I recently replaced three corroded fake brass faucets with three of these. Initially ordered one, liked it, and ordered two more. So why only four stars? Overall, this is a solid product and a good value. The faucets have a beautiful deep brass finish, and the valve works well (hot/cold mixing, flow, etc.). However, there are several minor issues that detract from the overall rating. ASSYMETRY Another reviewer noted that the handle automatically centers itself in the shut off position. Well - almost. On the three units I received, the handle is skewed slightly to the right of center in the shut off position. A minor issue, but I would prefer the handle perfectly centered. The faucet is comprised of a housing and a base plate. On all three units, the base plate fits inside the housing on the left side of the faucet, but the base plate is visible on the right side. I tried adjusting the baseplate before installation. The baseplate would not fit inside the housing on the right side, so I tried to position the faucet so the baseplate was also visible on the left side. However, I could never get exposure of the baseplate to match on both sides of the faucet. Again, this is a minor issue, and probably won’t be noticed, but it makes the installation appear less than professional. FRAGMENTED INSTRUCTIONS Read Everything! Twice! There are multiple sets of instructions. There is an instruction sheet that duplicates the instructions shown on the back of the box. These instructions describe installation of the drain hardware, but there is also a separate instruction sheet for the drain hardware alone. Only the special drain hardware instructions describe application of silicone caulking under the drain flange. There is no mention of it in the two sets of general instructions. I intentionally did NOT follow the installation sequence provided in the instructions. They describe first installing flexible hoses on the shutoff valves beneath the sink, then connecting the hoses to the ½” fittings on the new faucet located in a very awkward, hard to reach location. Why on earth would anyone ever do this? Instead, Teflon tape and torque the flexible hoses onto the ½” faucet fittings before putting the new faucet in position. Then you only need to tape the 3/8” fittings at the shutoff valves and connect the flexible hoses. The shutoff valve fittings are located in a readily accessible location compared to the faucet fittings. The instructions show a “basin wrench” as a required tool. Maybe it is required if you follow the installation sequence in the instructions. I bought one, but never used it, and returned it to the hardware store for refund. REALLY LOW FLOW These faucets come with 1.2 GPM aerators. I don’t live in California, so I replaced them with 2.2 GPM aeratorsTaozun 3-Pac 15/16-Inch Male Threaded Brass Aerator with Gasket Faucet Replacement Part, Polished Chrome ... to provide a more reasonable flow. For two of the three faucets, the new aerators fit perfectly using the washers that came with the aerators, but on the third one, I had to use a couple of o-rings to get the aerator to fit. Just another minor inconsistency in faucet manufacturing and quality control. RANDOM SPARE PARTS There is an assortment of spare parts that aren’t addressed in the instruction or required for installation. Spacers, lock screws with Allen wrenches, ½” brass nuts with plastic ferrules, etc. If you use flexible hoses as shown in the instructions, there’s no need for the brass nuts since ½” plastic nuts are incorporated with the flexible hoses. I think some of the other parts are associated with the valve cartridge (there is an “exploded view” diagram that may address some of these). These undocumented spare parts just add to the general confusion.
