Statistics show 60-65% of all NZ homes will have unequal water pressure. This means that they have the cold water coming in off the street at good water pressure but the hot water is fed thru a low pressure hot water cylinder. This creates unequal water pressure (high cold & low hot) Typically you will find this in homes that are over 10-15 years old. This sort of pressure system requires a tap suited to All Pressures as they have a special cartridge & hot flexi hose to allow more hot water thru. Mains pressure is generally found in new homes built within the last 10-15 years – the cold comes in off the street mains & the hot water is fed thru a mains pressure hot water cylinder – this creates mains pressure on both hot & cold - any tap can be used in this installation.
Look on the side of your hot water cylinder or simply turn the tap from hot to cold to see if the cold is much stronger than the hot. If so then you have unequal pressure and will require a tap suited to All Pressure.
This item has 3 functions:
1 It gives you the ability to turn your water off at the wall instead of having to go to the road & finding your mains
2 On unequal water pressure it allows you to turn the cold flow down so that it is closer to the hot water pressure
3 It has an inbuilt filter to stop any foreign particles coming thru the line & getting caught in the ceramic cartridges
Strictly speaking yes. Our warranty states that failure to use an inline filter MAY void the warranty. The reason for this is because it is not a fault of the mixer if the plumber or installer has not flushed the lines first & removed any foreign particles e.g. copper fillings/PTFE tape etc. A lot of the time the installer will put in the mixer without flushing the lines & all of the fillings etc. will then get flushed into the cartridge & that is when the mixer will drip because you cannot then turn the mixer off properly because there is fillings caught.
From April 2011, most water-using appliances and many plumbing fittings are required to display a Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (WELS) label. The WELS label lets you identify products that use less water. It applies to washing machines, dishwashers, toilets, urinals, showers, and taps.
It displays two types of info:
1) A star rating that shows relative water efficiency for the same type of product. The more stars, the more water-efficient. Most products have a maximum of 6 stars; but in the short term, showers will have a maximum rating of 3.
2) A water consumption or flow-rate figure of litres per minute for taps. The label for taps will also say if the product is designed for mains or low-pressure water systems.
For more information on WELS visit www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/water/wels-scheme