If you haven’t heard of them, potfillers are faucets placed near the range or cooktop that are pretty much exclusively used for filling pots with water. Their unusual setting—nowhere near a sink—leads to this question from a visitor:

“What is the best place to place a potfiller—right, left or in the middle? I thought to put it in the middle, but when I see displays they show it on the right or on the left side. So confusing, especially when my plumber is waiting for my decision. I wish I could see a Web site with kitchens that have them.”

The Ladylux Pro wall-mount potfiller from Grohe has a 20-inch spout reach.

Kitchens.com is that site. Check out this Old World kitchen, this traditional kitchen, and this transitional kitchen to see potfillers at the left, center and right of the range.

While a potfiller will look fine in any of the three locations mentioned, there are a few factors that will make the placement decision for you.

1) The reach of the faucet. Many potfillers have hinged arms that swing out; some don’t. The Grohe potfiller pictured above stretches 20 inches, while the Kallista one shown here extends to 26 inches. Potfiller faucets without hinges might reach only 15 inches.

The One potfiller from Kallista

2) The size of your range or cooktop. So far as I know, there’s not a potfiller on the market that will stretch the length of a six- or eight-burner pro-style range. Positioning the potfiller in the middle will allow better access to pots on the back burners, but limit access to the front burners. Choosing a side will allow the faucet to reach the front burners on that side, but prevent the faucet from reaching across the cooktop.

3) Your cooking style. Do you prefer to only boil water on the back burners, out of reach of little hands? Do you simmer soups for hours off to one side, and need the other side for sauteing? Are you left- or right-handed?

4) Your plumbing. Who knows what lurks behind your walls. Location of the potfiller could affect ease of installation as well as costs, so consult your plumber.

Grohe’s Ladylux Pro deck-mount potfiller.

5) Whether you’ve chosen a wall-mount or a deck-mount faucet. Deck-mount potfillers rise up from the countertop, like the Grohe model shown here, rather than out from the wall. The deck-mount configuration could be the better choice if you’re remodeling, as it allows you to run the new plumbing supply line through a cabinet to the counter, rather than behind the walls.