I'm interested in purchasing a Kohler Langlade drop-in sink.

Home Depot sells this sink for $259. The item # is K-RH6626-4-0. Kohler says this item is for retail sale only.

Amazon and a couple other online merchants sell it for $375-$410. The item # is slightly different though, K-6626-4-0.

Are these identical sinks? Or do you think there might be a slight quality difference? Interestingly, the Home Depot version of the sink says that sink is manufactured with 93% recycled material whereas the non-retail version of the same sink says it uses 80% recycled material.

Any thoughts? I know the big box stores negotiate better prices but sometimes with a compromise in quality? Any thoughts?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: EHC,

most likely the gauge of the material used is different if it is a stainles steel sink it has a coat of heavy duty noise reduction and a support layer around the drain hole for a garbage disposer.. go to a proffesional kitchen or plumbing store and look it over.
i myself would never purchase a sink on line. the local pro shop will give you all kind of advise after purchase, and also sell you all the parts that don't come in the box to install the sink .

No company would make the same style of sink in two different qualities; one poor quality sink to be sold cheap and one high quality sink to be sold for top dollar at expensive retail outlets. That's because not only would it cost them MORE to keep two different qualities of the same style of sink in stock, but it would inevitably lead to screw ups in manufacturing, shipping and warranty claims. The guys making the sinks would end up applying a thinner layer of porcelain enamel to the better quality sinks that had the thicker steel. Or, they might end up putting a thicker layer of porcelain enamel on the lesser quality sinks made from thinner steel. Then, what could the company do with those sinks other than sell them as lesser quality sinks. Customers would end up being shipped the lesser quality sinks and then the company would have to pay to have them shipped back to the factory. Doing something like that would create a situation where mistakes are LIKELY to happen, and no company is going to intentionally create problems for itself that way. So, regardless of what the salesman tells you, it would be stupid for any company to do that because it would cause confusion and error within the company's own manufacturing, shipping and warranty departments.

I can tell you that the K-RH6626-4-0 isn't available here in Canada. The Kohler Canada web site doesn't recognize that model number. (The -0 on the end of the model number means that the sink is white. However, it does recognize the K-6626-4 model number, and tells me that this sink is available in 19 different colours ranging in suggested list price from $610 to $743, depending on the colour you want.

Why not just get on Kohler's web site and e-mail them from there. Simply ask them what the difference is between a K-6626-4-0 and a K-RH6626-4-0.

My guess is that the K-RH6626-4-0 sinks were made by Kohler especially for Home Depot USA for sale in the States, and they were all made in white because Home Depot didn't want the hassle of people special ordering that sink in different colours, and having to contact those people when their sinks came in. If someone is adamant their sink needs to be red, they can pay extra and purchase it through a Kohler retailer.

But, what I'd do is e-mail Kohler and see what the RH difference in the model number means. My guess it that it means it comes from an order of white sinks made specifically for Home Depot, and that's ALL it means, and equating a lower price to lower quality would be a mistake here.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,

quote:

No company would make the same style of sink in two different qualities

Actually there can be a difference in both quality and deals on certain models/types of plumbing fixtures (Moen faucets for instance) that are retail, and those sold to plumbing supply distributors, so sinks may very well have the same issue. Sometimes things are manufactured and found to be not quite good enough, so they are sold to the box stores or home stores at a discount.
Warranties can still apply, but the quality and metal parts may be different.

Conrad:

No, companies that manufacture the items that you and I buy have a lot more honour and dignity than we generally give them credit for. If a company like Moen or Delta were to find out that it's produced a bunch of faucets that aren't as good as they should be (for whatever reason), then those faucet bodies end up back in the melting pot to be cast into new bronze faucets. No company would ever put anything but their designed faucet on the market, good or bad that design might be.

It's like me. I operate a company. Tenants offer to pay a month's rent in advance so that they can bribe me into renting them the apartment. I really don't care if I get an extra one month's rent on one apartment, what I'd concerned about is getting decent tenants that will look after my property the same way they'd look after their own. In exactly the same way, neither Moen or Delta are going to put income before their reputation for quality. They're not going to put a bunch of substandard faucets on the market just to get rid of them to the unfortunate homeowner who hopes he's getting a good deal. And neither you nor I would do that either. We'd melt down that bronze and make new faucets out of 'em.

I have installed both Moen single lever T&S faucets that I purchased from Home Depot and from Emco (my local plumbing wholesaler). The ONLY difference between a retail faucet purchased from Home Depot and one purchased from a plumbing wholesaler is that the faucet from the plumbing wholesaler comes in a plain brown cardboard box with no printing on it except the name "Moen" and the model number of the faucet, whereas the identical retail item comes packaged in an attractive box with advertising on how great a faucet you're buying on all 6 sides of that box.

Other than the box, there's no difference between the Moen retail T&S faucet and that purchased by a plumber through a plumbing wholesaler.

There's a difference in price, too. But, it's not a big difference.

So, don't tell me that manufacturers will get rid of substandard merchandise by selling it through retail stores like Home Depot, cuz it just ain't true. They'd melt those faucets down to get the bronze to make new faucets before they'd sell substandard faucets to you or me. The little bit of money they'd make by selling those faucets really doesn't carry the weight needed to make anyone do anything they know they shouldn't.

It's true.
I wouldn't tell you if it wasn't true.
Why?
Because I love children.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,

I was generalizing a bit, and talking about fixtures and not sinks, although I think the materials used could still vary with sku numbers.

If the product serial number on the box for a faucet is exactly the same, then I would agree that the products are the same. If digits are missing or slightly varied somewhere within the code numbers, then they may have different materials in those parts. Although the parts are inter-changable in the the general model...they may be made of plastic or lighter grade metals in the hardware store/home store faucet. We found this in a Moen sink faucet purchased at a hardware store for my DM. Some of the parts were plastic, compared to the heavy brass parts in the plumbing supply faucet. They would have looked EXACTLY the same, when installed, but there were a couple digits different in their model number skus. I returned the hardware store faucet and paid a little more for the better grade one from the plumbing supply shop.

We do not change out faucets/sinks often, many years go by before we even need a washer or cartridge. So it is worth it to us to buy the really good stuff, and not have possible unnecessary repairs.