Customer Reviews

KOHLER K-8801-VS Duostrainer Sink Strainer, Vibrant Stainless

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The plug in the strainer basket includes a rubber O-ring, which makes a watertight seal with the drain hole. Unfortunately this O-ring degrades rather quickly. In my kitchen sink, it began to loosen after about 1 year, so that a sink full of water would drain all by itself in two hours. Occasionally, when I remove the basket I see that the O-ring has slipped completely off the strainer basket & (fortunately!) is laying atop the cross members in the drain. In my opinion that's far too loose.

What causes this? Excessively hot water? The rubber in the O-ring gradually ages? Operator error? I don't know.

Yesterday my luck ran out; I took out the basket and the O-ring had vanished. Down the drain. So I went to Lowe's home center and bought a replacement O-ring. I'm leaving this review so that other Kohler strainer basket owners will know which O-ring to buy when it happens to them! The one that fit perfectly was (1 + 5/8)" ID by (1 + 3/4)" OD by (1/16)" wall. At Lowe's it is BrassCraft part SC-0623 . In the store I paid $2.00 for two of these O-rings. You can also find them online, such as http://amzn.to/fwd2Pe , but they are cheaper in the store. For those who are *hardcore* hardware aficionados, the O-ring DESCRIPTION (not part number, description) is "AS568A Dash 030" [...]

But I hope you never have to buy an O-ring as long as you own the Kohler.

This is a really well-built sink strainer - a world of difference from the low-end products in terms of heft and well-machined surfaces. For me, the best product feature was the way Kohler designed it to be easy to install. Rather than have to struggle with a pipe wrench to snug it to the underside of the sink, there are three screws that hold it in place. You set the flange (the part you see when you look down into the sink) with plumbers putty. Then, on the underside of the sink, put in the supplied rubber and metal washers. Screw in the retaining nut and hand tighten.

At this point, you'd normally have to use a pipe wrench to tighten the nut. But, with the Kohler, there are three screws that you tighten instead. Much, much easier especially if the working space under the sink is cramped. The joint is just as secure as a if you used a wrench, but no scraped knuckles.

The basket is also well-made, and fits tightly with an o-ring to allow you to fill the sink without the water slowly draining away.

Kohler offers two versions of this - this model comes with a tailpiece, the other does not. Other than that they are the same. There is also another model that is much less expensive (it's called the "stainless sink strainer"), but it is also less well constructed and does not have the easy install feature.

The CP finish (polished chrome) is the least expensive. They also make this product with several other finishes such as brushed nickle, stainless, brass, etc. Those prices are rather outrageous considering that the only difference is the color of the flange. Although my faucet is brushed stainless (the Kohler VS finish), the CP finish flange coordinates with it just fine.

I installed this myself when changing out some pvc drainpipe under a cast iron kitchen sink. It was my first strainer installation, and after three months, so far so good.

The old strainer was cheap and the nut that held the pvc tailpiece to it had cracked. There was a little rust on the underside of the sink hole where the old one had leaked a bit. Used some Bam cleaner to clean the rust off and all the rest of the yucky stuff on the sink side. Rinsed everything, let it air dry completely, then wiped it down with rubbing alcohol (don't know if this was actually needed, but I feel it cleans away all possible residue from cleaners). Used a roll of plumbers putty under the rim on the sink side, and a thin bead of GE clear silicone caulk between the rubber washer and the undersink side. The caulk may have been overkill, but I just wanted something extra there, since this was the area that had been a little rusted.
It was easy to tighten with the screws, no wrench needed. It looks great, even the view from under the sink.

There's one minor thing about the strainer. It does stop up the sink completely, but I think it's a little tricky to get to that complete stoppage. It often takes two or three tries, maybe it's me. After about thirty times of using it to close off the drain, the stopper disk part will come unscrewed from the middle post that screws into it. But it's easy to screw back on, and this is not a major thing.

It's nice to know about the replacement part for the thin rubber o-ring that goes on the disk, as I knew that would wear out someday.

Its a simple sink strainer. But, it is definitely built very well and you notice the heft when removing it from the box. I'm sure it will hold up well.

This review is for the oil-rubbed bronze finish. After a few months of light duty, the dark bronze finish on the removable strainer began peeling off, revealing the chrome underneath. The finish appears to be plasticized paint. This rapid failure of the finish with light use and mild dish washing liquid was a huge disappointment, especially considering the premium price tag.
A call to Kohler customer service was equally disappointing. Though still under warranty, we were told we had caused the problem by using soap. Yes, we were told that if we are going to use soap, we must first remove the strainer. Point of note: The duostrainer has two purposes. Hence, "duo." (1)Strainer. (2)Stopper. Both functions are to be performed in a kitchen sink. To wash dishes. With soap.
They finally agreed to send us a replacement strainer, which we fully expect to perform just like the first one.

As much as it PAINED me to pay this much for a strainer it was well worth it. The unfortunate reality of today is that everything is junk and you have to pay top dollar for the quality of yester-year, even on such a simple item as this. If you are ok with junk buy the cheap one at your local big box home improvement store.

This strainer is expensive compared to others, but as I'm spending a considerable amount of money renovating my kitchen with a new sink, fixtures and granite countertops, I didn't want to skimp on the plumbing. I could tell this item was good quality based solely on the weight of the shipping box. The strainer is made entirely of heavy-gauge stainless steel, which is polished like fine jewelry, and brass. I expect this strainer will last for a very long time. My only concern is that the rubber gasket on the stopper is very thin (1/8"). I expect this gasket will eventually fail and need replacement. Overall, I'm pleased with my purchase of this strainer.

The Kohler Sink Strainer with polished chrome was just the right price, while still a beautiful heavy duty strainer. Nothing cheap about this product. It goes perfectly with my white sink and brushed nickel faucet. You can't beat the price.

Most of the sink strainers that are available are inexpensive chrome plated material (ie: junk). This unit is a solid piece of work and is worth every penny in extra cost.
The stopper mechanism will make your wife happy because it works and is also easy to keep clean. Overall it looks good and will provide many years of attractive trouble free service.

Heavy & very well made. Much higher quality than what you'd find at most stores. All metal with bright polished finish. Says "Kohler" on the ring that shows at the bottom of your basin. I did not install this myself, but the plumber had no problem installing with my new Staccato sink.