Toilet recommendations?

[MoodyBlues]

I'm renovating my bathroom, and the first thing that's got to go is the toilet. I started looking around online yesterday for toilets, and quickly got overwhelmed. The last time I chose toilets was 20-ish years ago for my house in Dallas; back then, I used to shop at this amazing store called "The Great Indoors"--think warehouse-store sized, but filled with amazing, high quality merchandise, everything for the home. I remember browsing through the toilet section, finding exactly what I had in mind, buying two of them, and arranging for delivery. Easy peasy! Now? Not so much!

For one thing, most of the toilets I saw online that I liked said they couldn't be delivered to my address. (It's a California thing--there must be something about them that doesn't pass muster with one of our laws.) I tried narrowing down the selection by eliminating those, but then I was still baffled by all the different specs listed for each toilet, from how much water it uses per flush to "rough-in size," dual-flush to pressure-assisted.

I HATE the current toilet. It's not very old, but I've hated it from the get-go. (I was still sick, and not involved in its selection when it was purchased.) It's one of those water-saving things that doesn't work worth a crap! (Pun fully intended.) I'm all for saving water, but I fail to see the point when you have to flush multiple times because the toilet's not powerful enough to do it on the first flush. Kind of defeats the whole purpose.

I checked Consumer Reports and they highly rate various Kohler models, which is a brand I like. But I'm wondering if anyone has personal recommendations they'd like to share. I want a classic/traditional style, elongated bowl, chair height, white, and the price isn't an issue--but being powerful is! Suggestions?

 

[olbriar]

I was fortunate enough to score a full flush model just as they were being banned. Low flush is a no go most of the time which requires another flush and my plumber says they challenge a sewer drain for it leaves solids in the line to help generate clogs. I understand the concept of the low flush but in reality they are a bad joke. I can't speak for the assisted pressure toilet systems. They have to be superior to a low water flush.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Yeah, my good friend/neighbor/contractor in Dallas told me something similar about those low-flush toilets. And I've seen proof of how awful they are--I've had more clogs than I ever thought possible. I even completely replaced all the [outside] plumbing/pipes a couple of years ago--they needed to be replaced, but I also hoped the clogging problem would be alleviated. It wasn't.

As I said, I'm all for saving water and I completely understand the *idea* behind these low-water toilets...but, yeah, they're a bad joke.

 

[lunatic59]

We have the 1.6 gallon per flush toilets ... I think they are Gerber upstairs and American standard downstairs. The Gerber toilets definitely clog much more than the AS, but they are also a lot cheaper. Unfortunately CA Title 20 requires you guys use 1.28 gallon toilets. In that case I'd probably go with a pressure assisted flush. They push less water faster and would probably be an acceptable option. Their only drawback is they can be loud. The size, shape etc. should be independent of the flush mechanism.

 

[olbriar]

The biggest problem with the low volume flush in older homes is the sewer drop from dwelling to main was engineered for a given amount of water that the low flush toilets don't provide. That can't help but be problematic over time. That doesn't account for the new wave double flush... a problem all it's own.

 

[puppykickr]

Funny story behind how I know about this, but I will wait until someone asks.

Yes, it is 'bathroom humor'.

Anyway, there is/was something called Toilet In A Box that retailed for about $100, and was a complete kit (literally everything you needed) in one box.
(You might want a nicer seat.)

Lowe's or Menard's.
Thinking it was Lowe's.

A few months ago, I got a toilet from Menard's myself, but have not installed it.
It is not the above, but everything (including a decent seat) was about $120 (or less).

The Toilet In A Box was an awesome, low cost, simple, and very effective solution.

 

[puppykickr]

Or this..
this would do.

But I must insist on a matching TP dispensor and at least one USB outlet, preferably two.

 

[jhtalisman]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/KOHLER-...ed-K-78279-0/307908571?ITC=AUC-51139-23-12075

I just installed the round bowl version of this one 6 days ago. Yes, it is water saving but I haven't yet encountered a problem with having to flush multiple times....yet. I am so far pleased. I would also recommend not using a wax ring and instead use https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fluidma...versal-Wax-Free-Toilet-Seal-7530P24/205762183

As far as rough-in size, that is in reference to the distance from the wall to the closet bolts that are on each side near floor level. It will either be 10" or 12" and is so that the tank is flush with the wall and will not leave a gap.

 

[mikedt]

I recommend one of the TRUMP™ electronic toilet and bidet systems. Featuring automatic dual-flush, automatic bum cleansing, automatic enemas, heated seats, WiFi, Bluetooth, and optional media player with Dolby Atmos sound.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Funny story behind how I know about this, but I will wait until someone asks.

Yes, it is 'bathroom humor'.

Okay, someone's asking! You've piqued my curiosity, so kindly spill the beans!

Anyway, there is/was something called Toilet In A Box that retailed for about $100, and was a complete kit (literally everything you needed) in one box.
(You might want a nicer seat.)

Lowe's or Menard's.
Thinking it was Lowe's.

A few months ago, I got a toilet from Menard's myself, but have not installed it.
It is not the above, but everything (including a decent seat) was about $120 (or less).

