I had what I guess was an OEM faucet when I got my westy 15 years ago. It
was old then, brittle, and stiff. It didn't want to turn, especially with
wet hands. It disintegrated soon after.

I ordered a replacement. It looked pretty shabby, probably made from the
dying molds of the old stock that was being sold down at the time, and it
had the same problems. I lived with it about 12 years. Then it died too.

I replaced it with one of the new, "Skylight Guy" refurbished-mold models.
No problems at all. It operates easily.

I think a lot of the imagined problems with the OEM-style faucet is just
that, comparing an apple to a no-longer-existent orange.

Jim

On Wed, Aug 23, 2017 at 9:28 AM The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com> wrote:

> > Wanted to get some suggestions on options with faucets in
> > the van.  I currently have a SureFlo, I like it. But for some
> > reason it no longer turns on when I twist the switch... This
> > will be the second one that has gone out in as many years.
>
>
> We offer both the original Delta Six faucet and the ShurFlo option, and
> can get the OEM German one by special order (although it does not work with
> city water).
>
> The original Delta Six faucet has a long history. Original production was
> up to German Westfalia standards, but starting in the late 1990's the OEM
> supplier fell into an extended period of deep decline and started cutting
> lots of corners on their products.  Several years ago Trevor Reid (better
> known here as the Skylight Guy) bought the molds and tooling and
> painstakingly restored them to original condition. Current production uses
> OE quality throughout, and some internals have actually been upgraded. It
> is a good faucet when made to OE specs; there are many Westies out there
> that are still using the original 30 year old faucet. As for the knob being
> somewhat hard to turn with wet hands, yes that has always been a drawback.
> (On a side note, it always surprises me to learn how many people don't know
> that the end of the spigot can be swiveled.)
>
> Original Faucet:
>
> http://www.busdepot.com/255070808
>
> The ShurFlo option has advantages and drawbacks.  On the plus side, it
> allows variable water flow, it is a bit taller, and the knob is easier to
> turn. Also, with the conversion parts we offer it is a direct swap for your
> original.  One drawback is that unlike the original it does not have a
> check valve to keep water from pouring out of the city water inlet of your
> camper when the sink is running. The original Westfalia design had built-in
> redundancy, as both the inlet and the faucet had check valves.  Using the
> ShurFlo means relying only on the check valve in the inlet, which in many
> cases has failed over the years (but you didn't know it because the one in
> your faucet still worked). If that ends up being the case you will have to
> buy a new inlet as well, with the combined cost far exceeding the cost of a
> stock replacement faucet.  Another caviat with the ShurFlo is that most
> off-the-shelf parts that can be used to adapt the fittings are made for LP
> Gas use and have much higher lead content than is safe for drinking water.
> Our kits come with drinking water grade parts. Those sold elsewhere don't
> specify, and if you cobble parts together yourself at a hardware store you
> may have trouble finding drinking water grade parts.
>
> http://www.busdepot.com/868123kit-335200
>
> For those who asked about a foot switch, we offer that too, and of course
> it can be used with either faucet:
>
> http://www.busdepot.com/j11694
>
> Ron Salmon
> The Bus Depot, Inc.
> www.busdepot.com
>