I have recently installed a Grohe Europlus II faucet in my bathroom and have noticed a couple of problems. First, when the water is turned on slightly (about a quarter of the way) I hear a continuous whistling sound. The sound disappears if the water is turned on full force. Second the water output at full force is noticeably less than it was in the old fixture that I replaced. I know that new faucets are designed to put out lower water flows but this seems abnormally low. I’d appreciate any suggestions about causes and fixes for these problems. Thanks.
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Replies
Get ahold of the Grohe rep or someone good at the parts house and discuss the whistling with them. It shouldn't do that, and it may be that swapping out the faucet or some part of it will eliminate the noise. You may want to look under the sink as the thing is whistling and see if there's any change if you move the flex lines around. I've had a couple of occasions where those lines collapsed either partly or completely and had to be replaced (the proprietary Grohe ones). Doubtful that the whistling is related to your piping, but I will say that I've got a shower that whistles no matter what showerhead I install on it.
The flow is a different question. At a given pressure it should have a certain flow rate, and the Grohe person might be able to tell you what that is. Then you test your pressure and see if it's in range by seeing how long it takes to get a gallon of water. If it's right and you still don't like it then it's the wrong faucet for you. There's also the possibility that changing a part of two will increase the flow.
Anyway, the last time I talked to a Grohe person he knew everything and everything and took care of all of it.
Take the aerator off and see if the flow remains the same. That model uses a flow restrictor in the aerator to comply with the low-flow requirements. It's rated at 2.2GPM @60psi or 2.5GPM @80psi. See also if the whistling remains after the aerator is removed.
I am not familar with that model, but I have see the same thing happen when errant pieces of soldier get flushed from the piping. Sometimes they hang in the valve seats and other times wash through to the aireators. reduces flow and causes them to whistle
Dave