Last Spring I replaced the crappy, leaking, lackluster, el-cheapo Moen kitchen faucet with a Price Pfister. Dr Desert Flower was delighted, and it's been working well. In the middle of the summer, one of the crappy, lackluster, el-cheapo Moen hall bathroom faucets began leaking as well. It followed suit with the Master Bath Room Moen faucet that also failed within a few months of us moving in. So I went out, and bought the cheapest, but prettiest 2 handled faucets I could find - Glacier Bay 102-856s - with the house underwater by almost 1/2 of it's mortgage, splurging on the property is not really relevant. The Glacier Bay's should be good for a few years, until we can dump this abode. They look sweet, and work very well.
The GB's had much more robust hardware than the pathetically chintzy Moens, for the structural sink mounts, the threaded brass water feeds, and the basin drain stopper controls. Yes, it is cheap made-in-China hardware, but it appears to be a vast improvement over the 5 year old Moens. 3 out of 6 Moen faucets failed to properly function in 5 years - that kind of Quality speaks for itself. "Moen, Built to Last, Built for life" - ugh... yeah, a life in a scrap heap maybe, until it's melted down in a large blast furnace.
9 years ago
I too have had choice words with the Moen crap that most builders use. We had to replace a shower assembly when the washer that turns off the water, stopped being useful. The only way to remove a 10 year old, mineral encrusted faucet is to use the proprietary pulling tool. Fortunately I have a friend who owned one. This only prolonged the need to cut it out and replace with a new, reliable, well designed assembly. Kudos to PP and Delta for hiring engineers that don't drive trains. I have now replaced all faucets, the last one this past weekend, Moen no mo.
ReplyDeleteThey had me fooled, as I rented for many years and admired their slick advertising campaign. The Moens look so pretty in the stores too, but they are, as you've astutely observed, crap.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it's not just me. Phoenix water IS hard, but Central Indiana water is probably not much better.
On thing on Delta shower faucets, DON'T use the handle, as a grasping point, when you;re like washing your feet or bending over to pick up a dropped item. They're not built for the side loads an adult American male can put on them for anything other than turning on and off. Our South Carolinian Delta shower valve failed after just 8 years. The replacement was straightforward, and without proprietary tools. =P