Meir Outdoor 316 Stainless Steel Collection

Meir outdoor 316 stainless steel collection: kitchen, shower and sink

The Meir outdoor collection is made from premium 316 grade stainless steel with a brushed finish, for taps and fittings that live outside. It covers a round kitchen mixer, a wall shower mixer, a combination shower rail with a 200mm rose, a shower arm, a soap dispenser bracket, a robe hook and an outdoor sink. The pieces are made for outdoor kitchens, outdoor showers, pool areas and laundries, where moisture and sometimes salt air are part of daily use.

People search for it as Meir outdoor bathroomware, 316 stainless steel shower and stainless steel showers. This page explains what 316 stainless steel is, sets out each piece with its size and rating, and covers the care and the fitting. For Meir taps in other finishes, see Meir taps, and for the wider choice of stainless taps, see stainless steel tapware.

What 316 stainless steel is

Stainless steel is iron with at least about 10.5 per cent chromium, which forms a thin, invisible layer on the surface and stops it rusting. A stainless steel tap is made from that alloy, so the colour runs through the metal and there is no coating to wear off. The two grades you will see on taps are 304 and 316. Both resist rust and suit a household tap. Grade 316 adds 2 to 3 per cent molybdenum, which improves resistance to chlorides and acids, so it is the better choice near the sea, around a pool or in a damp outdoor spot. For a standard kitchen or bathroom inland, 304 is plenty, and for a coastal home or an outdoor kitchen, 316 is the grade to choose.

What is in the collection

Round kitchen mixer

The outdoor kitchen mixer is a hob mounted mixer in premium 316 stainless steel with a brushed finish. It is rated WELS 4 star at 5 litres a minute, works at 150 to 500 kPa, and stands 390mm tall, so there is room under the spout for a tall pot or a bucket. Check the height against any overhead shelf or awning post, and check the reach against the bowl, so the water lands in the sink and not on the bench. A kitchen mixer takes a larger flow than a basin mixer, which is why it carries 4 star and not 6. See outdoor kitchen taps for other makes.

Outdoor sink

The outdoor sink is 316 stainless steel, 440mm wide, 440mm long and 200mm deep. It is a compact bowl, sized for a bar, a butler pantry or an outdoor bench where a large sink would crowd the space. A 200mm bowl holds a stockpot and leaves room to run the tap into it. The sink can be undermounted, topmounted or flush mounted, so cut the benchtop only when the sink is on site, and measure the cut-out from the sink itself, not from a plan.

Showers

The outdoor shower pieces are 316 stainless steel with a brushed finish. The round wall shower mixer is 85mm high and works at 150 to 500 kPa. The combination shower rail is 200mm, with an overhead and a hand shower both rated WELS 3 star, and it projects 500mm from the wall. The 200mm round shower rose is rated 3 star at 9 litres a minute, and the 400mm shower arm is the wall arm for a fixed head. The pieces can be built into an outdoor shower with a wall mixer, a rail and a rose.

Setting shower heights

Shower heights are fixed at rough-in, before the tiles go on, so decide them early. A fixed wall head sits 2000mm to 2100mm above the finished floor, measured to the centre of the arm outlet, and a household taller than 190cm should go to 2100mm to 2200mm. The top of a rail is usually 1800mm to 1900mm, and the holder slides down to a comfortable height. A wall mixer sits 1000mm to 1100mm from the floor, centred in the shower space. Leave a margin of 15cm to 20cm above the head of the tallest user, and tell the plumber the heights before the linings are fixed.

Pressure, flow and head size

The supply decides how big a head can be. Round fixed heads usually run from 200mm to 300mm. On a low pressure supply, a smaller head of 150mm to 200mm gives a better spray, and a head larger than 250mm can feel weak unless a pump is fitted. A typical shower flow is 5 to 9 litres a minute, and a flow restrictor in the head keeps the use down. A simple test is to time how long a 10 litre bucket takes to fill. If it fills in under 60 seconds the pressure is good for a large rain head. A tank or gravity supply is usually best with a 3 star head.

Where stainless steel suits best

Stainless steel suits outdoor kitchens, pool areas, garden wall taps and laundries, where a tap is wet, wiped and knocked often. It suits coastal homes because salt air attacks plated finishes faster. The brushed finish has a fine grain that hides fingerprints and water marks, and stainless resists corrosion and hard water spotting better than chrome, which makes it the lower maintenance choice. Check that a product is marked for outdoor use before you fit it outside, and protect an outdoor tap from frost where frost applies.

Caring for 316 stainless steel

Stainless steel needs very little maintenance. Wipe the metal with a soft microfibre cloth and warm water, and add a little mild soap if needed. Wipe along the grain of the brushed finish, and dry it so water does not set on the surface. Avoid bleach and strong chloride based cleaners, which can pit even stainless steel, and avoid steel wool and abrasive pads, which scratch the grain. If limescale builds up, a soft cloth with a mild, non-abrasive cleaner is enough, and the aerator can be unscrewed and soaked. Rinse an outdoor fitting with fresh water after a salty spell.

Planning the wall

Wall mixers, wall taps and spouts go into the wall before the tiles, so settle the position, the spout reach and the finish while the wall is open. Measure from the finished tile surface to the centre of the drain to choose the reach, so the water lands in the middle of the basin or the bath outlet and clears the rim. Check what sits behind the wall, and fix the body to a nogging or a bracket so it holds. Waterproofing behind the body matters, because a missed seal is a leak inside the wall that cannot be fixed without opening the tiles.

Reading the WELS rating

WELS is the Australian water efficiency label, and more stars means the fitting uses less water. A basin mixer can reach 6 star because a basin needs little water. A kitchen mixer sits at 4 or 5 star because a sink needs a larger flow to fill a pot, and a shower sits at 3 or 4 star because the flow has to be large enough to rinse. Wall mixers and shower taps do not require a rating of their own. Read the rating on the exact piece you are buying, and use a licensed plumber to fit it.

Caring for the finish and the nozzles

Wipe the metal with mild soapy water and a soft cloth after cleaning, and dry it so water does not set on the surface. Put the cleaner on the cloth and not directly on the fitting. A mild citric acid cleaner is safe for descaling a head, but avoid acetic acid, hydrochloric acid and chlorine bleach, and never mix cleaners. Keep abrasive tools and steam cleaners away from coated finishes. Check the aerator and the nozzles from time to time, because scale builds up fastest in hard water.

Planning an outdoor kitchen or shower

Start with the water. An outdoor kitchen or shower needs hot and cold supplies run to the bench or the wall, a drain, and pressure inside the 150 to 500 kPa range. Settle the sink size and the benchtop cut-out, then the tap, then the height of the shower arm and the mixer. Choose one finish and one grade for the whole outdoor area, because a mix of stainless and plated parts ages differently in the weather.

Before you order

Confirm the piece and the grade, and check the product page for outdoor suitability. Check the kitchen mixer height against any overhead fitting, and measure the sink cut-out from the sink. Settle the shower heights and the mixer position at rough-in, and check the supply pressure. Choose the care routine, a rinse and a soft cloth, before the first use.