Branded Vs Cheapie or Online Showers and Taps

Looking at replacing/upgrading our shower head with the main caveat being it has to allow for relatively high flow rate as the gas hot water system switches off using the normal Flexispray hand shower. Using an older one at the moment which doesn't have this issue.

So fast forward lots of reading of different products, one of the fancy Methven hand showers would be nice but then I got the thought about more surface area (and no prob with flow rates because of that) like those overhead twin shower systems, but they are getting pricey, e.g.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/methven-wels-3-star-9l-min-krome…

Then I come across ones like this that look pretty much the same, which seem like a plastic clone of the above (note: I have no idea if the original is all metal either)
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WELS-Twin-8-Square-Round-Rain-Sh…

Our current hand shower holder thing is actually chrome finished plastic too, from Masters, so I am not outright knocking it.

But still wondering if anyone has used these sorts of cheap eBay shower or tap products able to comment on their quality or longevity?

Ultimately is it better sticking to the branded stuff when it comes to bathrooms?

Comments

  • +1

    We’ve currently got Methven and have used cheap in the past. I plan to stick with the Methven as it has aged so much better and has a lifetime warranty. We had an issue with the Methven after about 5yrs+ and got the shower head replaced under warranty and they were very pleasant to deal with.

    The cheap one didn’t age very well and as soon as it had an issue we had to replace it.

  • +3

    Just buy a cheap one and remove the flow restrictor from the shower head. Job done. I did this with a monsoon style shower head, works a treat.

    Our $60 one from eBay 4 years ago, still looks great. Something like this one

    • We've already taken out all the (easily removable) flow restrictors out of the various shower heads we've tried (an Aldi one, Flexispray 5 function one, and a cheapie Bunnings Estilo). All of them are 9L/min rated, but I suppose when we look at how they work the Estilo just lets a lot more water through with much larger outlets. It just doesn't do them in a nice-shower kind of way; rather a larger head using that same amount of water over a larger area.

  • +2

    shower might be ok
    taps best to buy better brands

    https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/a-kitchen-ta…

  • +1 for Methven. Great products and fantastic service. 4 different plumbers installed my taps, none of them checked the water pressure and some taps started to leak in no time. Methven came on-site, checked pressure, recommended a pressure reduction valve and fixed the taps. Old Methven showerhead recently replaced under warranty.

  • I suppose always best to stick to 100% feedback sellers, even if it ultimately comes from the same factory:
    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/WELS-Round-Square-8-Shower-Head-…

    I've also thought about priced up some individual items from Bunnings to see if I could piece it together, using (theoretically?) more trustworthy Bunnings items and re-using some of my existing hoses/hand showers.
    https://www.bunnings.com.au/kinetic-chrome-diverter-handspra…
    https://www.bunnings.com.au/methven-wels-3-star-9l-min-150mm…

    But will probably end up looking a bit Frankenstein'd, or worse stressing the joints if it was too heavy or something.

  • I bought a shower head with hand hose thing off ebay 5 years ago for ~$40. was going fine until I sold that house 6 months ago.

    my kitchen tap was from aliexpress and was ~$50 delivered (with inbuilt filtered water outlet) - saw the exact same tap in bunnings for $140.

    How about these shower heads?

    Round 8 Inch Rain Shower Head AU$18..50 delivered

    or 9 Inch Square Thin Rotatable Top Rain Shower Head AU$21.75

    or this complete unit for AU$99 delivered — which you could get cheaper with a US$2 seller coupon/discount, and if you never used aliexpress before you also get a Us$3 discount coupon. plus shopback cash back of 5% - so potentially with these 3 discounts then the final price would be ~AU$87.50 delivered.

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