Why haven't you installed it yet? I'm guessing you bought it because you needed it, so....???

The Toilet In A Box was an awesome, low cost, simple, and very effective solution.

What on earth was it?! With a name like "Toilet in a Box".....well, it does make one wonder, you know?

 

[MoodyBlues]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/KOHLER-...ed-K-78279-0/307908571?ITC=AUC-51139-23-12075

I just installed the round bowl version of this one 6 days ago. Yes, it is water saving but I haven't yet encountered a problem with having to flush multiple times....yet. I am so far pleased. I would also recommend not using a wax ring and instead use https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fluidma...versal-Wax-Free-Toilet-Seal-7530P24/205762183

From its description, it sounds like its "powerful canister flush valve" is the key. I'll have to keep that in mind as I narrow my search. As for the wax ring, I would've left that decision up to my handyman (who will be installing this), but now you've made me wonder about other choices. I'm only familiar with wax rings, so I'll have to do a bit of research.

As far as rough-in size, that is in reference to the distance from the wall to the closet bolts that are on each side near floor level. It will either be 10" or 12" and is so that the tank is flush with the wall and will not leave a gap.

That was my guess. Thanks for the helpful post!

 

[puppykickr]

I miss the old pull chain toilets that you could flush a whole Ford Ranger right down in one flush.

 

[puppykickr]

@MoodyBlues

I was putting it in the bathroom of my buddy's trailer home.

If you have ever done construction on a trailer, you know that there is literally nothing there.
The floors are glue and sawdust (partical board), the studs in the wall are 2x4 boards that have been cut in half lengthwise.

So anyway, the water froze, the floor broke through, and the bathroom smelled like a uninal at a ballpark during the summer.

We thawed the pipes out, and went to work on the bathroom floor.
Plywood to replace the broken, urine soaked partical board, and linoleum tiles for it as well.

In order to make the tile stick, we got a can of stuff that you spread out in three separate coats and let dry (each coat) to make the floor extra sticky.

All of this took days, and there was about two feet of snow on the ground.
A good amount of this snow was yellow by the time we got the Toilet In A Box home and installed.

At the time, I and my buddy still enjoyed 'the greener side of life', and the name 'Toilet In A Box' was just hilarious.

We were blasted when we got there, and we made quite the scene buying this toilet kit.

Not to mention that we had nowhere to go poop for the whole time of bathroom renovation.

So by the time we got the floor done and put this thing in, we were quite anxious to 'christen' it- to say the least.

Because we didn't want any leaks, and we only wanted to do this once, we used a No.3 wax ring. These things are huge, and it was some real overkill.

This toilet was amazing.
Not only was it a water saver, it ate the contents of our internals like it was starving!
One flush each, and no matter that both of us had not gone in three days!

We were both very impressed, to say the least.
The water swirled in a violent, almost scrubbing like whirlpool that made you think you should feel suction like with an airplane toilet.

No streaks, no double or triple flushing, and my buddy likes that horrible, thick, crumbly toilet paper.

It was a pure joy to poop in the Toilet In A Box.

So a day or two later, my buddy's sister comes to visit.
She is large, and out of shape.
Not really, because round is a shape.
But I digress.

We brag about how proud we are with what we did with the bathroom (before this, we had installed new shower walls and fixtures above the tub, and had to reinforce the floor underneath).

Clean, fresh shower, brand new toilet, new tile floor (done in the diamond style, instead of the square), and it looked pretty darn good considering that it was a 20 year old construction site trailer.

So after a time, she needs to utilize the facilities.

She uses the toilet, and I guess that due to the giant wax ring we used, it wasn't as tight to the floor as it could have been.
It really was, for anyone that weighed 250 lbs. or less.

But evidently, she weighed enough to crush that wax ring down a bit more, and she darn near came off the toilet and landed onto the floor.

We were in disbelief, because it felt solid as a rock when we used it. I even tightened it down a second time after we each used it on its' inaugeration day.

Now here it is, with almost ¼ inch of slop all the way around the bottom.

After we tightened it down again, it was fine.
Lessen learned... use only as large as a wax ring as is truely needed.

Ok, so maybe the story is only funny to me, or to anyone with a full colon and a severe buzz who then sees a big sign for 'Toilet In A Box' while shopping for a toilet.

This is what we did for enjoyment around here.

I have not installed the toilet I have now because the apartment it is going in is worse than what I am going to put in the toilet.

The building is ~115 years old, and in fairly dire shape.
There is worry that the city may try to condemn if they inspect at this point.

But it is downtown, and has 98% of the original trim and fixtures.

Plaster and lathe, lead paint, clawfoot cast iron tub, country cast iron kitchen sink, you name it.

The electric has been done 'ok' (my standards for electric are higher than standard household), the water pipes have been ran, and the bedroom is almost ready to move in- although it stilk needs work as well.

There is so much to do, but it is only me to do it.

The landlord (a friend of almost 18 years) and I have actually talked about going to Mexico instead of dealing with it.
We laugh, then we don't.
Then we chuckle, but in a sick way.

