Replacement Toilet

[badgolferman]

I was thinking of the elongated part of the bowl. I'm not fond of my thang touching the bowl while I am sitting on the throne.

[Percival P. Cassidy]

Hear! Hear!

Perce

[Bob (but not THAT Bob)]

Go here for some good info and opinions:

And read this report, featuring the ever-popular "bulk and extruded media tests":

[SteveSch]

Wish I'd have had enough brains to ask this question BEFORE I bought 2 toilets. Some of the links these answers provide are great.

We bought a home and the toilets would barely flush water. Very low quality. 3-4 flushes and plunges were an everyday, several times a day, thing.

I replaced the toilet in the main bathroom with an American Standard Champion right away. The one that flushes golf balls. My son-in-law plugged it one time. What a bugger to plunge when it gets plugged. That's the only time it has plugged in 6 months.

A couple months later I replaced the one in the master bath with a Kohler Cimarron with Class Five Flush. Home Depot told me they were very close in performance to the American Standard. Now-2-3 flushes are an everyday thing and I have had to plunge it a few times. It's been in about 7-10 days now. I'm calling the Depot today about exchanging it for an American Standard.

The Kohler is advertised as flushing 100' of toilet paper (TP). After it was installed, but before it was used, I put in approx 24 feet of

2-ply TP and did a test flush. Most of the TP just got wet and it didn't go down. Just was in the bowel near the drain. I flushed again and it plugged. After unplugging the toilet I tried everything to get the Kohler to flush 24 feet of TP. I never could get it to.

I did the same test on the American Standard. I found the TP had to be wet and away from the hole. Then it flushed the paper with no problem. Didn't seem to be able to wet 24 feet of TP on the first flush. Neither did the Kohler though.

Bottom line is the American Standard is MUCH better. I will check out the Toto mow that I have heard of them. I may try and return this Kohler and just get another American Standard.

I'm just letting you know NOT to get the Kohler Cimarron. The other Kohlers may be great but the Cimarron is a piece of.........well you know.

Good luck, Steve

[Dick]

If you had bought Toto's you wouldn't be going through all that. My daughter just bought a Champion and it's OK, but nothing like a Toto.

Dick

[SteveSch]

I should be able to pick a Drake up Tuesday after I return the Kohler. I'll let you all know how it works.

It'd sure be nice to get rid of the plunger for a while. ;-)

Steve

[Dick]

You won't be sorry. We have one Drake and two Ultramax. We installed them a little over a year ago, and not once has one of them required a second flush. When you get the Drake installed, you will see right away how different they flush from most anything else. The contents just disappear. Goes straight down without any whirlpool effect. They are also quieter than anything else I have heard. Can't say enough good about them. If you want to pamper yourself, get the hydraulic closing seat. Not cheap, but you will never have a lid slam down again. I think it was about $40. Standard with the Ultramax.

Dick

[SteveSch]

And don't forget the cup holder. LOL

Thank you Dick. I am supposed to pick it up Monday.

Steve

[SteveSch]

Hi Dick,

Well I got the Drake installed. The ada height elongated was approx $320 at a local plumbing supply company. The round standard height was $225.

I gave it a flush to prime the system. I put 24 feet of tp in it and flushed. It went into the hole and sat there, very wet. I pulled it away as I did with the others and flushed it again. At least it was easy to plunge.

If I ever have to replace a toilet again right now I'm thinking I'd go with the American Standard Champion. It flushed 24 feet of tp.

The good news is that it works MUCH better than the Kohler. If we don't have any problems with it by Friday, I can finally throw toilet boxes away and hide the plungers.

It does flow a lot of water along the sides of the bowel. Something the Kohler did NOT do at all.

Thanks for the help, Steve

[Dick]

You could have saved a little by buying at HomeClick. The Drake ADA elongated there is $307.43. Free shipping and no tax. I can't imagine that the Drake wouldn't outdo the Champion in normal operation. The Drake is rated to flush 900 grams of "stuff." The Champion is rated only for 500 grams. The Drake should be able to flush nearly twice as much bulk as the Champion. I think you will find the Drake to be a great performer.

Dick

[SteveSch]

Hi Dick,

I didn't do too bad then. It was $297.52. I bought a wax ring and some bolts too.

I was surprised myself after all I read. The map chart I saw says the Champion either flushes 650 or 800 grams. It's a 1-piece but I'm not sure which model. I wonder how accurate those numbers are. Maybe it's a quality control problem or something? That Kohler is rated at 800 grams and it had a heck of a time with normal waste.

I'm sure 24 feet of tp is way overkill but after the Kohler advertised it would flush 100', I just had to see. Spool off 24 feet sometime. That's a crapload (oops-slipped) of tp.

So far for normal use the Drake has performed great and I am pleased with it. The amount of time it has been installed I would have already had to double flush the Kohler several times. I doubt I will have any problems with it-at last.

Thanks again for everything. Steve