American Standard Cadet 3 Three Toilet consumer product review

[astro46]

i installed the cadet 3, elongated. After 6 weeks it is working fine. i did have to tighten the flush handle. compared to the replaced 6(?) gal toilet, i continue to be amazed at how this 1.6 gal manages to flush using so little water and in only 3 sec. technology!

[Ian Gills]

Having had the Cadet 3 for well over a year now, I have come to the conclusion that it is fantastic toilet for a DIY homeowner.

Less so for a plumber, which is why they push the Totos.

The problem with a lot of Cadet 3s is that they require small adjustments, mostly to the chain which could cause plumbers lots of annoying call-outs. For a DIYer, it's much less of a headache.

So, if I wanted a plumber to install a toilet and I did not want to touch it again, Toto.

If I wanted to do it myself, save a few bucks and didn't mind a few adjustments on the way until she works just perfect (then you do not need to touch it again), I'd go Cadet 3 again.

[Redwood]

Having had the Cadet 3 for well over a year now, I have come to the conclusion that it is fantastic toilet for a DIY homeowner.

Less so for a plumber, which is why they push the Totos.

The problem with a lot of Cadet 3s is that they require small adjustments, mostly to the chain which could cause plumbers lots of annoying call-outs. For a DIYer, it's much less of a headache.

So, if I wanted a plumber to install a toilet and I did not want to touch it again, Toto.

If I wanted to do it myself, save a few bucks and didn't mind a few adjustments on the way until she works just perfect (then you do not need to touch it again), I'd go Cadet 3 again.

Thanks for posting back with the test of time. You have confirmed my suspicions. I'm a plumber that got burned by callbacks on a Champion and as a result I do not install Am. Std. toilets unless customer supplied. Per the comments in your post I will continue that practice. I can't afford to lose money installing junk!

[Ian Gills]

Er yes, lots of times. It required several chain adjustments to stop it catching the fill valve, or catching the flapper open. Maybe the right handed flush would fix it.

A snap for a DIY homeowner, a pain in the **** for a plumber who keeps being called out.

Good idea AS! And now obviously a really good toilet, maybe even for plumbers too!

[SamC]

Right side trip levers have been available for some time, though it is normally a special order. Maybe you got one accidentally. Most all toilets have left side trip levers because most people are right handed. Think about it. Do you wash your hands before or after you flush the toilet?

[jumpyg]

Right side trip levers have been available for some time, though it is normally a special order. Maybe you got one accidentally. Most all toilets have left side trip levers because most people are right handed. Think about it. Do you wash your hands before or after you flush the toilet?

You may be right. It does say "Cadet Flush Right" on a sticker underneath another sticker on the box. Odd that they don't make it more obvious.

Grading the best toilets, the ones that work!

[jumpyg]

Well, I returned the tank and got the last one Lowes had, and the lever is on the left side. My wife says I'm too much of a perfectionist.

By the way, the chain doesn't even come close to the fill valve with the lever on the left side. I don't think that will be a problem at all. I'm very pleased with this toilet now.

[Ian Gills]

Keep watching the flapper. It might stick open with some combinations of chain adjustment. And when I had the chain too loose this did catch the fill valve once.

[MI-Roger]

I installed a Cadet-III in our upstairs bath in June of 2007. Recently the flapper valve started leaking, causing the toilet to partially re-fill two or three times a day.

I just bouhgt a new flapper today (only $5, so not too bad) but I am concerned by the short life of the rubber gasket on the original valve. The gasket has what feels to be blisters in the rubber (I will know more after I replace it tonight) which allows the water to leak past the closed flapper.

The counter-guy at the Plumbing Repair shop that sold me the replacement part (not available in local Big Box stores yet) said my problem is caused by chlorine levels in the water. Clearly not something I can control.

Anyone else having problems with short flapper gasket life?

Thanks,

[krow]

The counter-guy at the Plumbing Repair shop that sold me the replacement part (not available in local Big Box stores yet) said my problem is caused by chlorine levels in the water. Clearly not something I can control.

Anyone else having problems with short flapper gasket life?

Thanks,

In my neck of the woods, we have extremely hard water where we get a clear build up of scale and calcuim in a short period of time.

Water softners do help clean up some of the crap in our water

[MI-Roger]

I changed out my flapper valve last night. The rubber ring gasket which seals the flapper valve had approximately (6) blisters on the sealing side. These blisters were the cause of my slow leakage and re-filling of the tank.

All blisters were arranged in a circle which corresponds precisely with the sealing surface on the flush valve. It almost looks as if there is a material incompatibility issue between the rubber gasket and the flush valve seat!

I tried to flip the gasket upside-down to use the back side too. Unfortunately, there is a raised lip on the inner diameter of the gasket that allows it to only fit one way into the flapper valve frame.

Korky makes a replacement flapper for the Cadet 3

Standard® Cadet® 3 Flapper
p/n: 3040BP
http://www.korky.com/flappers.html

[dland]

I am currently installing an American Standard Cadet 3 and I noticed that the washer that sits between the tank and the bowl is particularly thick and the tank remains very wobbly after I've bolted it down to the bowl. I did not tighten the bolts so much that the bottom of the tank touches the bowl because everyone keeps telling me "don't over-tighten the bolts or you'll crack the bowl". Am I just being too cautious? Should I simply tighten the bolts until the tank and bowl touch? Or is it possible that I have somehow gotten the wrong size spud washer (mine is exactly 1 inch thick)? After I hand tighten the bolts there is still a good 1/3 inch of room between the tank and the bowl.

Thanks,
Dave

[jimbo]

You may be right. It does say "Cadet Flush Right" on a sticker underneath another sticker on the box. Odd that they don't make it more obvious.

"FlushRight" is American Standard copywrited name for that particular flushing design. It does NOT refer to where the handle is. You got either a mispack from the factory, or a special order at the store that got put into regular inventory.

In accessible public restrooms, the flush handle must be on the same side that has the wheelchair clearance, hence the need for both types. The demand for right side lever is so low that only a very large supply house would stock it.

[Cass]

I would guess you didn't tighten the tank down enough. Sometimes it seems like the bowl will break but I have never had one break.

If the Cadet 3 was easier for you to install and your happy with it, that is all that matters. Cadet 3s flush well.

I wasn't refering to you when I made the statment about tools, I should not have included the statment in the same paragraph, I was just saying there are people out there who shouldn't touch them...ask me how I know.

[Jamie Love]

I went out to install an elongated Cadet 3 toilet in Seattle yesterday.
I got out to the job, vacuumed the water out of the old toilet, and removed it to the plumbing van.
I then carried in the boxes with the new Cadet 3, one box marked "Elongated bowl"
Pulled the bowl out of the box, it was a round bowl.
Not elongated.

Someone at the American Standard factory had put a round bowl, in an elongated box.

So, the next step, is return the round bowl at the wholesaler,
pull the new bowl out of it's box, and inspect to see if it's round or elongated before I make the round trip over the floating bridge into Seattle to finish the installation
Time added to my day?
2 hours.
2 hours I can't bill for.

How many plumbers out there are willing to donate 2 hours out of their day, because the factory is making mistakes?