American Faucet (Tap!) will it work in UK/IRE ??

Hello,

I took a liking to an american faucet when on hols recently, so I bought one. I have 2 questions that I'm hoping someone can answer

1. The tap uses 1/2" IPS connectors to connect to hot and cold supply, are these fittings available in the uk/ireland? Looks like a threaded male connector, so will need the female equivilent.

2. As this is a kitchen tap, will it work ok with uk/ire pressure? think the cold is direct from main and hot from overhead tank pressure.

Any comments/suggestions are most welcome

and before I get a slagging for buying an american tap, it was well cheap (about 1/4 the price of similiar ones over here) so couldn't resist!!


if you want to see more specs for it see the below link.

http://www.moen.com/shared/pdf/87325Csp.pdf


Thanks in advance!

and another thing, it seems to have some sort of cartridge in it, is this a water filter? or is it just the name used for the valve assembly?

The instructions don't seem to shed light on this. There is a animated tutorial on the website on how to change the cartridge, and it looks to me like it is the valve assembly, but not being much of a plumber , i'm unsure!

The houses I have come accross in the USA had mains pressure in the hot as well . I think the hot tank is fed direct from the mains - no storage tank in the loft. So you need to watch out for the hot flow but should be Ok downstairs.

Allthe buildings in NY seem to have tanks on the roof...

But your tap says
FLOW
• Aerator is limited to 2.2 gpm (8.3 L/min) at 60 psi.

60psi = 4 bar
8.3 l/min isn't high

So it wont work on gravity supplies, unless you change the aerator at least

you sure Chris? It says the Aerator is limited implying a maximum flow allowed? As thames water has a min 8 l/min on mains pressure (Scottish water has 10 l/min) I'd imagine that mine would be somewhere in that range, which should mean tap will limit the flow to an acceptable amount.

I can't seem to find any info on hot water flow rates, and you know its going to be way lower as my hot tank is feed from the cistern in the roof.

I'm hoping this won't make much of a difference, but would a restrictor on the cold be benefical to help balance the pressures a bit? or is this not required?

Well I went ahead and connected up that nice american tap. The connectors matched UK/IRE connectors fine.

In fact I took the oppurtunity to cut the copper pipes that lead straight up to the old tap, and replace the last section with flexible hose connectors, with built in service valves.

Installed the tap easily.

But. When I switched it on. Problems. flow from tap/facet was very poor. Turned to cold there was at least a little flow, but barely a trickle. Turned to just hot there was nothing.

Booo I thought, the pressure difference between my mains cold supply and my attic tank fed hot must be too great.

Grrr, old tap will need to go back on.

Decided to have a cup of coffee and a smoke before taking it all apart and putting back old tap, hoping that the new hole I had to cut for the american tap would be covered up properly by the old tap!

Had my coffee, watched some TV, then my wife pointed out rather calmly that there appeared to be water pouring out an overflow in the roof into the back garden.

there follow a few minutes of panic!! eeek how that happen?

Turned out it was the overflow from the cistern tank in the attic, the main supply for hot water in the house.

Figured out that the american tap, even when closed, somehow let the cold and hot water 'connected' together, and as the cold was at mains it back feeded all the way through the hot water system to the tank in the attic, filling the tank from the exit pipe, thus causing it to fill to high.

arrg. better get that tap of quick smart.

emailed the manufacturer and they said the cartridge maybe faulty and they would send replacement. err that was months ago and as yet still no cart.

Anyone want to buy a very nice american facet? barely used!!!

Yes the tap will work in the Uk.

Moen are one of the best and their service is second to none.

The cartridge is a termostat.

Did you flush the pipework out and clean the filter.

you sure Chris?

Click to expand...

Yes.

It says the Aerator is limited implying a maximum flow allowed? As thames water has a min 8 l/min on mains pressure (Scottish water has 10 l/min) I'd imagine that mine would be somewhere in that range, which should mean tap will limit the flow to an acceptable amount.

I can't seem to find any info on hot water flow rates, and you know its going to be way lower as my hot tank is feed from the cistern in the roof.

Click to expand...

Sorry, your logic's hopeless!

I'm hoping this won't make much of a difference,

Click to expand...

We can all dream...

but would a restrictor on the cold be benefical to help balance the pressures a bit?

Click to expand...

Yes it would mean you get a drip out of each side

It's "working" about the way I suggested it would.

The cartridge isn't thermostatic
There isn't a filter
The tap doesn't comply with UK water regulations
The quality is so poor it lets your hw fill from the cold.

You could put a check valve in each supply pipe and drill a hole through the aerator, but I'd bin it and buy a WRAS approved tap designed to work on low pressure.