How durable are PLASTIC kitchen sinks?

[magentawave]

I need to buy a double sink for the 18' Toyota Sunrader that I'm rebuilding. My first choice is stainless steel but plastic double sinks on eBay are a lot less expensive than SS sinks. I'm concerned about a plastic sink ending up with tons of funky looking scratches from stowing stuff in it while driving, which is one of the reasons I want a double sink. Do you think its a mistake to buy a plastic sink?

Here is a plastic double sink on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-RV-camper-marine-double-Kitchen-Sink-motorhome-NEW-2418-18-x-24-x-8-/290...


By the way... Is it just me or are the steps required for creating links inside a sentence or underlining text a little cumbersome on this forum? :?

[emonkemeier]

The sinks from IKEA come with mounting clips, foam gasketing and strainer basket assembly.
Ed

[Us_out_West]

magentawave wrote:
But lets say I have a dirty metal pan and silverware that I want to stow in the sink and wash later because I need to drive from here to there, then how do you protect the plastic sink from getting thrashed from the metal stuff thats rubbing against it? Don't put anything metal in there?

As mentioned we wash our cooking things and put away shortly after using so there are no dirty dihes.

If carrying things in the sinks while traveling I would think towels would work great as buffers.

[FlatBroke]

magentawave wrote:
But lets say I have a dirty metal pan and silverware that I want to stow in the sink and wash later because I need to drive from here to there, then how do you protect the plastic sink from getting thrashed from the metal stuff thats rubbing against it? Don't put anything metal in there?

ChopperBill wrote:
Our HH came with some kind of " plastic" sinks in the kitchen and the bath. Not a scratch in them and they look like new. Last 2 rv's had SS sinks. What PITA, if you didn't wipe them out after every use they looked like krap. Wife drive me nuts trying to keep them spotless. My first track house had a SS sink and when we remodeled and took it it was the best mod ever.

On edit: just checked, ours are fiberglass.

Can't say in all my years we have ever left dirty dishes in the sink. Wife and I are sort off clean freaks so it would never be an option. Guess you better sick to your steel sink if you store things in it.

[magentawave]

Good idea. Thanks. I like this one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S09847462/

Did your Ikea sink come with all the brackets for installing it to the countertop or did you have to buy those separately?

emonkemeier wrote:
We went to IKEA and bought a stainless steel sink with drainboard. The sinks at IKEA are smaller than regular kitchen sinks and fit perfectly in the RV. There are alot of styles to pick from. And they use a large strainer basket instead of the small RV one.
Ed

[magentawave]

But lets say I have a dirty metal pan and silverware that I want to stow in the sink and wash later because I need to drive from here to there, then how do you protect the plastic sink from getting thrashed from the metal stuff thats rubbing against it? Don't put anything metal in there?

ChopperBill wrote:
Our HH came with some kind of " plastic" sinks in the kitchen and the bath. Not a scratch in them and they look like new. Last 2 rv's had SS sinks. What PITA, if you didn't wipe them out after every use they looked like krap. Wife drive me nuts trying to keep them spotless. My first track house had a SS sink and when we remodeled and took it it was the best mod ever.

On edit: just checked, ours are fiberglass.

[emonkemeier]

We went to IKEA and bought a stainless steel sink with drainboard. The sinks at IKEA are smaller than regular kitchen sinks and fit perfectly in the RV. There are alot of styles to pick from. And they use a large strainer basket instead of the small RV one.
Ed

[FlatBroke]

Our HH came with some kind of " plastic" sinks in the kitchen and the bath. Not a scratch in them and they look like new. Last 2 rv's had SS sinks. What PITA, if you didn't wipe them out after every use they looked like krap. Wife drive me nuts trying to keep them spotless. My first track house had a SS sink and when we remodeled and took it it was the best mod ever.

On edit: just checked, ours are fiberglass.

[magentawave]

Hmmm, good point about the depth. It seems like all the stainless steel RV sinks I'm seeing are only 5" deep and thats probably too shallow, right?

doxiemom11 wrote:
We have stainless steel sinks, but not the cheap thin grade. They are actually like the ones that were in our house. Also you will not want a real shallow sink. You will find yourself slopping water outside the sink every time you do dishes or are doing anything with water and the sink.

[ddschuman]

My personal opinion on the plastic sink would be that it would be harder to clean or keep clean. If you were to get scrapes or abrasions in it, bacteria could build up or it would just look bad. So if I had a choice, I would go with stainless steel or solid surface. Preferably stainless but that is just me.

[Redsky]

magentawave wrote:
You must be thinking of someone else because I never said anything about cutting a sink in half.

Redsky wrote:
Think long and hard before taking a small sink and cutting it in half with a double. The doubles also lose about 25% of their area with the center divider unless you buy a commercial one.

I was referring to a double sink which takes one large counter opening and divides it into two smaller sections. The middle divider on all non-commercial sinks I have seen takes up a lot of the area of the sink. Measure the two sections of a double sink the next time you are at a building supply store and it will become apparent.

[doxiemom11]

We have stainless steel sinks, but not the cheap thin grade. They are actually like the ones that were in our house. Also you will not want a real shallow sink. You will find yourself slopping water outside the sink every time you do dishes or are doing anything with water and the sink.

[mr__ed]

I would prefer stainless steel but my fiver came with plastic sinks. Haven't had any trouble with them in almost 7 years of fulltime use. Just don't use abrasive cleansers or put very hot items in sink (as others mentioned).

[atreis]

My trailer came with a plastic sink. It works okay, but is scratched. If I were replacing it/building from scratch I'd use stainless.

There are sinks made for use in bars that are smaller...

[magentawave]

I think I'm going to keep looking for a used stainless steel sink that isn't the usual massive 33" x 22".