Replacing my toilet - Recommendations?

If you don't need to replace it don't. Today's toilets aren't worth a s*it.

Many are very good. The ones the contractors put in new homes and the ones most people buy for replacements are not very good.

Price does not seem to mean much. Many very expensive models are high style and poor engineering.

I suggest looking for models with "fully glazed" and large traps (2 inch minimum)

As much toilet talk :) that goes on here I haven't read anyone raving about new toilets. On the contrary, I've read more times than not to keep what you have if at all possible.

Google this group for "Toto Drake" and you will see plenty of raving. It easily outperforms all of my old high-flow toilets.

To the OP, I don't place a lot of confidence in Consumer Reports, and that sentiment was confirmed after their infant car seat debacle that was in the news recently. Instead, I'd recommend that you read over everything on this page:

Just installed a Toto Drake and followed the Terry Love directions. Worked out great. I bought the toilet from homeclick.com. Delivered right to the front door. nice... . Instead of using a wax ring, I used this thing on this page. A Fernco waxless ring.

Two words for you, To To - actually one word, Toto. Superb flushing, larger trap sizes, highly rated, and reasonably priced. The soft- close seat is worth the price of admission by itself.

Whenever I hear people bitch about the low flow toilets, I know they've never tried a Toto.

Read this... I have replaced three toilets (in two houses) with Toto (Drake and Vespin) and in all cases the new toilets performed much, much better than the old ones, even though 2 of the old ones were older, high-flow toilets.

How much better does it need to perform than flushing turds? My old toilet does that fine.

If using extra water is OK with you, and it never clogs, and it always clears the bowl and is otherwise in good shape, then by all means, don't replace it. But that's a little off-topic from the original topic of this thread.

Is there a particular Toto model that's good, or are all of them acceptable? My current toilet is a high-flow/old style and I love it. However, it's at least 30 years old and developing cracks in the tank, which is why it has to be replaced. Also, I need to get something in almond, light beige, or natural to match the shower, and that's proving to be an issue as well.

Well I don't consider talking about toilets in a toilet thread as off topic. I replied to the OP that the OP keep his old toilet.

quoted text -

I always worry about anyone who says that they "love" their toilet.

My thoughts as well. Yes, I read the terrylove page awhile ago, and it was very helpful, although often the customer comments differed significantly from the "best value" page recommendations. An American Standard model was rated as a "best buy" and every single customer comment was a complaint.

Next best choice is to find a old, used toilet.

Fix or replace the tank?

Better than "hating" it :)

Thanks for the tip! Googled, selected a model, HomeClick was the cheapest, plus a 10% discount, plus free shipping! A Toto Ultimate will be delivered to my door for less than $400! Now we'll see if I can install it on my own, since DH will only "plumb" if it's an emergency. At least I know how to install a "regular" toilet, so I figure if I read the terrylove page I should be ahead of the game.

Two things to consider:

- CR actually tested toilets using fake turds. If I recall, they provided their recipe, for readers interested in such things. Seems pretty thorough to me.

- Nobody in this newsgroup has conducted such tests on a long list of toilets.

That's that.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, get a Toto "Drake", check out Toto's website for colors available.