Toto Dalton toilet review, the best toilet for under $200?

[JammyDH]

My wife and I are looking to buy a new toilet for our master bath. The one we have now is 43 years old. I want to get one of the American Standard Cadet Right Height Pressure-Assisted Elongated Toilet but my wife doesn't want to spend that much. She thinks $200 is enough for something you sit on... :)

So, if you had to stay under $200 and wanted to not have to use a plunger every other day (like I do now...) what toilet would you get?

Thanks,

Jammy
http://www.terrylove.com/images/dalton_behind_bowl.jpg

[Terry]

http://www.terrylove.com/wc/toto/734_main.jpg


For under $200?
I'm kind of partial to the Toto Dalton CST734F (http://www.terrylove.com/wc/cst734f.htm)
It's comfort height, elongated, and with good performance.
It has good bowl rinse too.


If you want to drop another $100, you can go with it's big brother the Toto Drake CST744SL, 3/8" taller bowl, and even better performance.


The Kohler Cimarron is close, however it plugs more and could use better bowl wash.

http://www.terrylove.com/wc/toto/st733_inside_tank.jpg
Looking inside the Dalton tank

[JammyDH]

We had some other things come up and we are just now getting to fixing this toilet. Would you still recommend the Toto Dalton CST734F?

Thanks,
Jammy

[Terry]

Yes. It's very good for under $200

I've sold quite a few in the Seattle area.

[JammyDH]

Thank you.

[Snowman]

I've got the Dalton and it is fantastic. I bragged so much, my sister in law just had to have one..... Her's is great too. :)

[Reader Review]

Thank you very much for the review on the under $200.00 toilet. Checking for a dealer in the Tampa bay area of Florida, was a pain. I actually stopped a gentleman driving a plumbing service truck and asked him where can I get a Toto toilet in this area and he directed me to Gorman in St. Petersburg.I took your advise and (on 3-21-06) purchase and installed the "Toto Dalton CST734F" with a SS114 soft close seat as you recommend. It has only been 12 hours since the installation and about 6 flushes and I am a promoter of your recommendation. The toilet is quiet, the pull on the leaver is almost instant flush / gone and the tank fills up again. The installation was easy and straight forward.
The soft close seat is definitely a marriage investment make us men/boys
want to put the lid down no noise doing so (she will never hear our obedience). Overall I am quite pleased and thank you for all the information on your web site.
Delroy B.
Clearwater,Florida.

[Reader Review]

Terry, took your advice on toilet replacement with Toto Daltons elongated, and they are without a doubt, the best performing units we've ever used. Thanks to you for your research and advice. We now have 3 new units.
Freeflowin

[organic_smallhome]

Hi Everyone. We finally decided on the Dalton, and are very happy with it. We've had it a few weeks now, and no problems whatsoever. We also really like the height. I want to thank everyone who took the time to answer all of my nitpicky questions. You were a great help.

Here are a couple of pics, in case anyone is thinking about purchasing a Dalton, and would like to see it "in place."

[Ian Gills]

Seeing it for the first time I actually prefer the look of that over the Dreadful Drake.

A front (rather than a side) handle is really nice and would be a definite plus for me.

Your 1950s bathroom is in beautiful condition by the way.

[Terry]

The Dalton does look nice and work well.
That's for sure.

We just removed a new Cadet 3 that another plumbing shop had installed and replaced it with a Toto Soiree.
It has a front trip lever too.
Kicking.

[organic_smallhome]

Seeing it for the first time I actually prefer the look of that over the Dreadful Drake.

A front (rather than a side) handle is really nice and would be a definite plus for me.

Your 1950s bathroom is in beautiful condition by the way.

Thanks, Ian. :)

[organic_smallhome]

The Dalton does look nice and work well.
That's for sure.

We just removed a new Cadet 3 that another plumbing shop had installed and replaced it with a Toto Soiree.
It has a front trip lever too.
Kicking.

As you might remember, Terry, we were thinking of the Soiree, too. Maybe, in the future, we will move the Dalton to our upstairs half-bath and get a Soiree for this bathroom. For now, though, we really like the look.

Thanks for your patience in answering questions. :)

[Runs with bison]

Seeing it for the first time I actually prefer the look of that over the Dreadful Drake.

A front (rather than a side) handle is really nice and would be a definite plus for me.

Exact opposite opinion here. I like the clean lines of the Drake (no unnecessary tank cover projection past the walls of the tank.) I also like the flat cover surface. The Dalton's style of cover and the front handle makes it look like an 80's or early 90's product. Not that there is anything wrong with a retro look, I just would prefer a look more in line with a period of better and more efficient toilet design. The American Standards look too much like my old 1994 Gerbers for example.

Not only do I prefer the form of the Drake, but it translates functionally as improvement:
1. Side handle is never in the way of the lid or any adornments to the lid like front mounted handles can be.
2. Lack of lip projection to the cover also reduces vertical lid interference.
3. Flat lid is more utilitarian.

Style is in the eye of the beholder. Even functional differences have different degrees of desirability/undesirability. Then again, I have never been able to understand what use the many silly side mouldings were on GM vehicles over the past several decades...

[kentb53]

For the grand finale of a long bath re-model, and after hours spent on this forum, I went with the Toto Dalton over the AS Cadet 3. After a PITA install (can't get a socket in to tighten tank to bowel), the flush performance is below acceptable. Needs two flushes in some cases. It now sits in the garage while the Cadet3 I bought to replace it works great. I could move it to replace a 50 yr old one in a guest bedroom, but why burden a guest??? IMO, one drastically over-rated toilet, especially on this site.

[sawsaw]

I really like my Drake (not one plug after 4 yrs use), except for the "streaking," which may be generic to all new 1.6 flushers. Anybody know???

[Terry]

http://www.terrylove.com/wc/toto/st733_inside_tank.jpg
Looking inside the Dalton tank.
ST733

[CentralTXPreacher]

I'm tired of getting my exercise by constantly having to "plunge" my toilet. I know that the drake is highly recommended, but at this point finances are really an issue. Is there another toto toilet that could be recommended that would be at a lower cost than the drake? Do all toto's have the 3 inch opening for the flapper and the larger trap?

Thanks for you help.

CentralTxPreacher

[Terry]

The Toto Dalton works fine, less then $200 most places.
2" flush valve but they move the water very fast.

[dmcarthu@pacbell.net]

I have a TOTO Dalton with the "siphon jet gravity flushing system". The fill valve appears to be a standard design with an arm and float shutoff (TSU 15A?). The inlet water flow is severely restricted and the tank takes a long time to fill. The water supply is pumped from a fresh water lake. Is there a filter somewhere in the valve. If so how do I access it? Failing repair where can I obtain a factory replacement valve?

Tks.
dmm

[Terry]

If you have the old style fill valve with the ball on a rod, then you can take the fill valve apart and clean.
There is a small locking pin that drops in from the top, remove that and I think you can spin off the top part of the valve.

http://www.terrylove.com/wc/toto/dalton_fill.jpg

[DaveT]

I know that Terry and many others like the Dalton as a lower-cost alternative to the Drake, but go to "Toto Dalton Toilet" thread to read a couple of opposing views, related to "piss-poor" bowl wash in the Dalton.
http://www.terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?37810-Toto-Dalton-Toilet&highlight=dalton

Perhaps if SaniGloss was available on the Dalton - I don't recall that it was - it would make a world of difference for this deficiency.