucet is lead-free, which eliminates everyone's concern about lead pollution. It is mainly composed of 18% chromium, 8% nickel and iron. Chromium and nickel are mainly used to maintain the corrosion resistance of the surface, which is also the key of stainless steel. Stainless steel faucet does not need surface electroplating because of its corrosion resistance, which reduces pollution.
But chromium is a heavy metal, and hexavalent chromium is harmful to human body. Our current water plants are all disinfected with chlorine, and chromium will react with chloride ions, which is no less harmful than lead. In addition, the stainless steel market is very chaotic, and many faucets are not sure whether it is 304 stainless steel. What's more, the surface looks like stainless steel, but in fact it is chrome-plated for cheap materials to deceive consumers. Stainless steel faucets have appeared for nearly 10 years, and the specific prospect remains to be seen.
The casting process of stainless steel faucet is very similar to brass, and the same material also has advantages and disadvantages.
Knowing the materials of the above faucets and looking at the following points, you can basically know why a good faucet is so expensive.
Electroplating process
Electroplating process is one of the key factors affecting the quality of faucet. Electroplating layer is directly related to the durability of faucet. The electroplating layer of high-grade faucet is generally divided into three layers, and the thickness of each layer also has specific standards, and it can only be listed after passing the acid corrosion test. A good electroplated layer has a smooth and natural surface without small pits and scratches. Good electroplating layer is also an important reason for high price.
reel
We often say that the all-copper faucet is only made of pipes and brass on the outside, but the internal materials such as the valve core are not brass.
The faucet is turned on and off every day, and the valve core determines the service life of the faucet.
The materials of the valve core are mainly plastics and ceramics. Plastic valve core is a low-end valve core, which is cheap but has a short service life. If the faucet leaks soon after use, it is basically a valve core problem.
The ceramic valve core has a long service life, which can reach 500,000 times without dripping. There is little difference between domestic and imported valve cores, so ceramic valve cores need not be superstitious about imported ones.
A good valve core is soft and elastic, but it will not float lightly, and its service life can generally be guaranteed at 5- 10 years. Poor quality valve core, feel astringent, no softness.
flexible pipe
A hose is a pipe that connects a faucet with a water source. Hoses include stainless steel bellows and braided hoses. The hose of a good faucet has good elasticity, and the hose will not be damaged after being knotted and folded in half.
Bubbler
There is a key device called bubbler at the outlet, which can reduce the splashing of water and make the water feel softer. The low-end faucet has no bubbler or the bubbler is made of low-priced raw materials, which is not durable. The bubbler of high-end faucet has multi-layer honeycomb filter screen inside, and the shell is made of copper, which is not afraid of repeated disassembly and cleaning. Today's high-end faucets and gas injection technology make water droplets feel softer and softer.
useful
Generally, a home decoration can last 5- 10 years, and the service life of a good faucet can exceed 10 years. Long service life is closely related to the above factors.
after-sales service
The high-end faucets of several head brands are also doing well after sale. Except for the high price, all are advantages.
High-end faucets and bathroom products are installed by manufacturers at home, which greatly reduces the damage during installation. According to the above introduction, it is suggested that hardware accessories such as faucets should be purchased separately when buying a basin in the kitchen or bathroom. Generally, the faucets matched with water basins are not too awkward to use from the cost point of view, and the installation of faucets is very troublesome. A good faucet can be used for a long time, don't worry.