New Toilet

Looking to replace a current toilet to a taller model for my parents. Any brands to stay away from? Sounds weird, but are there “options” I should be looking for?

 

I've been looking at replacing our toilet also. I work for a big plumbing and HVAC company. I am on the HVAC division, but every time one of us is doing a renovation i always see an email go out about them asking for recommendations for fixtures, and every time the response is overwhelmingly "Anything TOTO".

I think sticking with TOTO will insure you have the best chance of replacing a tank or bowl if they chip or break as well as finding parts if required. I've sent many questions to their customer service and they have always been fast to respond.

My current toilet is not Toto, I think it's Foremost or something like that. It's sold by and labeled as being a Rona toilet. The bowl shape is not standard and is impossible to find a seat for it. Only since I've been looking to replace my standard seat for a washlet seat did I find out of this odd size issue, many complaints online about it showed up when I looked ink it online but little in the way of solutions. can't even buy a standard type seat from Rona for it if the original breaks, don't even bother looking for a washlet to fit.

With that said I am installing the Toto Drake II washlet+ with the S550e seat. I'm leaning towards the S5##e series because of the eWater feature. I don't have a link right now, I can't find one on this old phone, trying to do two things at once like that will make it crash.

Your link brought me to a scope review website...

 

You mention a taller model so I assume you're talking about a Handicap height bowl, which is a good idea.
Look at the actual dimensions because they do vary.(17”-19” floor to bowl rim height)
Elongated seat as well.

 

I put in Kohler comfort height (16") about 10 years ago and they work fine. Only drawback was I had to replace the fill mechanism in both after 3 years. But since then OK. The comfort height makes all the difference.

 

You want to look for ADA or "comfort height" toilets for the taller ones. There are some Toto Drake toilets with ADA comfort height. They have about 900 to 1000 MaP test ratings (which means they flush very well). I have the original Drake & it doesn't splash when flushing. Has a 3-inch flush valve so it flushes well. The Drake II has a 2.5" flush valve and a bowl wash feature but I've never used one. Toto Entrada is similar to the original Drake but has a slimmer tank & tends to be less expensive. I'd have to look & see if it comes in ADA height.

Stay away from the really cheap toilets you may see at big box stores. I've heard Kohler is good. Some people like American Standard but the ones I've used tend to splash you when they flush and/or do not flush well.

 

I thought the Drake II came with a flush tower and not a flapper. I'll have to look up the specs on that. The older drakes have a better MaP score than the newer Drake II with a score of 800 instead of 1000-ish that the original drakes were getting, still a good flush score but not 1000...

I don't know how a tower differs than a flapper other than they are supposed to be more durable and allow better water flow. Could that be why they are still getting a decent flush score while having only a 2.5" hole?

 

Pjones, I've never looked at the Drake II's innards so I don't know about the flush mechanism other than it having a 2.5" hole. It still has a good MaP score and the trade-off is the bowl wash that rinses the bowl while flushing. I got the Drake I with sanagloss but sediment in my water voided the warranty on that and it stained the finish. In normal water situations it probably works great, but I have unfiltered well water. I think a bowl wash wouldn't be necessary with normal water. But, it's easier to clean than my past toilets.

Are the Delta brand toilets any good?

 

I just got my Drake II 1.25GPF toilet and see that it does have a flush tower. Although when I talked to TOTOs tech support they did mention that that is a recent change and some of the old stock toilets may sill come with a flapper. They did mention that the flappers were being phased out now since the flush towers provide better performance and are more reliable. I haven't installed it yet, maybe tonight, if I remember I'll measure the hole size in the tank to confirm its a 2.5". Sounds like you managed to find a spec in that somewhere though so I probably don't need to confirm that bit of info.

I don't have any insight on the Delta brand toilets. With the constant recommendations that I received specifying "go with anything TOTO", and considering my experience with a lesser known brand (Foremost) I decided to only look at TOTO toilets.

 

I read some reviews comparing Drake I to Drake II and they specified that the Drake II has a smaller flush hole (whatever it is called) but I can't seem to locate it again. The original Drake has the 3" and G-Max flushing. The Toto Entrada (which is one of the cheapest ones Toto carries) also has the 3" but has E-Max flushing. E-Max & G-Max are about the same, but E-Max is designed to flush with a smaller tank. It's the "eco" version. The Entrada comes in "chair height" but does not come with the SanaGloss (aka Cefiontect-- or whatever they are calling it now) finish. Drake II comes with "Tornado Flush".

I found the specs for the Drakes and Entrada. The original Drake and the Entrada have a trap seal of 2-3/8" in diameter. The Drake II has a trap seal of 2-1/8" diameter. So the flapper for the former is 3" while the flapper for the latter is 2.5".

I wonder if the new flush towers can work in the original Drake or the Entrada. I'm planning to get the Entrada for the guest bathroom once I get the renovation in gear.

 

Toto... American Standard advertises the ability to flush golf balls and an easy clean finish. It isn't nearly as easy clean/ stain resistant as my Toto

 

I have three words toto toto toto, I am a plumber 35 year i have one and every plumber i know has one, in fact i am going to be replacing a crane radcliffe that i have had for 40 years with a toto.

 

I've heard a lot of good things about Toto toilets but never had the pleasure of sitting on one.

 

I use Totos. The Drake is a little noisier than some others, but I've never had a clog. Can't say how it is at flushing golf balls, but if I ever have occasion to flush some golf balls, I'll let you know.

 

so i am in the middle of renovating by bathroom. i went to my local plumbing store to buy a toto toilet. they told me that toto is about to go out of business, they raised their prices to crazy amounts. and so i asked what plummer are installing now, the reason i liked toto be cause the flush as fantastic. the guy told me that american standard has the same good flush, apparently what is needed is a three inch flapper valve . we that is what i am using now .

 

If I were you, I would check with other stores. I have not heard anything about Toto being near going out of business. I could be wrong, but I suspect whoever told you that is full of what is supposed to go down the toilet.

It's not *just* the flapper that makes the difference, it's how the water is directed in the bowl when it flushes as well. I've found that the American Standard toilets splash.

You can get Toto toilets at big box stores like Lowes & Home Depot but you might have to get them delivered to the store (& inspect them for damage).

 

I would be careful with what information you take when it’s coming from people who want your money. I’m not a fan of American Standard myself. I too have also found they splash. I’ve seen some that flush very slow, I’m assuming because the siphon jet was not designed very well.

The three inch flapper helps but it’s only one part of the overall design. A flush tower is generally better than a flapper, all new stock Toto’s are now shipped with the towers because of this. The size of the standing water in the bottom of the bowl, the depth between the seat and the water, the shape of the bowl, the height of the seat off the ground, the quality of the float valve assembly, the availability of compatible parts if something happens to break, splash back, noise of flush, soy bean paste flush score... these are all things to be considered when choosing a toilet. With that being said I have seen and used some American Standard toilets that seem quite nice...

The reason I replaced my toilet is because I couldn’t get a new toilet seat that fit the bowl of my existing toilet. I chose a Toto because they are one of the largest manufacturers around and have an outstanding reputation with every one of the plumbers that I work with (about 50 plumbers work at the company I’m with). Having talked to their tech support as a consumer while I was researching a toilet they were always helpful with answering my many demanding questions as I was doing my research.