Stainless steel bowl sink

[KaLvan]

I have drilled a hole in a stainless steel bowl and installed a plastic mobile home sink drainer assembly. I have used plumbers putty in the installation. I now realize that the since the bowl is flat on the bottom the sink will never completely drain. The drain  assembly sits a good 1/8 inch higher than the bottom of the bowl. I'm sure others have encountered similar situations. Any advice on modifications that I might make before I install it into the cabinet that would allow better drainage? Thanks.

 

[JDub]

You might pour marine polyurethane varnish into the bottom of the bowl till it's level with the lip of the fixture?

Cheers!

 

[highdesertranger]

At the RV surplus yard by me those small sinks are like 5 bucks. Highdesertranger

 

[WayOutWest]

Yes, this is why sinks have a depressed area where the drain fitting goes. And it's the reason bowl sinks will have a drawback. I like JDub's suggestion. Another possibility is finding a way to glue a drain connection on from below, so it's an "undermount" drain, possibly using clamps to hold it tight, if that is possible. You can always test it...provided you can get another bowl if the glued on drain doesn't work.

 

[Vannautical engineer]

I would get a piece of wood, cut a hole in it that's a little bigger than the hole you drilled in the bowl, put the bowl on the piece of wood with the holes lined up, and use a hammer (or a hammer and punch) to hammer down the edges around the hole so they are lower than the rest of the bottom of the bowl. Basically create your own depressed area where the drain will mount. Might be easier to do this with a new bowl that doesn't have a hole already cut in the bottom and cut the hole afterward.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I have drilled a hole in a stainless steel bowl and installed a plastic mobile home sink drainer assembly . . .  The drain  assembly sits a good 1/8 inch higher than the bottom of the bowl . . . Any advice on modifications that I might make before I install it into the cabinet that would allow better drainage?

The process of making a recess or shallow depression in sheetmetal is called 'coining'.  You will need to make a form punch and die; they can be made out of hardwood.  You can also make them out of something like JB Weld if you have a mold.  The die diameter needs to be bigger than the punch diameter (at least 5X the material thickness) and you also need to round the top edge of the die and edge of the punch to avoid tearing or shearing.

Annealing will make the metal easier to work with but may discolor the stainless.

The hole will deform and stretch.

 

[VanFan]

For some reason, I don't have this problem with my bowl sink.  Maybe it's because it's fairly small so the flat area is not large.  For the record, I tend to agree with HDR that a salvaged RV or bar sink is a better choice.  I was surprised at how hard it was to drill the hole, and have been a little disappointed in the quality of the bowl I purchased.  My installation is... (cough) unusual, and the bowl does work well in it.

A little off-topic here, but recently replaced the battery (D cells) operated water pump with a manually operated one from Primo (fit my non-Primo bottle just fine).  The battery version had gotten finicky, and the switch was too stiff, which resulted in wasted water.  Very please with the manual version (about $9 at Lowes).

 

[maki2]

It will be very difficult to form a recess for the drain unless you have an very large industrial hydraulic press and a die of the right size. Not going to be not a DIY project. You can't anneal the stainless to soften it for die forming the reccess which is why it takes literally many tons of pressure with very hefty equipment.

Ebay has plenty of inexpensive stainless steel sinks. That is where I purcased my small oval one for under $20. With shipping included.

 

[user 423]

How about just dabbing the water left at the bottom of the bowl with a paper towel and then finding something that needs a little cleaning?

 

[crofter]

Why do you need a sink? Basin works just as well. No need to bring the whole house with you in your van. 
-crofter

 

[WayOutWest]

I agree with the opinion that it's far easier to get a bar sink that already has the correct recessed drain shape on its base, than to try to fashion a DIY sink out of a stainless steel bowl. Unless as crofter suggests you just want to use a portable bowl as a "sink" basin that has no drain.

 

[KaLvan]

We appreciate all the comments and suggestions. We were able to basically create a recessed area around the opening such that a metal drain fit in pretty good. this was done by just slowly shaping it with some pliers and a hammer. The plastic drain assembly was thicker and sat higher into the sink. with the new metal one and the recessed area, there's just a tiny bit of water that still remains in the bottom of the bowl but for the most part all is good. We're going to give it a try this weekend.

 

[KaLvan]

Tried to attach a photo of the sink but didn't seem to work!

 

[abnorm]

The drain/strainer for a Vessel Sink has the thinnest lip

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I have the same problem I don’t worry about it. It is a very small amount of water that can easily be wiped with a dish cloth when I want it gone. I have been using it like this for over ten years. There is a down side to using a bowl for a sink, it is a bit too small, it does work however I would like mine to be a little bigger, the water at the bottom is a non issue.