Two piece toilets - leak potential??

[goshenplumber]

Terry,

Thank you for the wonderful web site. I am using it almost
exclusively to determine which toilet to purchase to replace my 50 year old
clunker.

I have a question about The Eljer Titan. We are leaning towards this
item but are concerned about two piece toilets and the potential for
leaks. What is your experience with two piece toilets leaking at either
the gasket between tank and bowl, or at the bolts that hold the tank to
the bowl? Are there preventative measure that one could take to
minimize or eliminate the possibility of such leaks?

Thank you.

David

[jimbo]

Properly assembled, it is not something to worry about. There are literally tens of millions of two piece toilets installed around the country. Most will never experience a leak in their normal lifetime.

Now, is the tank to bowl junction an area that can leak, well of course, but the occurrences are so infrequent as to not worry about. Many other important considerations such as price, style, availability of repair parts, and flush performance give you enough to think about!

[leejosepho]

Properly assembled, it is not something to worry about ...

Yes, no problem there. The bolts have seals where they meet the inside of the tank, there is a special gasket between the tank and the bowl, and that particular connection is only wet during flushing.

If you assemble a new one yourself, tighten the bolts evenly so the tank pulls down straight and level until it seats on the bowl and do not tighten those bolts any further.

[TedL]

As a preventive measure:

Search this forum for a post by Terry in which he describes sanding beneath the tank bolt sealing washers to insure a leak free installation.

[hj]

ANYWHERE there is a gasket, it can leak someday. Rubber may dry out and fail, but that is not a reason to reject a 2 piece toilet, since on any particular unit it may never happen.

[Cass]

If assembled correctly the odds are probably 99.9% in your favor of never having a leak.

[CarlH]

As long as the tank is properly installed *and* it uses brass tank bolts, you are unlikely to see a leak. I have on at least two occasions had a leak at the tank where one of the tank bolts rusted through. This was on toilet that was approx. 20 years old.