Toilet Choices

tbm5690

tbm5690

Joined
Apr 28, 2020
Messages
2,395
Location
North Dakota
Looking to replace at least one, and likely two toilets. Must be elongated bowl, and I would really prefer it be a "holeless" rim design. I don't care if it's chair or standard height (although standard height seems harder to find in stock), don't care how much water it uses, and don't care if it's skirted.

Toto: I know that the Drake is everyone's darling, but I am seeing other compelling options for almost half the price. I also see plenty of accounts of people unsatisfied with the Drake, and it seems that you are lucky if you order one of these and it arrives not broken in a million pieces.

Kohler: I know that @walterjay likes these. Reviews suggest that QC is lacking and that there are many unique parts, causing the potential for serviceability concerns. I noticed I could get a Highline or an Elliston for $200...would lean Elliston for the 360 flush.

American Standard: seems the most polarizing...either plumbers love them or absolutely hate them. Perhaps the most questionable QC...I'm particularly concerned about cracking of tanks. I can get a Titan (same as a Champion, I think?) for $210 or a Vormax for $200 which seems like a good deal. Vormax has the 360 flush and has two flush valves...questionable reliability/more to break?

Would love any feedback on these options. These 3 brands seem the most realistic for me from an availability standpoint.
 
Have always purchased Kohler's and installed a lot of Kohlers.

Last Kohler was purchased 14 months ago. This latest and greatest Koehler was a top of the line model. Very underwhelmed. In under one year had two issues to service.

Any future toilets will be Toto.
 
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Been through a few homes and many toilets in my lifetime.
I have never been as impressed by a toilet bowl as the builder installed ones that came with our new house.
🤣 not kidding.
I Marvel every time I flush the toilet. It’s super fast and thorough and wow, I mean you really gotta try to clog this baby up to get it not to flush.

This is the exact model. I see regular home stores like Lowe’s sell the brand, but I didn’t go into looking the particular model up.

This is the exact model
https://www.fergusonhome.com/proflo-pf6112-pf1503/s1437789?uid=3385906

I’m actually shocked that this is a builders stock toilet for new home construction and it works so well.
Our last home which we bought new was much bigger than the current home with many more options, but I was never impressed with the toilets and I replaced them myself.
 
Recently replaced a Kohler with a Toto, solved the problem of occasional incomplete flush (could not adjust a fix).
Tank lid was cracked when it arrived, was sent an entire replacement tank in a few days. Ended up with spare parts for future needs.
Toto is the cat's meow.
 
I tried to understand what interior decorators want in fancy toilets. They don’t want to see a trace of where the interior passage is. They want it sculpted to be smooth along the exterior. Whatever.
 
I recently had all the drain plumbing in my house replaced, and they replaced the toilet while doing the job. I'm not 100% of the model, but I think they installed a chair height, elongated bowl, Kohler Cimarron. Going from round bowl, standard height to this, has taken some getting used to. A couple months in, and I'm used to it now. It's not a high-end toilet, but functional. No complaints.
 
Get a Kohler with the 360 flush. It's a totally different toilet than an older Kohler. The flush valve is different, not a flapper, but Kohler ones aren't that expensive when/if you'll need one eventually.

Short clip of one in action:
 
Stay away from the American Standard toilets that have two flush valves in them. I have one that was given to me free by a rep. It occasionally hangs up and is the least reliable toilet in the house. Also had it clog a couple times.

I still like Kohler the best. Never any problems with them in my home. The ones that use a tower flush are very reliable and trouble free. Never clogged.
 
Since we like a splash of color in our baths, I've sought out and subsequently purchased two vintage American Standard units -- one off ebay and the other from a local who was remodeling to bland white junk from Lowe's. The first is a beige colored 1977 unit; the second a pink unit also from the late-70s or early-80s. They are both elongated, spotless, and are fully rebuildable with modern guts.

Not only are they extremely durable, but they're also anything but boring and flush with the power of a CFM56. I'll never go back to a modern toilet...especially since folks are practically giving these away.
 
I replaced all 3 of our toilets with American Standard chair height Cadet Pro's about 4 years ago. They have been trouble free and use 1.28 gallons per flush.
 
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Two Kohlers (1.6 and 1.25 gpm) and one AS (1.6) in the house, all three with different flush/flapper designs. I generally cheat them with a glass jar in the tank.

The AS uses a fairly unique design, with a flat flush valve seal. The OE replacement seals were probably $8 at the big box store and typically less than a year before I'd catch the unit refilling in the night. I think the chlorine causes the rubber to blister. I eventually found an off-brand seal on amazon in a two pack. The first one has gone four years without blistering.

1765978865730.webp


Our only 1.25 gpf is a cheapie basic Kohler unit from Lowes (of the following design) that has generally been reliable other than the garbage fluidmaster fill valve that they ship them with (even cheaper than a 400a.) Fluidmaster Pro45B for $13 from the local plumbing supply for the win. It has been challenged a few times as our toddler learned how much TP to use, but the few clogs have not been difficult to free.

1765979090298.webp
 
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