New kitchen faucet and water dispenser
We decided to update the kitchen faucet and water dispenser, not because anything was broken, but mostly to clean up the look. The old setup worked (was however loaded with mineral deposits), but it had a white faucet and a chrome dispenser, and we wanted to get rid of the mixed finishes. The new ones are both stainless, so it looks a lot cleaner and more modern. We went with the same faucet (Kohler Artifacts) that we have in our sticks-and-bricks, just a shorter version. It's been rock solid there, so we figured why mess with what you know? Plus there was on one Ebay for 1/2 price, new in open box.
Taking out the old Moen faucet wasn't too bad, but it definitely seemed like it was installed with a special tool. There was no room to get a regular wrench (combo, socket, basin, you name it) on the nut underneath. I resorted to turning the faucet body counterclockwise, that was enough to loosen the nut so my finger wrenches could do the rest.
The old faucet had a small threaded shaft with the water lines running on the outside of it. The new one runs the hoses through the middle of a larger shaft, which meant the new mounting nut and washer were way larger. The Foretravel sink to countertop have an approx ~1/2-5/8" step, and while the old small nut cleared it (Foretravel ground a flat spot on the washer to allow it to clear), the new setup wouldn't.
I choose to cut a block out of HDPE to fill the gap and give the new nut and washer a flat surface to clamp against. The hole in the countertop is right up against that step, so you have to offset the hole on the spacer block.
The hardest part of the whole job? Cramming myself into the space under the sink.
The water dispenser swap was easy -- pretty much a direct replacement. We purchased a basic APEC Water Systems Faucet that had a clean look. A 9/16" deep socket and extension reached the nut just fine, so it came off and went back on quickly. You do need to trim the lower plastic washer to clear that step, but I just reused the one Foretravel had already modified to save time.
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Topic: New kitchen faucet and water dispenser