Utility Sink Plumbing Advice

[NeoBrew]

I've been working out of my old plastic utility sink. It was here when I bought the house and is many decades old. It is pretty pitted and cracked. It always gives me pause when I'm trying to be sanitary with some cleaning. I mostly put a plastic tub or bucket in the sink when I want things to be clean. To make matters worse, one side of the two basin sink also takes the drain water and waste water from my washing machine, RO system, water softener, and my furnace condensate. It's pretty nasty on that side. Even though I scrub it with cleanser before I use the sink, I limit my use of that side as much as possible.

I've decided it's time to upgrade. I'd like to put in a 2 basin stainless steel utility sink. Something like this one.

I would love advice on a few items if anybody has opinions:

1. Good sources to get a sink like that from. The one linked above is 16 gauge type 304. Is that a quality sink? I know it is not NSF, but for my home use I'm not concerned about that. Should I be?
2. I would also like to clean up all the drain lines going into the sink. I've yet to see a way of doing all this that was impressive. I believe all those things need an air gap between them and the sewer line. So what do people do to take all those drain lines besides drain them into the sink? Can I install some kind of large diameter drain pipe alongside the sink and run things into that? Would it be "legal" to plump that into the wast line if I put it above the sink trap or maybe gave it it's own trap?
3. Lastly, I'd like to be able to hook up all my cleaning equipment without so much swapping of fittings. I currently have a utility sink faucet with a hose thread on it. I typically switch between regular faucet, a 3' hose to cleaning large items, and my carboy and bottle cleaning attachment. I am planning on adding a few extra hose bibs to the back splash just to accommodate some of those things, but would love ideas if anybody has done this and found a neat and efficient way to have multiple connections.

I have good access to the drain line, it runs exposed just to the right of the sink from the floor up to the ceiling.

 

[Horseflesh]

I have a non-NSF sink from that site, but mine is a single basin 36" x 24". This size has worked great for me. It is big enough for cleaning my 20 gal kettle, corny kegs on their sides, small horses, anything. The sink and gooseneck restaurant-style sprayer are honestly some of my favorite brewing gear. I have wire racks right over the sink too and I can let big brew gear drip dry up there, so cool.

Mine is actually their house brand, Regency. It's kind of cheap... But not TOO cheap. Worst issue is it does not slope steeply enough to drain bone dry. Still, I'd get it again. If mine is OK, a better brand like yours should be great.

I highly recommend a faucet like this, so you get separate faucet and sprayer. This almost makes cleaning fun. Almost...

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/re...enters-and-12-add-on-faucet/600FPRSFA12K.html

But for the faucet, avoid Regency. This is where cheap is too cheap, imho. It hasn't failed me but the spigots are loose, the metal is cheap, the plastic squeeze handle feels fragile, and it was a $%#! to install. I am sure it will hold up for years to come in home use, but ... I wish I got a Fisher or something like that.

Oh, do measurements and make sure you can stand a corny keg under the faucet, if you keg. I forgot to check that. Fortunately it worked out...

You will love your upgrade.

 

[milldoggy]

I would vote for a large basin and sideboard. You will use an integrated drain/shelf far more than two sink basins.

For plumbing, I split of the copper pipe and added a 1/4 hose bib. I added camlocks and disconnects to the hose bib. This allows me to use the sink and clean equipment at the same time, which you want.

Def get a sprayer/Faucet combo

 

[milldoggy]

If you washer drains into the sink, then you need to replump the drain lines. Easy to do if you have room.

https://www.diydata.com/plumbing/washing_machine/washing_machine.php

 

[milldoggy]

 

[wilserbrewer]

A double sink w drainboard and a commercial faucet is ideal. I use one at a hunt club and it is superb! New will cost you huge money so I would suggest hunting on Craigslist. We got ours from a school cafeteria remodel for free, and every time I look at it I figure it would retail close to 2 grand.

I would also put in a dedicated drain line as shown in the link above for the washer and condensate line. That’s what the builder did in my house and it is far better than having the lines dump in the sink.

Might also consider upsizing the washer drain line, mine is standard 1 1/2 or 1 1/4 and on occasion soap bubbles and a little water will overflow as the washer can pump slightly faster than the line drains.

 

[NeoBrew]

If you washer drains into the sink, then you need to replump the drain lines. Easy to do if you have room.

https://www.diydata.com/plumbing/washing_machine/washing_machine.php

I'm not sure what "replump" the drain lines means, but it sounds DIRTY!

Seriously, thank you for the good advice. I was under the impression that directly plumbing the washer drain line into the trap like that was not ok. What kind of fitting or washer drain line would you need to do that? I would be worried that if and when the sink got clogged up it would have to easy of a path back into the washing machine. In that diagram the high spot in the drain line is well below the top of the sink. If the trap got clogged the water would start running into the washer, wouldn't it?

I do like the other drain setup. I would want to make it larger so it could also fit my other drain lines.

 

[NeoBrew]

A double sink w drainboard and a commercial faucet is ideal. I use one at a hunt club and it is superb! New will cost you huge money so I would suggest hunting on Craigslist. We got ours from a school cafeteria remodel for free, and every time I look at it I figure it would retail close to 2 grand.

I would also put in a dedicated drain line as shown in the link above for the washer and condensate line. That’s what the builder did in my house and it is far better than having the lines dump in the sink.

Might also consider upsizing the washer drain line, mine is standard 1 1/2 or 1 1/4 and on occasion soap bubbles and a little water will overflow as the washer can pump slightly faster than the line drains.

I have been trolling Craigslist as well as a few restaurant auction websites for some time now. Unfortunately I have some space limitations and have not been able to find a sink and drainboards that would work for me. They either have very small sinks, or are too large to fit in my location. I know someone who has one of those sinks with drainboards, and it is super nice for cleaning. In my case I use the top of the washer and dryer with towels on them as my drying rack.