Tired of plungering

[westytoploader]

One thing that confused me on the Bathroom Machineries site is the rough-in distance. What is that? I was thinking it was the length of the base of the toilet, but that doesn't seem to be it.

 

[knitwits1975]

I am 6 foot 8 so I appreciate ADA bowls.

 

[frontaloadotmy]

Austin

I think rough in refers to the center of the waste pipe
relative to its length from the "finished" wall.

 

[foraloysius]

Overhere the wall mounted toilet bowls are very popular. Most people who are redoing their bathrooms get one of those. Most of them are dual flush models too.

 

[toggleswitch]

ooooh how fashion-forward!

 

[veg-o-matic]

Fashion forward?

Mmmmm, looks a little too "bus station men's room" for my taste.

veg

 

[westytoploader]

Thanks for the explanation. So in order for it to fit properly, the rough-in distance of the "new" toilet has to be equal to or smaller than the existing toilet...very interesting. I noticed some of them on the site had an unusually big 20" rough-in.

 

[Burpalator]

Kohler Class Five

These are supposed to be just "okay." There are still problems with plugging and poor bowl rinse.

The higher-end Totos (Drake and Ultramax for basic high-end) are the best, hands down. The "spec" or landlord quality Totos are no better than any other cheapo.

American Standard has just introduced the new Cadet 3 that is supposed to be better than Toto and less expensive. I have not yet seen these on the shelves at The Home Depot or sLowes, but they can be ordered.

I personally think I would pay a little extra and go with a Flushmate (pressure assist) model. Of the ones I've used, I like Gerber over the other top brands. You never have to "flush as you go" and I can't imagine clogging one. I have been told that Flushmate will send free repair parts for five years, or something along that line.

I had a new American Standard Cadet with Flushmate in '97 and the noise level has been reduced considerably since then.

 

[Designgeek]

Looks like Australia and the Netherlands are ahead of the game here.

That Australian manufacturer Caroma's website refers to graywater and even blackwater recycling. Question: is blackwater recycling ever done on a household level there (e.g. with an appliance in the basement), or is it done at the central treatment plant and a secondary public water main installed?

I can see an immediate advantage in the wall-hung design: easier to mop the bathroom floor (or send one of those Roomba type floor washing robots in there to do it). Though, the tradeoff is greater difficulty servicing the components in the flush tank.

Anyone venture a guess as to how long before Americans get used to a two-button toilet?

 

[jasonl]

OK, so what is the good Bang (or Flush) for the Buck toilet?

I honestly don't care about noise. I've used the Gerber here at work and after getting used to it, it's works well. The only noise is the 5 seconds it's flushing the rest of the noise is the typical toilet filling noise. My house has a mediocre water pressure anyway, like the minimum 30psi so will a pressure unit even work?

And of course, the shower head will have it's water saver removed.

 

[Burpalator]

OK, so what is the good Bang (or Flush) for the Buck toilet?

Either the Toto Ultramax or Toto Drake. They aren't the cheapest but they are excellent performers and easily self-servicable. Ultramax is one-piece and Drake is two. Price range for white is approx. $300 for Drake and closer to $400 for Ultramax.

The Toto Aquia is a new dual-flush model that's getting rave reviews and it's economically priced at under $300.

Check them out at www.totousa.com. While you are there, watch the video on the Toto Neorest toilet. It senses your approach and raises the lid automatically. After you've finished your business on the heated seat, it washes your undercarriage with warm water and then air dries. AND it even has a handy remote control. These retail for about $5,000 but I've seen them for much less on eBay.

If price is no object and you're going purely for aesthetics, you should get the Kohler Purist Hatbox. It's also supposedly a top performer.

 

[jasonl]

Toto Aquia

That looks like a good one to get as far as water conserv goes. Considering I'll be flushing into a septic tank, using a lil less water is fine. So I guess .9gpf is for #1 and 1.6gpf is for #2 lol. But .9gpf will work for #3 as well :-O .

 

[jasonl]

Totolly awesome

OK, I honed in on it. Toto Drake it is. It has the Gmax flush and uses standard parts so it's easy to fix.

 

[Burpalator]

OK, I honed in on it. Toto Drake it is.

I think you'll be very pleased. Problems people think they have had with the Drake have usually turned out to be more of a drain line problem. And I believe it's fair to say that you can stop up most any toilet if you cram it full of a half roll of Charmin and try to flush it down!

 

[nurdlinger]

Too late, but I will chime in anyway

I replaced both toilets in my home last year, and researched the dickens out of it first. Via personal recommendations and web forums (there is a bathroom forum on THS just like the laundry forum) I also concluded that Toto would be the best choice. That was until I priced them at the only two places here in this burg that sold them. I wound up with one Toto, the "Clayton", and one Kohler, the "Cimarron". Both are elongated bowl, ADA height. One cost $400, the other $200. There is barely a dime's worth of difference in how they perform. From personal observation, IMHO, these things are important: 1.) the three-inch (or 3-1/4") flush valve in the tank. (the "flapper") This lets a bunch of water out in a hurry. 2.) the wide, glazed trapway. (the water passage from the bowl to the drain). 3.) the "siphon jet". This is a squirt of water from the front bottom of the bowl which blows the contents down the trap.

Both of these toilets have all these things. Toto marketing calls the Clayton (and the Drake, and others) "G-Max". This actually refers to a quicker-filling tank supply valve. Lower-cost Toto products use the same big diameter flush valve, but take longer to refill the tank. These are called, IIRC, "Power Gravity". The Cimarron, "Class Five" in Kohler marketing speak, has the big flush valve and takes longer to refill its tank than the Toto. Because of its usage of standard parts I could buy a quick-fill valve for the Cimarron and it would fit.

Both of these flush very well and are difficult to clog. They are not, however, clog-proof. I would recommend either without hesitation. Toto's are found (at least in Tucson) at snooty decorator shops. I got the Kohler Cimarron from Home Depot.

 

[sudsmaster]

Fashion forward

It might bring to mind bus station lavs, but the wall mounted potty looks like it would be very easy to sweep, vacuum, or mop under.

 

[Designgeek]

Oops! The only thing I didn't notice at first about the wall-mounted toilet, is that if someone particularly heavy were to sit down carelessly, they might just torque it off the wall. For that matter think of a person of normal weight who runs into the WC and sits down "in a hurry" with a stomach bug. Yow. I imagine it must be "interesting" to install one of those so it's not susceptible to such issues.

 

[foraloysius]

A friend of mine who is almost 400lbs has one of those for a few years now. No problems yet. The WC is attached to a brick wall with very long bolts. Dutch houses are built with all brick inside walls, I guess that matters.