About the faucet purchase recommendation, no matter what the recommendation is, you cannot avoid the problem with the faucet material types.
No kidding! Who does not look at the material when buying something? However, everyone’s concerns are different, some are concerned about the material, and some are concerned about the appearance and surface treatment colors.
The variety of faucets on the market is dazzling, some shoddy material products have long held a place in the market with their very attractive prices. There are only a few faucets used by one family, rather than buy cheap faucets and then change once every two or three years, why not add some money to buy a solid durable, worry-free!
Faucet materials in addition to brass and stainless steel, are zinc alloy, aluminum alloy, etc., but the quality is just so so, and has a certain health risk after long-term use. In the spirit of a responsible attitude, this article on the analysis of the faucet material is mainly focused on brass and stainless steel, the others will not expand.
Table of Content
Brass Material
There are many classifications of brass material, such as “non-standard brass”, “national standard brass”, for example, according to the amount of brass content, there are “H59 brass”, “H62 brass”, “H65 brass” and so on, there are also businesses promote “lead-free brass”, “low lead brass “.
Non-standard brass
“Non-standard brass” as the name implies is not in line with the national standard provisions of brass, usually used on low cost faucets, but they won’t tell you what kind of brass it’s made of. Many people do not know that there are so many kinds of brass. But! Non-standard copper contains many heavy metals and other harmful substances, it is harmful to human health for long-term use.
National standard brass
Brass that meets the requirements of national standards, that is to say HPb59-1 brass, the first letter “H” indicates brass, followed by two numbers indicate the average content of brass, 59 brass means the brass content ≥ 59%, “-1” indicates that the lead content <1%.
59 brass is the main material of brass faucet, 59 brass faucet products are the minimum standard for export to Europe and North America.
Most businesses is basically described as brass in the product material this section, only very few businesses will specifically note 59 brass or 62 brass, writing out the specific brass type is the businessman’s confidence in his product (does not exclude some small workshops is opportunistic trickery, attention to identification)
Other brass materials
In addition to the above two types of brass, there are also cUPC lead-free brass in North America, DR brass from Australia (the water in New Zealand is highly saline and requires special copper to prevent zinc precipitation), 4MS brass from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and H62 brass (copper content ≥ 62%, softer than 59 brass, suitable for processing bends and other large deformation of pipe fittings, such as the upper bend of the shower)
| Type | Cu (Cuprum) |
Pb (Plumbum) |
Al (Aluminum) |
Sn (Stannum) |
Fe (Ferrum) |
Ni (Nickel) |
As (Arsenic) |
Bi (Bismuth) |
Zn (Zinc) |
Impurity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-standard brass bar | 57.0 – 68.5 | 2.0 – 3.7 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.0 | / | / | allowance | 0.5 |
| National Standard Brass Rod HPB59-1 | 57.0 – 60.0 | 0.8 – 1.9 | / | / | 0.5 | 1.0 | / | / | allowance | 1.0 |
| Lead Free Brass Rod | 58.0 – 63.0 | 0.20 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | Si<0.05 | 0.4 – 1.5 | allowance | 0.2 (Cd<0.01) |
| DR Brass Rod Cuzn36pb2as/c W602n |
61.0 – 63.0 | 1.7 – 2.8 | 0.05 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.3 | 0.02 – 0.15 | Mn<0.10 | allowance | 0.2 |
| DR Brass Rod | 61.0 – 63.0 | 1.7 – 2.8 | 0.05 | / | 0.30 | 0.3 | 0.08 – 0.15 | / | allowance | / |
| H65 brass tube | 63.5 – 64.5 | 0.03 | 0.10 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 0.5 | 0.005 | 0.005 | allowance | 0.2 |
| H63 brass tube | 62.0 – 63.5 | 0.07 | 0.10 | 0.08 | 0.10 | 0.5 | 0.005 | 0.005 | allowance | 0.2 |
| 4ms CC752S Brass Ingots |
61 – 63 | 1.4 – 1.6 | 0.35 – 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.05 – 0.13 | Mn<0.1 | allowance | <0.02 |
| 4ms CW617N [CuZn40Pb2] |
57 – 60 | 1.6 – 2.2 | 0.05 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | Si<0.06 | / | allowance | / |
Stainless steel material
Many people consider that brass faucets contain lead, and stainless steel faucets do not have to worry about the precipitation of lead, healthier and environmentally friendly.
