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Save time, and money. Find out which
toilets work in today's world. Despite complaints of poor working
toilets, these toilets, in this report have been proven by
plumbers and homeowners to work! Yes, they work just fine in spite of the current standards which allow
for a maximum water usage of
1.6 gallons per flush (GPF).
|
Terry Love
Bothell WA
updated 9/18/2008
Many of the toilets in this report, have
been installed in my own home. You might say, this report has
done its "in-home" testing.
Consideration was given to plug resistance, completeness of flush,
perception of sound levels, and price.
Some testers use baby wipes, sponges, plastic balls
and tubes to simulate how "we" use them. You can forget
about those limitations here. This takes into account "miso
paste" testing and homeowner testing. Below you will see
homeowner comments and perceptions in addition to my comments.
The homeowner becomes part of the report.
The new lower flow toilets have
been mandated to save precious and limited resources. For those of us that had grown used
to 7.0 GPF toilets, it comes as a shock. The first recent evolution in toilets came the 3.5 GPF, and now 1.6
GPF.
| "Switching to water-efficient
plumbing fixtures could save the average household as much as $50 to
$100 a year on water and wastewater bills." George Whalen
"Because of the new low-flow toilets,
Americans save $11.3 million everyday on their water bill
" David Goike |
| With the changes in the water usage laws of 1992,
many encountered plumbing problems. The first round of low-flow
toilets were not quite ready for prime-time. Customer complaints
were many and plumbers were in the bad position of installing products
that nobody wanted to use. Recently, in the wonderful world of
plumbing, things have changed with new and updated
products. Some of the new plumbing products work better
than the old water wasters. The purpose of this report, is to
identify which products are:
"Doing the
job!"
|
 |
Below are my recommendations
and reviews
for toilets that work in
today's world.
the report that homeowner's prefer
FM=Flushmate, G=Gravity, GM=G-Max flushing,
PF/2, WV=WhisperVac,
DC=Double Cyclone,
RF=round front, EL=elongated SG= SanaGloss
Gram ratings are based on MaP testing. Anything
over 500 is very good.
I rate toilets taking into consideration the gram ratings,
quality control at the factory, ease and cost of repairs, how they
sound when flushing, how well the bowl is rinsed, and perception of
quality. For many of these, it's how well I liked them in my
home.
|
Toilet |
Notes |
Flush |
My Price |
 Toto
Soiree & Guinevere
12" rough or convert to 10" or 14"
Owner
comments |
Double
Cyclone Flush
Very good bowl wash
Sanagloss
16-1/8" high bowl
TOTO's best
gravity toilet. |
DC |
595
623 |
 Toto UltraMax
#MS854114S
ADA
Ultramax
Owner
comments |
Commercial Grade
Quiet. Powerful flush, Consumer friendly.
Who needs a plunger?
3" flush valve.
A homeowner favorite!
700 grams |
GM |
RF 380
EL 400
SG 445
ADA 495 |
 Toto EL Drake CST744S
Toto RF Drake CST743S
Toto Drake ADA CST744SL
Owner
comments
high quality, easy repairs |
Commercial Grade
flush, 3" flush valve
Quiet
A homeowner favorite!
900 grams |
GM |
RF 225
EL 240
ADA 310
|
 Toto
Dartmouth CST754SF
16-1/8" bowl height,
ADA
Owner
comments |
A
traditional style toilet with G-Max flush. Commercial grade
900 grams |
GM |
349 |
 Toto
Carlyle
MS874114SG
with Sanagloss
Owner
comments
|
Commercial Grade
Quiet. Powerful flush, Consumer friendly.
12" UniFit rough-in Optional
10" or 14"
625 grams |
GM |
518
|
 Toto
Carrollton CST774S
shown with SS154 seat |
G-Max
flush
with 12" UniFit
optional 10" or 14"
commercial grade flush
700 plus grams |
GM |
399 |
 Toto
Clayton CST784SF
shown with SS154 seat
16-1/8" bowl
height, ADA |
A
traditional style toilet with G-Max flush. Commercial grade
675 grams |
GM |
373 |
 TOTO
Aquia
CST414M dual-flush
A compact elongated bowl that is only
27-1/4" from front to back A green toilet. Comments |
Dual
Flush
Saves water
800 grams |
DF |
300 |
 Toto
Neorest 600
Neorest
500
Washlet
included.
Owner
reviews |
Cyclone
Flushing system, no waiting for refill, no refill noise.
Sanagloss |
G |
3,999
2,479
|
 Eljer
Titan 091-0777
Could use a little better bowl
wash.
