I agree with the bowl fill issue
Thanks for starting this thread.
I bought a champion 4 (two piece) at Lowes last week. There's no doubt that it has a powerful flush but I noticed the bowl fill issue right away. There is definitely a balance problem with the fill valve. The tank fills before the bowl fills and once the tank is full, the valve turns off and there's no additional water flow to fill the bowl completely.
There are two things that could correct this problem (neither of them are practical).
1) If the valve allowed more water to flow through the fill tube that would correct the problem. From what I can tell, this is not user adjustable.
2) If the valve stayed open for more time, more water would fill the bowl. Well, how do you get the valve to stay open longer? Adjust the float to allow the tank to fill as high as possible? Sure that works for the first cycle but after that, because the flapper still closes at the same rate, the subsequent tank fills take no longer than they did with the original float settings. You can also get proper bowl fills if you hold the lever down with each flush until the tank empties. With the empty tank, it would take longer to refill which in turn allows more time for the bowl to fill. This works and results in a good bowl fill but if you do that, you'd be using more water per flush.
The bottom line is that there is a problem with the fill valve design (or the production of the design).
My other thoughts on the Champion 4 beyond the issue covered in this thread:
Avoiding tank wobble: It does take some fineness to attach the tank to the bowl. You must tighten the bolts until the tank hits the tabs on the bowl (while alternating sides). The front tabs contact first but that's still not enough. As you continue to tighten, the tank will then start to level out as it begins to come in contact with the back tabs. Don’t tighten it any more than that. Does it seem like you’re going to crack the tank or bowl? Yes. Will it crack? It shouldn’t unless you tighten it beyond the point where the tabs make contact.
The included seat seems flimsy and makes the overall feel of this toilet feel cheap even though the toilet itself has a very substantial feel. Other than the flimsy feel, the seat works fine.
Adding to the cheap feel in a direct way is the chrome plated plastic flush lever. Not only is the handle plastic, but the actual lever is too. This results in a springy feel to the flush because the plastic lever bends as you push the handle down. Eventually there is enough force to pull the flapper up. I don’t like it but I can live with it. There’s a flush demonstration video on the American Standard website that shows the inside of the tank and it clearly shows the lever as being metal. Maybe this is just a Home Depot and Lowes version.
In my opinion, if a company wants to impress consumers, all components that we have direct interaction with on a daily basis (Seat, Flush handle etc) should be designed to look and feel substantial. This is not the case with the Champion 4. Again, it could be because I got the Lowe’s version.
Which leads me to the part number. At Lowes’ the part number is “2793.000.020” which is not a recognized number on the AS website. At Home Depot, the part number is “2586.000.020” which is a recognized number on the AS website. I’ve looked closely at both in the stores and can’t see any difference at all. Does anyone here know why there are different part numbers?
I truly would have bought a Toto if I could get one "off the shelf" locally at a plumbing supply place. Sure I can get one in a few days (or weeks depending on color). According to the Toto website, the dealers near me are Pacific Sales (owned by Best Buy). They are just show rooms and don’t stock anything. I’m still going to get a Toto and may consider returning the Champion because I don’t like the ADA height but that’s all that Home Depot and Lowes stocked (secondary reasons for returning are the bowl fill issue and plastic flush lever). Since I can't buy a Toto off the shelf and have to order one, I plan to do it through Terry because of all the help he provides through his website.