Stainless steel is divided into 200 series, 300 series, 400 series, the professional argument is based on the crystal structure of ferrite, martensite, austenite, common types 430 stainless steel, 201 stainless steel, 304 stainless steel, 316 stainless steel are the common types, almost identical in appearance, but the actual performance, price are very different.
430 stainless steel
content of about iron + 12% chromium, is the lowest price of the four materials, and the worst corrosion resistance. Careful partners will find the outermost layer of the bottom of stainless steel pots and pans use this steel.
201 stainless steel
also known as high manganese steel, high manganese content, easy to rust; less nickel, corrosion resistance is not as good as 304 stainless steel. On the market, some unscrupulous businessmen in order to save costs, deceive consumers by using 201 stainless steel as 304 stainless steel.
304 stainless steel
also known as 18/8 stainless steel, content of about iron + 18% chromium + 8% nickel, Better corrosion and rust resistance than 201 and 430 stainless steel, is the most widely used stainless steel material currently.
Lanerdi stainless steel faucets are used 304 stainless steel, to ensure quality and durability.
316 stainless steel
also called 18/10 stainless steel, content of about iron + 18% chromium + 10% nickel, the price is the highest of the four materials, the best corrosion and rust resistance. 316 is usually used in some high-end equipment, such as aerospace, food machinery, high-end kitchenware and other fields.
Developed countries in Europe and the United States on the requirements of stainless steel eating utensils are quite strict, the provisions for stainless steel which direct contact with food areas of contains at least have 16% chromium, can be said to be a very authoritative reference. Daily life we have to receive water through the faucet, so the stainless steel faucet should be selected at least 304 stainless steel faucet.
How to distinguish between 201 stainless steel and 304 stainless steel?
The cost of 304 stainless steel is higher, want to buy high-quality solid stainless steel faucet in a very low price is not very realistic basically, so should be wary of low-cost faucet when buying.
In addition to price differences, for the normal users, weighing by hand, observe whether the surface is smooth and so on methods are not very reliable, unscrupulous merchant has a thousand ways to make you “feel” it is true.
There is a method is considered more effective: use stainless steel test fluid to do the test.
After the detection of various stainless steel color change as follows
The law is strong, but the outlaws are ten times stronger.
Because the users are not able to cut the stainless steel faucet open and observe the internal structure, some businesses may be opportunistic, such as using 304 stainless steel to do the faucet surface, the interior with poor quality materials, cheap and sense of reality at the same time.
Oops! Impossible to defend effectively. It is still recommended to pick stainless steel faucets from well-known brands, like Home Depot or Amazon to pick the quality faucets!
Lanerdi stainless steel faucet is a good choice for wholesale and OEM&ODM
Summary
Brass faucet:
the price is cheaper than high-quality 304 stainless steel, variety of design appearance, plating surface exquisite.
304 stainless steel faucet:
More difficult to process, the price is higher good stainless steel faucets, and monotonous modeling.
The surface is generally brushed stainless steel finish, is the matte sense, and will be slightly yellow, but now stainless steel faucets can also do a variety of different color surface treatments, for example, chrome, black, gunmetal gray, brushed gold, rose gold and so on
Kitchen sink faucet can consider buying a 304 stainless steel faucet, on the one hand, the kitchen is greasy and easy to clean up, on the other hand, a quality stainless steel faucet is not afraid of lead problems, and after all, the kitchen faucet water is to eat into the stomach.
Other space faucets, such as bathrooms, balconies, etc. It is recommended to buy brass faucets, the appearance is more delicate and beautiful. Of course, a good stainless steel faucet price is higher, if more attention to cost, brass faucet is definitely a good choice.
