Faucet with 2 or 3 connections (important points to consider)
Are you looking to buy a new faucet for your bathroom or kitchen and wonder about the number of connections?
In addition to different designs, technical refinements, different materials and all price categories, however, all fittings differ in one basic point: the number of water connections.
We will give you an overview of what this is all about and what you should be aware of before buying and installing.
Contents
Faucets with 2 connections
What are faucets with 2 connections?
All faucets that have 2 connections and can accommodate two connecting hoses are so-called high-pressure faucets.
One connecting hose connects the fitting with the cold water supply, the other with the hot water pipe.
High pressure faucets are more or less the standard and the most common models.
These mixer faucets therefore have one supply for cold and one for hot water and mix it internally to the desired temperature.
A clear distinguishing feature of a high-pressure faucet are two holes on the underside of the faucet body.
Are faucets with 2 connections suitable for connection to a boiler?
Never connect a faucet with 2 connections to an unpressurised boiler or hot water tank.
The reason for this is that these unpressurized devices cannot withstand the water pressure of the house connection and would burst in the worst case.
Here you can find out more about why a high-pressure faucet must not be operated on unpressurized devices.
High-pressure faucets are only suitable for operation in conjunction with a central hot water supply or a flow heater.
The only exception:
If you are absolutely sure that you have a pressure-resistant hot water cylinder. There you can also connect a high-pressure faucet.
Most boilers, however, are unpressurized devices that would be damaged or destroyed by operation with a high-pressure faucet.
Are faucets with 2 connections suitable for connection to a flow heater?
Yes. If you do not have or do not want a central hot water supply, you still do not have to miss out on hot water.
One option would be to purchase decentralized hot water storage tanks, often as under-table units.
But as explained above, you will not be able to use a high-pressure faucet.
The other alternative for implementing a decentralized hot water supply is to use a flow heater.
This is because you can easily operate your high-pressure faucet with two connections.
Popular faucets with 2 connections (high pressure faucets)
Faucets with 3 connections
By the time you have read this far, you probably already know what three-port faucets are.
Correct: these models are low-pressure faucets (sometimes also called 3-line vented faucets).
You can easily recognize them by the fact that there are three connecting hoses and holes on the faucet.
Made for use on unpressurized storage tanks
Low-pressure (vented) faucets are specially designed for operation with an unpressurized hot water tank or boiler.
In case you have such a device for your hot water supply or you want to purchase one, you will not be able to avoid a low-pressure faucet.
If, on the other hand, you use a central hot water supply or a flow heater for your hot water, you can easily reach for high-pressure faucets or pillar faucets.
Can I use a faucet with 3 connections without a boiler?
That depends on exactly what you have in mind.
One option is not to use a boiler because you have a central hot water supply.
In this case, the question is whether a low-pressure faucet can be converted into a high-pressure faucet, so to speak. You will find the detailed answer to this question in our extra article here.
The other option would be to have a flow heater for your hot water supply instead of a boiler. We will look at this question next.
Connecting a low-pressure faucet to a flow heater – is that possible?
That depends on the flow heater. If it is a model, which also works without pressure, then there is no problem.
The following video shows in a very simple way how one and the same mini flow heater can be operated with both a high pressure and a low pressure faucet:
The video shows the mini flow heater from Clage, which is especially suitable for hand basins and restrooms.
Popular faucets with 3 connections (low-pressure faucets)
What are faucets with only one connection?
Faucets with only 1 connection are so-called cold water faucets, also called pillar faucets.
They only have a connection for the cold water supply and are usually used where no hot water is available or not required.
On the other hand, it is possible to draw hot water from cold water faucets by operating them in combination with a flow heater. This can also be done without problems.
In this case it is not possible to regulate the temperature directly at the faucet, but the desired temperature can be set directly at the flow heater.
The advantage of this combination is, above all, that the simpler design of the pillar faucets makes them considerably cheaper than mixing faucets.
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