Champion toilet (not yet installed)

I'm almost finished installing floor tile in my new attic bathroom and have a new, still in the boxes 2 piece American Standard Champion toilet. My neighbor is doing the same type project and installing a Kohler Memiors toilet..I've been telling him.."look., you're always a winner, when you're sitting on a Champion"...this bragging humor is based on..the claims of.."throw your plunger away"..never have to jiggle the handle..will flush 2 dozen golf balls...should be far superior to my very low tech toilet downstairs...I never thought to check out reviews of this product...here I read about a less than rock solid tank/ bowl connection, leaking, banging...should I not even bother to open the boxes?..are there other toilets that claim to have these qualities?..can the problems with the Champion be eliminated with proper, precise installation and adjustments?..feeling a little flush...Don

Why not Toto with CEFIONTECT bowl finish

Don,
It may work for you, I find that the bowl is a bit shallow toward the front and that the tank has some glitches with it.
Golf balls are really not a good test, nobody does that anyway.
I worry more about the "stuff" that is causing clogs.
Some toilets will bounce the balls right down the trapway, but hang on paper fairly easily.
I sell and install hundreds of the Toto every years with almost no problems.
The bowls on the G-Max and Power-Gravity are deep enough, with a good consistent flush. MaP testing gives the Drake 900 grams, as compared to the 475 to 575 of the Champion.
Even the one-piece Ultramax does 700 grams.
by the way, The Drake and the Ultramax can be gotten with CEFIONTECT finish in the bowl, cleaner and more sanitary. I sell a lot of those to doctors.


Here's a recent email sent to me:

"I bought a Champion last November ('04). I thought I was going to get paid back pretty quickly from the water savings, but last week I noticed water dripping from the tank. I called my plumber, who has been super to me for 7 years, and told him the brand new toilet was dripping. I was assuming the guy who'd installed it had been in a hurry. He arrived and mumbled about the "darn channel bolts," which he said were a pain.
After he left there was one flush without the loud clunk, then it went back to clunking as usual. I am hesitant to lengthen the chain as some are urging to get rid of the clunk because it seems you sacrifice the water conservation: that is why I got the darn thing in the first place.

Today I noticed that there is a steady drip inside the bowl (on the left side, just as the drip from the outside of the tank was on the left side). Is this the famous gasket problem?

Should I order a pair of gaskets?

Does American Standard pay plumbing bills? When the plumber comes to install the gasket, I will have paid for three housecalls since mid-November."
E. Nobbe Sun, 20 Mar 2005

Thanks Terry, I asked the manager..well, (a) manager at my local Home Depot here in High Point N.C., about the Champion and he said he's had none returned..he said they used to have a working, flushing display, but they don't any more...( probably leaked )...Don

The plumbing supply house I use (Winnelson) here in Cincinnati told me they have had numerous returns and complaints in regards to the American Standard Champion. I'm a bit more apt to listen to them than a salesperson and/or manager at HD...but thats just me.

Don is a winner!

Don -

Why would you knock on my Kohler toilet?? Actually it is the Kohler Portrait Comfort Height K-3357.

You might be able to flush like a Champion, but I will flush with class and an air of sophistication!

Best regards,

Your neighbor