Kartell K-VIT Plan Freestanding Bath Shower Mixer – Chrome (TAP017PL)

Kartell K-VIT Plan Freestanding Bath Shower Mixer – Chrome (TAP017PL)

The Kartell K-VIT Plan range is round-bodied, round-spouted and quietly contemporary — no sharp edges, no statement styling. Kartell describe it as "a refined look at an affordable price", and the range is unusually complete: nine pieces, including four different ways of getting water into a bath.

This is the freestanding bath shower mixer — a floor-mounted tap on a tall column with a gooseneck spout, designed to stand beside a freestanding bath rather than sit on its rim. At £485 it is by some way the most expensive piece in the range, and the centrepiece of it.

This needs planning before the floor goes down

A freestanding bath usually has no tap holes at all, so the tap has to come from somewhere else. This one rises from the floor on a single column, with the spout arching over the rim and a shower handset on a 1.5m flexible hose.

The important part: it is plumbed up through the floor, so the pipework has to be run and the position fixed before you tile or board. Getting it wrong is not a matter of moving the tap a few inches later — it means lifting the floor. Measure carefully from the bath, and if the bath has not been chosen yet, choose it first.

It is much the heaviest piece in the range, and it gets leaned on and pulled at by the handset, so it needs solid fixing into the floor structure rather than just into a board.

Water pressure

Kartell rate this tap for pressures between 1 and 5 bar — they describe it as being for high pressure systems, and the brochure agrees. The 1 bar minimum is the point to watch: a gravity-fed tank and cylinder will rarely reach it without a pump, so this one is for mains, combi or unvented systems.

That matters more here than on most taps, because the water has a long way to climb up the column before it reaches the spout. A system that is already marginal will disappoint.

Before you order

The waste is sold separately. Freestanding baths usually need a specific waste and often a floor-routed trap, so factor that in.

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.

Polished chrome on a plain round body needs nothing more than a wipe with a soft cloth — there are no corners for limescale to collect in. Avoid abrasive cleaners and don't leave limescale remover to soak.

The rest of the Plan range

The range also includes a mono basin mixer with click waste, a hi-rise mono basin mixer for countertop bowls, a pair of basin pillar taps, a mono bidet mixer, a bath filler, a bath shower mixer, a pair of bath pillar taps and a 4 hole bath shower mixer.

Specification

• Code: TAP017PL
• Polished chrome, gloss finish
• Solid brass construction
• Floor mounted freestanding column with gooseneck spout
• Ceramic disc cartridge, quarter turn operation
• Integrated diverter, shower handset and 1.5m hose included
• Suitable for pressures between 1 and 5 bar
• Weight 3.36kg
• Fixings supplied
• Waste sold separately
• Lifetime guarantee (1 year on moving parts)
• Barcode 5055681400675

Downloads

Download the technical data sheet