16-1/8" bowl height
Owner
comments
|
3"
flush valve
Good flush
900 grams |
G |
328 |
 Toto
Dalton CST733F
Toto Dalton CST734F
16-1/8" bowl height
round or elongated
Owner
comments |
650
grams |
G |
RF
184
ADA-195 |
 Gerber,
Ultra Flush #21-302
RF
EL
Handicap 17" high
|
Does
the job!
powerful flush, some bowl wash, noise may startle, but less than before.
1000 grams
|
FM |
RF 310
EL 339
ADA 380 |
 Kohler
K-3458 EL
Kohler K-3544 ADA |
Does
the job!
powerful flush, some bowl wash, noise may startle, but less than before.
Commercial Grade |
FM |
EL
399
ADA 420 |
 American Stand. RF, #2172.100 Cadet PA
American Stand. EL
Glenwall wall-hung
|
Good quality, noise may startle, but less than before.
Commercial Grade
750 grams |
FM |
499 |
Universal Rundle, Amega
#4061 |
good value, noise may startle, but less than before.
Commercial Grade |
FM |
279 |
 Toto
Plymouth MS924154F
Universal height ADA
16-1/8" bowl height
one-piece with traditional style |
Power
Gravity
with ADA height
675 grams |
PG |
478 |
 Toto
Ultimate
#MS854114 one piece
EL |
Power
gravity flush
3" flush valve.
Quiet
325 -400 grams |
PG |
RF 340
EL 360 |
 Caroma
Caravell
305 Washdown
Round bowl, 28-1/2" long
Owner comments
|
Dual
flush
Saves the most water.
plug resistant
550
grams |
G |
15" RF 399
17" RF 499
17" EL 539 |
 Kohler
Cimarron Comfort height.
16-1/8" bowl height
Owner comments
|
3-1/4"
Flush valve
Good performance
Lacks bowl wash
800 grams |
G |
EL 340
RF 225
|
 American
Standard
Champion,
16-1/8" bowl height
ADA
Owner
comments |
3"
Flush valve
Good performance
Keep repair parts
on hand
1000 grams |
FT |
299 |
| Crane
Economiser 3-804 EL |
Good flush, noise may startle, but less than before.
Commercial Grade
750 grams |
FM |
279 |
 Briggs Vacuity
4200
comes in RF, EL and ADA
Owner
comments
|
Not
recommended |
WV |
RF 239
EL 259
ADA 320 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bidet seats
on sale!
a perfect gift
|
If you ask plumbers and homeowners about toilets, you will get
different answers depending on what is available in their part of the country. I have
asked plumbers and homeowners to write in with the latest information as it happens in the field.
loveplumbing@comcast.net
For many plumbers, G-Max and pressure assist toilets are the
way to go. Most of
the assisted toilets use the Sloan Flushmate. Note:
Small children may be startled by the sudden action of the Flushmate and
PF/2 equipped toilets.
For those that like to sit down when you flush, consider toilets that are
listed as quiet. |
My
favorite toilet is the UltraMax by Toto. Toto calls this a
"G-Max" toilet. The model number is MS854114S. It is a good
looking one-piece that incorporates a 3" flush valve instead of the standard
2". The fill valve can be found in any hardware store. It meets commercial
requirements, works well in a home and is quieter than the air assisted models.
The long sweeping trapway is good prevention against clogging from stuck
objects that can get caught in the standard shapes. This is a homeowner
favorite too.
Some of the gravity toilets work very well with one flush.
Excellent are the Toto Drake and Ultramax series.
Also good are the Caroma, Toto
Dalton, toilets.
Briggs has a model called the Vacuity,
that uses the WhisperVac flushing system. (WhisperVac is a patented vacuum
assist) The water surface area is 10"x12". This model
in real word conditions may require a second flush to evacuate
everything.
 Handicap style toilets
with the higher bowl height (16.5"" instead of 15") seem to perform better than the
standard height toilets.
Some of the low flow toilets, such as the Kohler Rialto
have little water in the bowl. Low water depth prevents the waste from dropping
below the water line. A toilet that has good water depth, will prevent "outhouse
smell".
A fe w comments sent to me by other plumbers:
"I used to have these same problems with the 1.6gal
toilets. Time to tell the customer to bite the bullet and get a new Western, TOTO
or one of the other brand toilets that work! Since switching several of our customers to Western and TOTO we no
longer have the standard call backs on toilets that don't flush." Moshe
Levine, Levine
Plumbing and Const. Tonasket, WA
"I think the Toto
is one of the big trade secrets out there." Rod Lampert, Lampert
Plumbing Co.Phoenix, Arizona
"The
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has co-funded the
replacement of about 1.5 million 3.5, 5.0 and 7.0 gallon toilets in their
service area. If you are within their water district, The Standard
rebate is $60. Installing dual-flush toilets in your home can earn
you $80 rebate on the purchase price.
