Spruced up my kitchen a touch, Went down the rabbit hole, really like the stainless steel braided hoses

[redhat]

It all started with getting a glass rinser...

Bought a glass rinser as a gift for my wife for Christmas. Figured we'd take out the hose sprayer, mount the glass rinser, and eventually get a new faucet with a hose built into the head. Well... unbeknownst to me, our Moen faucet's hose sprayer isn't really a "detachable" or "unusable" piece in that it has to remain connected to complete the water path. So I coiled it up under the sink and re-attached it.

So I bought a new faucet with a hose/sprayer integrated into the head. Job done. Well on a related thought, I hated how slow our refrigerator water comes out -- PAINFULLY slow. So I initially figured how nice it would be to have the whole cold-side of the sink filtered. We usually fill up our glasses from the sink because of the performance. So I bought a AO Smith water filter and installed that. Job done. Works real well and the water has a lot less taste. I am happy.

Well I still wanted the fridge performance to improve, so I figured that a new saddle/piercing valve and a new 1/4 line to the refrigerator could help. I looked at Lowes and saw how they have all of these SS braided hoses. Bought them. Couldn't pull the new SS line through the existing holes, so I pulled the dishwasher out and enlarged the holes. While the dishwasher was out, the copper HOT water feed line was kinked, so I figured... well you'll get a SS braided line too.

So Long story short, I ran all new SS lines, man are those nice. Really like the rubber gaskets they have in them. Snug tight and a little more with a small crescent wrench and they do not leak. 10x nicer than new ferrules, sleeves, etc. Tightened everything up nice, turned water supply back on, No leaks - NICE.

Kinda went down the rabbit hole, but it is worth it. The Water filter on the cold side will be nice peace of mind when cooking. We are fortunate enough to have decent enough water through Erie County Water Authority. But I can imagine that filtering it can only make it healthier. Wife and I drink a lot of water, not much pop, some beer. Not a fan of buying water bottles.

Old faucet

 

[AZjeff]

Learned something new today, never heard of a glass rinser. Does it turn on when you push down? Not sure I understand the need, you say you drink mostly water and I see a dishwasher drain under the sink.

Good job working it all out, sometimes home DIY projects get away from you.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Nice! Add "Plumber" to your resume...

 

[redhat]

Learned something new today, never heard of a glass rinser. Does it turn on when you push down? Not sure I understand the need, you say you drink mostly water and I see a dishwasher drain under the sink.

Good job working it all out, sometimes home DIY projects get away from you.

Yes, you put the glass over top of it and press down. Jet in the center sprays the glass.

Well I'll edit that, coffee mugs, glass of milk here and there etc. I rinse my water bottle as well.

 

[FowVay]

Don't let your wife catch you cleaning car parts in that sink. She'll wring your neck.

 

[redhat]

Don't let you wife catch you cleaning car parts in that sink. She'll wring your neck.

No that is what the dishwasher is for!

 

[Aredeeem]

Good job! Improvements to an appliance/area that is used so much on a daily basis is a win. Well done

 

[researcher]

Am I seeing things? Looks like the water on the new faucet has a light, lighting up the water??

oh and nice install too!!

 

[Mazomopar]

AO Smith been around the plumbing world a long time and I bet they make a nice unit with readily available replacement parts. Only thing I noticed is dishwasher's drain is tee'd in before the p trap. An inspector would say this would allow sewer gas to make it's way into the unit and out to atmosphere. But in the real world, life goes on.

 

[alarmguy]

Curious as to the brand water filter. Are you happy with it?
Im trying to understand the photo regarding that. Is it still hooked up? Separate tap or does all water flow through it to the kitchen faucet?

 

[redhat]

Curious as to the brand water filter. Are you happy with it?
Im trying to understand the photo regarding that. Is it still hooked up? Separate tap or does all water flow through it to the kitchen faucet?

Yes so far I am pleased with it. Cold side flow was decreased a tad, but noting bad to be honest. So the plastic fitting that connects to my cold side has an outlet on the bottom and an inlet on the top (side fittings), that way it can still connect with keeping the plumbing neat.

This filtered water does flow through the faucet. Figure it isn't a half bad idea to cook with some cleaner water. I was by no means concerned with my water quality but I figured If I am in there, why not. The filter unit was affordable at around $110.

 

[alarmguy]

Yes so far I am pleased with it. Cold side flow was decreased a tad, but noting bad to be honest. So the plastic fitting that connects to my cold side has an outlet on the bottom and an inlet on the top (side fittings), that way it can still connect with keeping the plumbing neat.

