Kartell K-VIT Flair Bath Filler – Chrome (TAP004FLJ)

Kartell K-VIT Flair Bath Filler – Chrome (TAP004FLJ)

The Kartell K-VIT Flair range is built around one idea: a square-set chrome body with a wide, open curved spout, so the water arrives as a broad flat sheet rather than a round jet. Kartell describe it as a collection that "gives a totally chic finishing touch to a trendy interior", and the open spout is what people notice — it is the whole point of the design.

This is the bath filler: a deck-mounted tap that sits on the rim of the bath and fills it, with no shower function. Two lever handles either side of the open spout.

Bath filler or bath shower mixer?

A bath filler (this one) just fills the bath. Choose it where you have a separate shower, or no shower over the bath at all.

The Flair bath shower mixer adds a diverter and a handset on a hose so you can shower over the bath. It is a step up in price and otherwise the same idea.

Before you order

Bath fillers use 3/4" BSP connections — larger than the 1/2" on basin taps — because a bath needs to fill in reasonable time. Check your existing tails, as swapping between sizes needs adaptors.

The waste is sold separately. A bath needs a waste and overflow set, which is not included — unlike the Flair basin mixer, which comes with a click waste.

Water pressure

Kartell rate this tap suitable for low water pressure systems — it will run from as little as 0.2 bar. That means it works on a gravity-fed tank and cylinder as well as on mains, combi or unvented pressure.

On gravity-fed plumbing any bath tap fills slowly. That is the system, not the tap.

Living with it

The ceramic disc cartridge with quarter-turn operation gives full flow from a small movement of the lever, and is far less prone to dripping than a washer tap.

Chrome is the easiest finish to live with and the easiest to spoil. A wipe with a soft damp cloth is all it needs, though it shows water spots and fingerprints more readily than a brushed finish, so in a hard water area it pays to dry it off. What it will not tolerate is abrasives: cream cleaners, scouring pads and strong limescale removers cut through the plating, and once chrome has gone dull and cloudy it cannot be brought back.

The rest of the Flair range

The range also includes a mono basin mixer with click waste, a hi-rise mono basin mixer for countertop bowls, a wall mounted basin mixer, a mono bidet mixer, a bath shower mixer, a 4 hole bath shower mixer and a freestanding bath shower mixer.

Specification

• Code: TAP004FLJ
• Chrome finish
• Solid brass construction
• Ceramic disc cartridges, quarter turn operation
• Deck mounted, two tap holes
• Open waterfall spout
• 3/4" BSP connections
• Suitable for low water pressure systems
• Fixings supplied
• Waste sold separately
• Lifetime guarantee (1 year on moving parts)
• Barcode 5055681449735