Welcome to my world.

 

[puppykickr]

"What on earth was it?! With a name like "Toilet in a Box".....well, it does make one wonder, you know?"

Umm, I was kind of thinking that the name might give it away.

Maybe not?

 

[puppykickr]

Use this link, add your own zip code (upper right) and any other filters you like (I already added chair height and enlongated bowl).

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Bath-Toilets/Chair-Height/Elongated/N-5yc1vZbzbdZ1z0m208Z1z0zbtk

 

[puppykickr]

Damn, it! @MoodyBlues
Now I am missing pull chain toilets!

MPCA
(make pooping cool again)

 

[jhtalisman]

From its description, it sounds like its "powerful canister flush valve" is the key. I'll have to keep that in mind as I narrow my search. As for the wax ring, I would've left that decision up to my handyman (who will be installing this), but now you've made me wonder about other choices. I'm only familiar with wax rings, so I'll have to do a bit of research.


That was my guess. Thanks for the helpful post!

The benefit, as I have only installed a couple of toilets, is that if the toliet has to be repositioned during installation, for whatever reason, it doesn't require another wax ring. It can be reseated as many times is needed without affecting effectiveness.

 

[ozonetrooper]

Beside being loud the air assisted flush toilets are very expensive to work on. A flush handle and flapper for a normal toilet runs less than 25 dollars, the air tank for the other is in the 100 dollar range with more cost for other parts needed.

I can attest to the fact that they do flush completely, being in the apartment maintenance field I have seen them all, and the air flush is the best of the water saver ideas.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Beside being loud the air assisted flush toilets are very expensive to work on. A flush handle and flapper for a normal toilet runs less than 25 dollars, the air tank for the other is in the 100 dollar range with more cost for other parts needed.

I can attest to the fact that they do flush completely, being in the apartment maintenance field I have seen them all, and the air flush is the best of the water saver ideas.

When I looked at the pictures of the air-pressure toilet yesterday, I immediately thought about failures/repairs. The more working parts there are [in anything, not just toilets], the more likely something's going to break. However, I'd rather deal with an occasional repair than continually flushing a toilet 3, 4, 5, or more times! And cussing at it, too.

 

[mikedt]

When I looked at the pictures of the air-pressure toilet yesterday, I immediately thought about failures/repairs. The more working parts there are [in anything, not just toilets], the more likely something's going to break. However, I'd rather deal with an occasional repair than continually flushing a toilet 3, 4, 5, or more times! And cussing at it, too.

I thought those were only found on aircraft and trains? Where they flush using air suction.

 

[lunatic59]

Pressurized toilets aren't flushed by using suction. In a standard toilet, pushing the flush handle opens a flapper valve and water is drained into the bowl via gravity. The water fills the bowl and starts water flowing down the drain. The shape of the trap system causes a syphon effect and pulls the contents of the bowl down the drain until the water is gone and air breaks the syphon. That's the "flush" sound.

Because low flow toilets don't have enough water to create a strong syphon, they need help and that comes by trading volume for velocity. Instead of simply filling an open tank, there is a sealed container in the tank that compresses air above the water using the the city water pressure as the source of compression. When the toilet is flushed, the pressurized water is directed through a narrow hole which increases the speed and duration of the flush and will empty the bowl.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Pressurized toilets aren't flushed by using suction. In a standard toilet, pushing the flush handle opens a flapper valve and water is drained into the bowl via gravity. The water fills the bowl and starts water flowing down the drain. The shape of the trap system causes a syphon effect and pulls the contents of the bowl down the drain until the water is gone and air breaks the syphon. That's the "flush" sound.

Because low flow toilets don't have enough water to create a strong syphon, they need help and that comes by trading volume for velocity. Instead of simply filling an open tank, there is a sealed container in the tank that compresses air above the water using the the city water pressure as the source of compression. When the toilet is flushed, the pressurized water is directed through a narrow hole which increases the speed and duration of the flush and will empty the bowl.

....and sounds like it will do it much better than the crappy low-flow toilet it'll be replacing. Ugh!

But what about the repair factor? Are they prone to breaking down? As I mentioned, at least in my experience, the more moving/working parts there are, the more there is to break down. The last thing I want to do is trade an ultra-frustrating toilet that has to be flushed multiple times for one that has to have parts fixed/replaced multiple times.

 

[olbriar]

Here is a link to a quality comparison between gravity flow vs pressure assist toilets.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Here is a link to a quality comparison between gravity flow vs pressure assist toilets.

Well, shoot. Before reading that article, I thought I was sold on the pressure-assisted idea. Now?

I don't know!

I'm not crazy about the 'shredding' factor of the pressure-assisted toilets, which necessitates a second flush--defeating the whole purpose, right?

It says so much improvement has been made on gravity-based toilets that they can rival pressure-assisted, or even out-do them.

I need to check Consumer Reports and see what they have to say.

 

[lunatic59]

Here's another article Moody.

https://toiletseek.com/pressure-assist-toilet-cons-pros-meaning/

I found it interesting that the PA toilets are listed as more reliable.