This filtered water does flow through the faucet. Figure it isn't a half bad idea to cook with some cleaner water. I was by no means concerned with my water quality but I figured If I am in there, why not. The filter unit was affordable at around $110.

Just curious as to what brand it maybe.
FYI - Im big on water filters for drinking water and when I have one I want to make sure it's properly rated and easy to obtain refills.
I would expect a slightly reduced water flow in a quality filter like you are experiencing.

Myself included, not overly concerned about water quality but for a small price, I can be reassured that any remaining chemicals, pesticides ect are reduced even further from the public water supply. Also, depending where and for us, time of year since our city water comes from a 41 mile long manmade lake the filter does improve taste, at the height of summer the water can develop a slight algae taste, was a big issue just a couple years back, we live near the state capital so this is no small time system. They added extra new equipment with better carbon filters to correct the problem which leads me back to I like the idea of my own filter just to reduce further whatever the public supply is already filtering out.
and ... not only that but all plumbing in homes and under the roads delivering that water are now made of plastic, so yeah, not paranoid by ANY means but just part of my lifestyle in general. I can taste the difference.

BTW - reason for this question is we sold our house and new one under construction in a different area. Typically I was happy with the refrigerator filter (Kenmore) which I replaced every 6 months but always thought about a tap one too.

 

[andrew_j]

Nice job, that old faucet was hideous.

 

[tbm5690]

BTW - reason for this question is we sold our house and new one under construction in a different area. Typically I was happy with the refrigerator filter (Kenmore) which I replaced every 6 months but always thought about a tap one too.

Go with an RO system for the best filtration...filters end up cheaper than the fridge ones, you can usually run them longer, and the filtration is superior with the multiple stages. They also flow much higher and you can easily fill something 2x faster than the fridge dispensers.

 

[alarmguy]

Go with an RO system for the best filtration...filters end up cheaper than the fridge ones, you can usually run them longer, and the filtration is superior with the multiple stages. They also flow much higher and you can easily fill something 2x faster than the fridge dispensers.

Im familiar with RO systems. I agree 100% No question R/O water is the one of the most pure water you can get but I am not that concerned regarding the city water supply. Actually Im not concerned at all really.
It's more of, like, for example putting a magnetic oil plug on my oil pan.
Just a little something extra for some stuff that might be missed and removed most of all any weird taste such as too much chlorine and as mentioned reduced further any contaminates.

Maybe I am wrong but any R/O systems I know of require a drain system for excess water and they also waste a certain amount of water. If they dont, then a separate tank would certainly be needed I think.. But at any rate it is more than what I want. A simple change out carbon and possible resin exchange media would be good for me. I might actually be more inclined for R/O if I had well water.

 

[tbm5690]

Maybe I am wrong but any R/O systems I know of require a drain system for excess water and they also waste a certain amount of water. If they dont, then a separate tank would certainly be needed I think.. But at any rate it is more than what I want. A simple change out carbon and possible resin exchange media would be good for me. I might actually be more inclined for R/O if I had well water.

Correct, they need a drain and most are installed under sink and just tap into the sink drain like a dishwasher would. I'm also on "good" city water but the cleaner the better. My setup is unique and doesn't sacrifice under-sink space, also allowing for a 5 gal storage tank. The whole system is installed below the kitchen in my utility/laundry room and pipes the water up a level, drains into the utility room floor drain so it's pretty slick. You can see the RO faucet and white PVC line in the cabinet below disappearing into the abyss lol.

 

[alarmguy]

Believe it or not, I’m familiar with RO systems because in a marine reef fish tank many people use RO systems to get the most pure water and then mix in the salt mixture.
Many marine organisms need super pure water as found on a reef.

 

[Leo99]

Learned something new today, never heard of a glass rinser. Does it turn on when you push down? Not sure I understand the need, you say you drink mostly water and I see a dishwasher drain under the sink.

Good job working it all out, sometimes home DIY projects get away from you.

We redid our kitchen last year and thought about adding the glass rinser but decided against it. How often are we going to use it? Now every time I rinse a glass my wife gives me the side eye. LOL.

I hired a plumber to install my faucet and disposer and new drain. The guy was incompetent and couldn't do it. Plus he was very expensive. I sent him on his way and did it myself. The new faucets are very easy to install with the braided lines. I hate dealing with solid copper lines.

 

[4WD]

A “pull down” Moen was my single hole/handle faucet mounted through SileStone … the steel on steel (thin) nut rusted and failed before the faucet did - so just replaced with American Standard and the mounting is brass on brass …

 

[Hall]

Not sure I understand the need, you say you drink mostly water and I see a dishwasher drain under the sink.

You don't wash drinking glasses that you had water in ?