What an outdoor sink changes
An outdoor sink is the difference between cooking outside and walking back and forth to the kitchen all evening. Prep and cleanup stay where the food is: rinse produce, fill a stockpot, wash a cutting board and drain a cooler without tracking through the house. It matters most with raw meat, because washing your hands and a knife right at the island, rather than carrying them indoors, keeps a simple hygiene routine simple. During a party the same basin does drinks duty, holding ice and bottles while guests serve themselves.
Drop-in bar sinks and full sink stations
There are two ways to put a sink in an island. A drop-in bar sink cuts into the countertop and plumbs below, so the basin is the only thing you see and the cabinet underneath stays yours, which covers most of what you will find here, from 15 and 18-inch dual mount units to Cameo square bowls up to 32 inches in single and double configurations. An outdoor sink station is a different animal. It is a self-contained module with the sink already built in, often paired with an ice bin, like the Blaze 30-inch beverage center or the Twin Eagles 30-inch bar with sink and ice bin cooler. If the island is already built and the counter is cut, a drop-in is the simpler retrofit. If you are still planning the run, a station saves a fabrication step.
Plumbing and drainage, in plain terms
Sort out the water and the drain before the countertop is cut. Most of these sinks are fed from a cold line, and several arrive with a faucet matched to the basin so the spout and the deck holes agree. Some installations skip permanent supply and run from a garden hose, a reasonable seasonal answer for a rinse station. Waste goes either to a dry well or into a drain line, and what is permitted varies by where you are building, so confirm the approach with your installer. Where winters freeze, the routine is to shut off the supply and drain the line and trap before the first hard frost, leaving the faucet open. We can tell you what a given sink includes; the connections are a job for a licensed plumber.
Choosing size and depth
Match the basin to the work. A 15 to 18-inch bar sink is sized for rinsing hands, herbs and glassware and for holding ice, and it takes the least counter space, which suits a narrow bar run. Around 23 to 24 inches you can wash a sheet pan and fill a large pot without soaking the counter. At 30 to 32 inches, single or double bowl, you are working with a full outdoor kitchen sink: grill grates, stock pots and a stack of platters after dinner. Depth counts as much as width, since a deeper bowl contains splash and swallows tall pots while a shallow bar basin is easier to reach into for ice. A stainless steel outdoor sink is the standard here for good reason: it takes weather and matches the grill and doors around it. Sink grids and cutting boards drop into several of these models and turn the bowl into extra prep surface when it is dry.
Shop outdoor sinks by brand
Each brand keeps its sink and bar hardware in its own collection: RCS, Bull, Twin Eagles, Blaze, Summerset and Alfresco. Cameo is the undermount and station specialist, with square bowls from 16 to 32 inches and the grids and roll mats cut to fit them.
The rest of the island
A sink rarely goes in alone. Pair it with outdoor kitchen storage for the doors and drawers that close in the cabinet below, outdoor kitchen refrigeration for cold storage beside it, and a built-in gas grill as the anchor of the layout.
Capital Grills is an authorized dealer for every brand on this page, with full manufacturer warranty support and free shipping on orders over $75. If you want help sizing a basin to your island, or working out what a sink station will need, call 1 (866) 850-3450.
