Zero Radius Sinks: Some questions

hydrangea_2008

18 years ago

Zero radius sink owners - do help!

I love the look. I am seeing a couple of posts about slow draining - is it a big issue? My architect seems to not be worried when I ask.

Are these sinks a pain to clean at all? Sometimes I look at he sharp vertical corners and wonder if they'd get gunky?

Finally - there seem to be so many knock offs. For example on ebay, one can get a 'Like Elkay' sinks (16 gauge) for $320.00 or so. Are there people here who've bought these kinds of 'non branded' sinks? 16 gauge is 16 gauge - right?Wrong?

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Comments (6)

wa8b
18 years ago
I have a Precision Zero-Radius Supersingle from Blanco's Steelart line. It drains perfectly. Cleaning the corners hasn't presented any problems. Most of the time I simply rinse the corners with the sprayer. Occasionally, I do a more thorough job with a green Scothcbrite pad, but I haven't found the corners accumulate any crud and always look good.

If you're concerned about this, Blanco also makes sinks in their Steelart line that have a very slightly rounded 10mm radius, which also have a very similar architectural look.

Blanco stainless steel sinks are manufactured to exact dimensions, and are solid, excellent quality with rubberized backing to reduce noise. No telling what you're likely to get on eBay

Here is a link that might be useful: Blanco Steelart Sinks
rmkitchen
18 years ago
We have a 12 gauge zero-radius sink (Bates & Bates) and yeah, we find it's harder to clean than our previous "standard" sinks. Our sink is rinsed multiple times a day but there is still gunge at the 90 degree point (not just in the corners). Maybe it's because our sink is so deep or our (commercial style) faucet is too high, but merely spraying it doesn't work. We (and by "we" I really mean "I") have to use a scrubby.

While I LOVE our sink, in truth, I could do without the zero radius, and I know my husband feels likewise.

16 gauge is a good thickness for a sink! 18 is standard, and you do not want the number to be any higher than 18. (The higher the number, the thinner the sink. The lower the number, the thicker.) There are many here who've had terrific luck purchasing sinks on eBay. Maybe you should write a different post asking specifically about that sink / seller.
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lascatx
18 years ago
I have one. Mine is a KWC. It's similar to the Blanco but the dimensions were slightly different and DH liked it better. It is also 16 gauge while the Blanco is 18.

Draining is not an issue. The edges can get gunky if things stack up and stuff doesn't rinsed from the corners or edges. About once a week or so I will lift up the grid and run a brush around the edges to make sure they don't get gunked up. Some folks say they don't need to do anything special, but I like knowing I have cleaned into the corner.

More than the look, I like the fact that all of the space is usable. The first sink we bought (and returned) lost a lot of the size to the edges -- so much so that I couldn't fit some things in it like I wanted. With this sink, I can put a half sheet pan in on either side and still access the drain hole. Love it.
hydrangea_2008
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks a lot! This really helps. I will take the advice on posting about specific sellers/products on ebay.
morton5
18 years ago
Hi hydrangea. I bought 2 zero-radius sinks on ebay. My main sink is 30" x 18" and is 15 gauge. It's a beautiful, heavy sink and it drains well. It was a great deal at $425, but I notice that the seller is no longer registered on ebay. Hmm-- glad it worked out for me.

My prep sink is from ebay seller unisilvers, and is 23x18, 16 gauge, for $279. It is also a beautiful, heavy sink, but water does puddle a bit in the bottom. The water does not flow to one corner, so the sink is level-- I think the drain lines (the X at the bottom of the sink) are not quite deep enough. I'm not regretting the sink, though, as I love the look and it's the perfect size for me. Plus, by flipping the sink to put the drain in front, I was able to fit 2 8-gallon trash pullouts and a compact disposal in a 30" base cabinet. My plumber is my hero.

Even though I got the sinks from two different vendors, the finishes and style match beautifully. My contractor commented on what nicely finished, heavy sinks they are. I think I got a very good value-- I cannot see paying more than a thousand $ for a sink. After all, how hard can a sink be to manufacture? It has no moving parts-- it's just one part.
cat_mom
18 years ago
We don't find our 0-radius Julien sink to be difficult to clean/keep clean in the corners.

We had problem with puddling when it was installed, and Julien sent a new sink, thinking it was possible the lines hadn't been stamped deeply enough (like morton5's sink). Juliens are hand-crafted so the person stamping our sink might not have used enough pressure to create deep lines. By the time the new sink arrived (not an inordinately long am't of time, BTW), the drainage "issue" seemed to have worked itself out (settling?), so we stuck with the original one.

I'd get another 0-radius sink in a heartbeat. I much prefer the look.