The constant use of the kitchen sink in your café or bistro will make one thing certain, and that is the replacement of your restaurant equipment faucets. They are used so much during business hours that their components failing will be of little surprise to someone that has been in the food preparation business for a few years.
Usually the first items to fail on a faucet are the washers from constantly turning the water on and off. Over time, leaks will start around the base of the faucet and the showerhead or pre-rinse attachment. Keeping a supply in house of the correct replacement washers, and gaskets will keep you in business most of the time, but eventually all of the moving parts will ware out and the complete unit will need to be replaced.
A pre-rinse faucet set will minimally run around three hundred plus dollars. Not a large investment by any means, and it is a good idea to actually keep an extra unit in the storage closet for when that day comes.
This will prevent costly down time waiting for the faucet to arrive, while the dishes are piling up. Invariably this will usually happen the day the county health inspector performs a surprise inspection.
Quality of the faucet you select will also determine its life in your kitchen. Sticking with known leaders in the market place like Kohler, Moen, and Blanco will insure an extended life of service to your business.
No matter how expensive a faucet is, you want to make sure replacement parts are easily attainable and are not constantly on backorder. The same applies to restaurant kitchen swinging doors and any other pieces of equipment.Just like every business today, costs have to be low and time is money.
Any crucial equipment failure can put a small business into a tailspin, and start hemorrhaging money, until the problem is fixed. Used faucets are available, and should be totally rebuilt to new standards. This definitely an item that you will want to see in person before purchasing, or make sure your online source has a liberal return policy, and the pay the shipping back if you feel that the product is substandard in anyway.
Some restaurant owners try quick fixes like using standard home type kitchen faucets, and with miserable results. The rubber gaskets and washers are not made to take the extra heat, as commercial hot water is usually set to one hundred and eighty degrees. This will make the gaskets become soft and pliable creating leaks almost immediately.