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Message |
    
MeAndTheBoys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 3695
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 8:36 pm: | 
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What kinds of things should I look for? What should I look to stay away from? What brands are good? What brands suck? Where do Elkay and Blanco fall in the good-suck spectrum? How deep is too deep for primary sink? What are the basic dimensions for an island prep sink? |
MeAndTheBoys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 3696
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 8:40 pm: |
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P.S. Both are undermount. |
doulamomma
Citizen
Username: Doulamomma
Post Number: 1395
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 9:00 pm: |
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Elkay & Blanco are both top of the line, I belive. I went with another brand as it was similar price but a bit harder/heavier? (I forget how the gauge works) - I looked lots online & then ended up buying at HD Expo in Paramus...many of the counter folks can sell you a sink too. I like a deep sink. |
MeAndTheBoys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 3697
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 9:09 pm: |
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So, what brand did you get? Heavier gauge sounds good. I'm going for one that's 10" deep with 28"x16" interior dimension. |
Dennis J O'Neill
Citizen
Username: Plungy
Post Number: 25
Registered: 6-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 9:17 pm: |
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It's all about the guage of the metal, the nickel content of the alloy (less nickel = more staining) and the amount of soundproofing on the underside, Elkay has 3 grades. |
jcl
Citizen
Username: Jcl
Post Number: 64
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 9:23 pm: |
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Check out sinks from kindred. We got the single undermont KSS5U/9 model that meatures 30 1/8 wide and 9" deep. It's great. |
MeAndTheBoys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 3698
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - 9:30 pm: |
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Dennis, can you be more specific. I know 18 gauge is good, but 16 is better/thicker--but I'm not seeing much in 16. How does one know the nickel content and what is desirable? |
melicious
Citizen
Username: Melicious
Post Number: 440
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 9:22 am: |
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Consumer Reports:
Surprise, some of the least expensive sinks are also among the toughest.
You’d think that a thick, $350 stainless-steel sink would be quieter and less dent-prone than a thin $150 model, or that a $400 cast-iron enamel sink would chip less easily than a lighter, $200 enameled-steel version. But we found thickness and weight don’t guarantee toughness. Our tests also showed that solid-surface sinks, which blend polyester or acrylic resins and natural fillers, are as easy to scratch as acrylics models--though solid surface offers easy repairs and styles that mimic granite and other materials. What’s more, months of abuse revealed that who makes a sink isn’t as critical as what it’s made of.
PERFORMANCE
We tested 16 rimmed, 22x33-inch double-bowl sinks from American Standard, CorStone, Eljer, Elkay, Kohler, and Moen. Our tests focused on their ability to shed stains from tea bags, vinegar, mustard, drain cleaner, and other kitchen culprits, and to resist abrasion from nylon and metal scouring pads. We also gauged resistance to damage from hot pots and dents from weights dropped as one might a pot or utensil, as well as compared the noise made by running water and by our dropped weights.
Because brands and models made of the same material performed similarly, we based our Ratings on the major materials.
Enamel over iron or steel: Both tough where it counts. A wet sponge removed food stains from both types, even after the stains had set for 24 hours. Only drain-cleaner stains required some work.
Both iron- and steel-based enamel also resisted scratches better than acrylic and solid surface, and handled heat and impacts equally well. But dropping the wrong object could damage either type. Our 5-pound weight dented and chipped the steel sinks but not the cast iron, while our sharp object chipped only the cast-iron sinks. Chips can let the metal beneath rust; you can touch them up, but you’ll still see the damage.
Stainless steel: Thin is fine. These sinks come in gauges from 18 to 23; the lower the gauge, the thicker the steel. But thicker isn’t necessarily better. Our thin- and thick-gauge sinks resisted dents and heat, and silenced noise similarly. All stainless sinks resisted scratches as well as enamel, and did nearly as well at resisting stains, though cleaning them usually took more work.
Solid surface: Forgiving, but watch out for heavy objects. Solid-surface sinks are uniform throughout. That means you can sand away scratches--a major advantage, given that all of the tested sinks were scratched by scouring pads.
More worrisome is the chance that they’ll shatter, as some did during our weight-drop test. A pot heated to 400° F left burns, though they were repairable.
Acrylic: Tough to a point. These high-gloss sinks look like enamel and come in many colors. The samples we tested were unharmed by our stain and impact tests. But scouring pads marred their surface, and our 400° pot left irreparable damage.
FEATURES AND DESIGN
Choosing a new sink involves several considerations. The major ones:
How much work space? Bowls range from 6 to 10 inches deep. Deeper ones hold more and reduce splashes. Offset drain holes set near the back maximize access within the cabinet below.
How quiet? All sinks silenced water noise well. Stainless sinks with sound-deadening pads on the outside made the least impact noise, enamels the most.
How easy to install? Sinks with a rim around the top simply drop into a countertop. Those designed for installation beneath the counter are harder to mount.
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Master Plvmber
Citizen
Username: Master_plvmber
Post Number: 529
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 10:09 am: |
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I have this one in my kitchen:
http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?from=thumb&frm=null&module=Kit chen+Sinks&item=238702&prod_num=3288-3§ion=1&category=5
What I like about it is the sound dampening undercoating, highly-polished edges and the fitted cutting board that sits in the recess. |
Robert O'Connor
Citizen
Username: Local24
Post Number: 11
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 11:02 am: |
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I Likey D' Franke.
http://www.frankeksd.com/productdetail.php?prodid=298&node=10&group=24&lvl=3
A little spendy, but IMHO the best out there in SS.
Robert O'Connor |
Wilkanoid
Citizen
Username: Cseleosida
Post Number: 576
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 11:09 am: |
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I have one very similar to Master Plumber's. I can't remember if it's a Kohler as well -- but having a one-basin, very deep sink is really nice.
One thing you may want to consider -- I had the option of having the faucet mounted on the right-hand corner, which is really efficient (from my point of view). I also had a dishwashing detergent spout (the reservoir is under the sink) added on. |
Dennis J O'Neill
Citizen
Username: Plungy
Post Number: 26
Registered: 6-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 7:40 pm: |
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A lesser known manufacturer of really nice, high quality SS sinks is Just Manufacturing.
As far as depth goes, I think in a residential application 10" is max if your drain is roughed in low enough to allow for that size.
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Jennifer Pickett
Citizen
Username: Jpickett
Post Number: 211
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 9:52 pm: |
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We bought a 9" deep Elkay undermount SS sink (10" deep once installed) off the rack at HD (18 gauge) for under 300 (I think it was 23" wide),it is working our fine, but scratches easily- just be aware that the gleaming finish has to be rubbed to be maintained, we are letting ours develop a patina. The deep sink is awesome, because you can't see the dirty dishes in the sink until you are right next to it (this effect probably dimishes as the sink gets wider). The drain was almost too low, luckily for us we were able to do it. |
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