Customer Reviews

Franke : The Little Butler Series LB1000 Instant Hot Water Dispenser - Polished Chrome

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

You'd think with all the engineering capabilities that Franke has at their disposal, they coud have figured out how to make a dispenser in which the faucet was not open to the tank--they use it as a pressure valve since you can actually turn up the heat to the point that water boils in the tank. Why they don't have a regulator built in to keep that from happening and build in a different pressure valve is beyond me. As a result, our Little Butler is constantly dripping or sputtering. I've called Franke and they say, "You've got the water too hot." NOT. If I turn it down to where it doesn't drip, it's too cold to make tea. Try another brand. The Little Butler uses an inherently flawed approach. Check out the InSinkerator H-Wave or others in that series. I'm going to have to dump my Little Butler as it has become a pain in the butler to listen to the drip, drip, drip...

As I previously wrote,the part was missing a coupling so that it could not be attached to the heater resulting in an 80.00 service call from a plumber. An expensive oversight.

I have the hot/cold version in brushed nickel (~$700). This thing is a poorly-designed money pit. Everything the other reviewer stated (leaking and sputtering) is true. I was 'lucky' enough to have purchased an early version of it that had additional design issues that added to the leaking problem -- fortunately (?) I could buy the newer design replacement valve that reduced, not eliminated, the leaking. Another bonus is every 90 days you get to spend around $60 for a replacement (ceramic) filter as well.

We now have two of these in the family. The fancy kitchen/bath shops recommend them. I think that is because they may be a high margin item. The tank overheats and rots the rubber hose that leads from the tank to the faucet. Apparently, the thermostatic heat control in the unit is not up to the job. Either the water is too cool to make instant drinks or tea or the unit boils and sputters and "cooks" the hose. They sell replacement kits for the hose, but there are no parts for a defective heating unit. These are common problems; I have found more than two dozen negative reviews about this item at various online sites.

Also, on one of our units the valves (both hot and coldwere leaking. I purchased replacement valves and installed them per the instructions. The unit still leaks intermittently.

In contrast, I have an InSinkErator unit in our kitchen and did not have to replace it until we remodeled the kitchen, 22 years after installation. The replacement has worked flawlessly for 7 years. InSinkErator is available at all of the Big Box DIY stores at a far lower price than the Francke. Perhaps that is why the fancy shops don't recommend them.

Francke is a good company. They should get their engineers to solve these problems.