What are the best quality braided SS faucet supply lines?

[ItzRav]

I know that some people think that pretty much any braided stainless steel faucet supply line that can be found at a place like Ace or Home Depot is fine. But in my research, there seem to be some real differences between different manufacturers. For example, the BrassCraft line says it uses an 8-sided crimp, and handles a maximum of 125 PSI. Then there's those at Kully Supply, which they say they get from Kissler, which claims a 12-sided crimp with a working pressure of 250 PSI, among other things. I've read articles about the dangers of supply lines that have a thin-walled inner PVC tube, but they don't say which brands to avoid. I could go on with examples but the point is, I'm looking for the best quality lines possible. I know they don't last forever, but I want to reduce the risk of a flood in-between replacing them every 5-10 years or so. I don't want the so-called Flood-Safe lines, which I've read are not necessarily so safe. What would people here recommend? Thanks.

 

[Standardairconditioner]

I'm my entire life, I have never seen supply lines explode or rupture from age. Even when the braid was severely deteriorated, the plastic hose inside was healthy and intact.

"replacing them every 5-10 years or so" is not general practice, and can actually cause more damage as you'll upset other areas that haven't budged in decades, like the rough, or the connector on the toilet, etc.

Hydraulic lines for a braking system is one area to scrutinize (500-1500 psi), but we're talking about water here, something very low pressure. Water pressure is typically well under 80 psi. Your thin soft garden hose can hold back this pressure, surely will PVC that is harder and thicker.

I like classic chrome supply pipes. They are shiny and pretty, I enjoy cutting them to length and bending them. I don't like how dirt and mold can get trapped into the braids from condensation. This is just a personal preference, and does not imply braided supplies are bad.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[ItzRav]

I'm my entire life, I have never seen supply lines explode or rupture from age. Even when the braid was severely deteriorated, the plastic hose inside was healthy and intact.

"replacing them every 5-10 years or so" is not general practice, and can actually cause more damage as you'll upset other areas that haven't budged in decades, like the rough, or the connector on the toilet, etc.

Hydraulic lines for a braking system is one area to scrutinize (500-1500 psi), but we're talking about water here, something very low pressure. Water pressure is typically well under 80 psi. Your thin soft garden hose can hold back this pressure, surely will PVC that is harder and thicker.

...

Thanks for the reply, standardairconditioner. Perhaps replacing them automatically every 5-10 years isn't necessary, but on the sink in question when a plumber installed a new faucet there 12 years ago, he didn't change the existing braided SS lines. I moved into the house two years before that, and they weren't changed since then either, so they're at least 14 years old (and quite possibly older). It isn't the water pressure the lines are under that I'm concerned about (I've measured mine at about 60). It's (1) slow deterioration of the PVC inner tube due to chlorination or other chemicals (we're on city water, which I know is chlorinated), and (2) the hose leaking or disconnecting at the crimp, simply due to age and use. I know it's not "likely," but I've read enough reports of these things happening that I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Re causing more damage to other components, I agree that I need to be careful. I recently reconditioned all the supply stops around the house, because they had never been exercised in at least 15 years and all were very stiff or wouldn't turn at all. Our plumbing is iron pipe (from 1930), and all stops are multi-turn. Although I'd prefer to change them all to 1/4 turn stops, at the advice of others I decided not to to avoid doing any damage to the pipes or pipe threads. When we have the house re-plumbed at some point, we'll change the valves then. What I did do was remove the stems, clean everything up, and lube the stem threads with plumbers grease. In some cases I completely replaced the stems (leaving the existing valve bodies). In all cases I used two wrenches, one to hold the valve body and one to remove the stem. I would be similarly careful if I replace the supply lines.

I'd appreciate hearing what others here think of replacing the supply lines, and what brands you would recommend. Thanks.

 

[Standardairconditioner]

High-precision aircraft-aluminum braided hoses are made to handle extreme high temperatures, extreme high pressures, high chemical resistance to toluenes and acids, a lot of R&D goes into them, which is why they are a lot more expensive to use than rubber hoses in engines. There is no price tag limit for parts used in F1 Formula One engines. Feel free to contact any shop that sells to Nascar, BMW, and Ferrari.

Home supply hoses are made for low pressure water at the lowest possible price, by the Chinese factory that will sell them as low as possible so the retailer can profit from a brick and mortar storefront. $4.99 here and $10.99 there won't really make a difference when it's all made by the lowest bidder.

If you are PVC-phobic, why not use solid reliable chrome supply pipes?

 

[Dj2]

Quote: "Our plumbing is iron pipe (from 1930)"

If you are looking for things to replace, I think you ought to start with your pipes.

 

[ItzRav]

Quote: "Our plumbing is iron pipe (from 1930)"

If you are looking for things to replace, I think you ought to start with your pipes.

Thanks. Yes, they definitely need to be replaced, but not right now. We have had a lot of major expenses on our house in the last few years, so we're just not ready expense-wise, and of course we're not looking forward to having our original plaster walls torn up. At any rate, that's not something I can do myself, but replacing a few supply lines is (with flex lines yes, rigid metal no). I'm just trying to do what I can do. But, at least so far, I'm getting the message that I shouldn't be wasting my time with this, so I'll move on.

 

[DaveDIY]

Some food for though that polymer braid hose have less problems than stainless braid hose from insurance claims and engineering investigations, but doesn't address rodents.

https://origin-and-cause.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/OC_Article_WaterSupplyLines.pdf

I think it's the actual hose that determines the life. The braiding is to protect against rubbing. Expensive faucets have polymer braiding and stainless braiding.

Kissler (one year warranty), regular Fluidmaster (? years) and regular HD BrassCraft (? years) crimping look about the same. The pro Fluidmaster looks like a longer connector and additional crimp with 10 years warranty.

BrassCraft PEX raisers are rated at 12 years but nosepiece looks glued on or hot melted (strays of plastic trail). Does anyone have authoriated how they are made?

 

[Andrew LB]

A few months ago my elderly neighbor woke up to her entire ground floor of her 2 story home with 1-3" of water everywhere. I got everything shut off for her, and ended up spending my weekend removing as much water with my wet\dry vac as humanly possible in order to minimize the damage. The cause of the leak? The braided stainless steel supply line to her Grohe kitchen faucet had a section of braid that had rusted out, with visible iron oxide, and the inner rubber tube had bulged out like a blister and popped on the edge of the corroded "stainless steel" mesh.
It took about 3 months to get everything back to normal due to them finding asbestos in the joint compound on her drywall and i believe the bill totaled to around $25k for all the work.