A few comments sent to me by homeowners:
"I chose the TOTO Ultramax and I am
100% satisfied with my new toilet." Joan T.
"I've had a Toto Ultramax for a year
now after replacing my low-flow Kohler which took two or three flushes to do
anything. One flush and it's gone." Bob
"I just installed two Toto Drakes in
my house about 3 months ago. They replaced two Eljer Patriots. I have no
complaints with the Toto's.....they work flawlessly." Ron
 If a client asks me, which brands have the most variety in
styles and models, I point out Kohler and American Standard
Below are some quotes from Fine Homebuilding, Oct/Nov 1997 that may amuse owners of the early
1.6 toilets.
Terry Love
of Love Plumbing & Remodel in Redmond, Washington, says,
"Most customers who get builder grade 1.6-gal. toilets for the first time have to learn to use a
plunger, and believe it or not, a lot of people don't know how to use a plunger."
According to Love, there's a right way to plunge a toilet. "Put
the plunger in with water in bowl, and after a series of short, quick strokes, pull up
until everything sucks down. Usually people do big strokes up and down. Using that method,
some blockages won't move."
The recommended list of toilets above
work very well and would rarely need a plunger.
Al Dietemann,
of the Seattle Utilities Department, concerned that many of the new toilets are
coming with inexpensive flappers that deteriorate and go bad in a very short time.
He feels that if the manufacturers would spend just a little more on the flapper,
replacements would be needed much less often. Leaking flappers are a source of wasted water
in a home. The city of Seattle engaged in a water study to
determine savings of the new water efficient fixtures. click
here for more information and pictures.
"Fluidmaster and
Coast now manufacturing some excellent product that withstands the in-tank bowl
cleaners. The latest problem is that of replacement (after-market) flappers and the
fact that most will not maintain 1.6 gpf in the toilets tested." John Koeller,
P.E.
 |
FLUSHMATE-equipped
toilets use pressure (not gravity)
"noise may startle, but
less than before with the new 503 series tank made from resin instead of stainless
steel." Terry Love
Sloan Flushmate Flushometer-Tank Systems
30075 Research Drive
New Hudson, Michigan 48165
1-800-533-3460 |
note: Toto, Gerber and Western
can be purchased from plumbing contractors. Brands like American Standard, Briggs, Crane,
Eljer, Kohler, Mansfield, and Universal Rundle can be purchased from both plumbing
contractors and in many hardware stores.
A special thanks to the plumbing contractors that
helped in this report.
New items
 |
Caroma is now
bringing in their dual flush toilets from Australia. These will
flush with either 1.6 or .8 gallons per flush. You will note that
they are marked with the half and full markings on the
buttons. |
 Toto has a new toilet
called the Carlyle skirted one piece toilet with concealed
trapway that is field adjustable from 10" to 14".
The bowl has a non-stick finish called SanaGloss.
Also the new ADA compliant handicap two piece toilet called the Drake with the 3" G-Max flushing system. The standard and
ADA version of the Drake expect to be a top performer for commercial and
residential use.
American
Standard has their new Flushmate equipped wall hung #2093.100 Glenwall
toilet now available. This should be a good replacement for aging or
broken wall hung toilets.
Crane makes a wall hung 1.6 GPF replacement toilet
called the Rexmont. This model comes in elongated
15" height and elongated ADA height of 16.5" The Rexmont
is a gravity model.
Poor toilets
Many new homes come with poor working toilets.
Just fair is the Kohler Wellworth. ( 250 grams regular bowl), Poor would be
the elongated bowl Wellworth (125 grams).
Against the Flow
Kohler has had their problems with their 81100
pressure assist flushing systems.
Toilet paper Poll
Prison Ware
The Penal-Ware® line by Acorn Engineering is virtually
indestructible, able to withstand a 2 1/2 ton load. Products included in this line
are, the Comby (a wash basin/toilet combination fixture), toilets, urinals, security
showers, drinking fountains, modular service centers (this includes a toilet, wash basin,
mirror, shelf and light fixture in one unit) and wash basins.
Bidet seats
 Toto makes toilets seats with a warm water
wash called a Jasmin
Washlet
bidet seat. The seat portion is
also heated seats in both the Chloe and the Jasmin Washlets.
Sewage Ejectors
In cases where there is a need to add plumbing below the
height of the existing sewer, a sewage ejector can be installed which pumps the liquid and
solids up to the waste lines.
9/18/2008 Terry Love
loveplumbing@comcast.net
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