Dismantling faucet seized (discount, Chinese?) Indestructible Vs Grohe Kiwa!

[Christophe]

I just spent 4h this afternoon ... to change my kitchen faucet leaking since 2 days (the leak was important so I had to cut the water)! Yes 4h while logically such an operation is 1h-1h30 ... Explanations ...

The leaky faucet was only 4 years, it was a model in the 30-40 € bought in a brico (certainly made in china), ask me neither the brand nor the brico, I do not remember, so no a very first price but far from the high end ...

The problem: crappy materials which on the one hand explain the leakage and disassembly indémontable because one of the 2 screw pushers was seized (I tried to clamp vice as I had the first but without success) so I had to force, distort the platinum and go through the sink hole! In short a mechanical operation of the kind childbirth!

If the 2 screws had been seized, it would have been indémontable: to cut the tap to the grinder from the top would have been the only solution! Or disassembling the sink but do not mess!

I replaced it with an old Grohe Kiwa which must have already 15-20 years ... and not a trace of rust: the brass is not chromed steel!

Finally, if we do the math, a grohe that lasts 20 years (edit: more because mine would already have more than 25 years) 150 € is cheaper than a middle range that lasts 4 years to 50 € ... not to mention the comfort ... and 4 years I'm nice: I'm not a large family! Such a cock in a family number is 2 years!

Photos:

Photo from above, I already understood the pace of the platinum that it would not be easy!

Robinet_evier.jpg (286.21 KIO) Accessed 8855 times

After 2h30 disassembly: extraction method from above! Fortunately, Chinese steel folds well !! It's about as dirty as a child finally!

Robinet_extraction.jpg (243.99 Kio) Accessed 8855 times

Robinet_extraction_2.jpg (229.99 KIO) Accessed 8855 times

Design comparison with the 15-20 years Grohe Kiwa and the 4 years old faucet!

Robinet_vs_grohe.jpg (300.92 KIO) Accessed 8855 times

The screw that could be dismantled: as bad for corrosion as for mechanical resistance !! It does not seem to me to have done the nagging editing yet! Pinching and distortion on the left ... bin is the clamp ...

Robinet_vis.jpg (86.05 KIO) Accessed 8855 times

Moral: never again will I install a tap not a big brand ... even if you have to save! And I advise you to do the same ...

[Christophe]

Still some pictures ...

Detail of a crack / crack on the chrome shit in China ... in 4 years it's pretty!

Chrome_fissure.jpg (298.96 Kio) Accessed 8851 times

The plate of Grohe Kiwa ... finally there date can be 93 05 is ... May bin 1993 is uh bin 26 years soon?
What could be better?

Grohe_kiwa.jpg (126.08 Kio) Viewed 8851 times

[Christophe]

Otherwise the Kiwa Grohe 1993 that looks like that, we see that he has hours ... finally liters pardon!

Kiwa_Grohe_1993.jpg (190.71 Kio) Viewed 8850 times

Finally I found a nice thing: the top cover is actually modular, it consists of 3 rings identical, the idea is great to do, with the same plastic injection tool, parts of different heights.

Grohe_cache.jpg (84.36 Kio) Viewed 8850 times

Cache_modulaire.jpg (142.71 Kio) Accessed 8850 times

[Ahmed]

If buying expensive hardware is not an absolute guarantee of quality, the opposite is true: low price = poor quality.
In general, it is good to anticipate the subsequent interventions by taking care to grease (the graphite grease is a plus! That silicone to the threads exposed to water ...) the fixing screws to the installation: this will avoid galley not possible when the rust or various corrosions have done their work ...

[Christophe]

Yes good advice, I had not done it could have been easier disassembly but it would not have changed the leak: we start from a quality so mediocre ...

Have you seen the appearance of the screw and platinum after 4 years? I do not know if the fat would have protected enough so it's crappy ...

I greased the base of Grohe by cons.

[Ahmed]

I was simply talking about facilitating subsequent interventions, so that I could dismantle a leaky faucet, not remedy a leak that, here, comes from manufacturing.
Graphite grease is long-lasting, because even though grease tends to gradually lose its power, graphite resists much better ...

One thing I do not understand well is the great price variation between opposing qualities, while the gain on materials * (for single objects) remains small and that it only has a small influence on the assembly time. ... The most plausible hypothesis is that this difference results essentially from commercial policy.

* The quality of the product deteriorates faster than the decrease in cost resulting from the choice of low-end materials ...

[Christophe]

* The quality of the product deteriorates faster than the decrease in cost resulting from the choice of low-end materials ...

Correct and I think this is explained by the "non-manufacturing" costs ...

Example with these 2 taps:

a) Made in China without brand: selling price 54 €
- manufacturing cost, ex works: 10 € (and maybe less: I think between 5 and 10 $ but I took 10 to facilitate the reasoning),
- transport + import + distribution: 5 €
- Margin of 30 € (= x 3) = 45 €
- Price including VAT: 54 €

b) Made in Europe: selling price 150 €
- manufacturing cost, ex works: 50 €,
- transport: 1 €
- Distribution (wholesaler): 10 €
- Margin of 64 € (= x 2) = 125 €
- Price including VAT: 150 €

So we compare 2 products whose manufacturing price is not 150 / 54 = 2,8 but 50 / 10 = 5 times lower ... in reality the gap is certainly more important! I compared a final price 3 times more expensive but it can be up to 6 to 8times more expensive (I just looked, the price of sink tap grohe is closer to 200 € knowing Chinese to 35 € this exists on the market ...)

The lower the cost of a product, the more it is possible to achieve significant commercial coefficients: what matters is the price "acceptable" by the customer compared to other products on the market!

I was a trader for 10 years and I found that too low prices could reduce sales (concept of quality too low)

[Christophe]

I found 2 other topics on the subject, there are certainly others:

plumbing-and-sanitary / plumbing-good-on-of-the-shit-t6906.html

heating-insulation / understand-the-gap-to-price-of-the-taps-thermostatic-t12846.html

[Christophe]

Continuation of the topic: I went to the local brico yesterday and apparently I found my 2014 "Merde in China" tap ... it's the Isifix Flow model (isifix lol ... my c ... l! !)

It was good in the price range that I had in mind (it has probably been a little increased since 2014): 42,59 €

20190121_163513.jpg (170.38 KB) Viewed times 8643

20190121_163541.jpg (167.39 KB) Viewed times 8643

20190121_163556.jpg (199.8 KB) Viewed times 8643

It says "ceramic discs" I don't think that was the case with my model given how it leaked after 4 years (an improvement since maybe?) ...

No indication of "Made in ..." on the box: uh is that just legal?

[Christophe]

In the same radius we find Grohe at a not so high price ...Made In Portugal OR Made in Thailand ...

20190121_163734.jpg (193.85 KB) Viewed times 8642

20190121_163727.jpg (168.99 KB) Viewed times 8642

20190121_163941.jpg (196.31 KB) Viewed times 8642

The most expensive is Made In Thailand ...

20190121_163918.jpg (188.85 KB) Viewed times 8642

At Hansgrohe when it is made in Germany it is specified on the box otherwise ... bin there is nothing noted finally if Made by Hansgrohe ...

Little clever ones!

20190121_164024.jpg (111.94 KB) Viewed times 8642

20190121_163758.jpg (120.32 KB) Viewed times 8642

Otherwise I always wondered if there was a relationship between these brands 2?