American Standard Cadet 3 Three Toilet consumer product review

[Terry]

Best bang for the buck.

Ian, Only if time is not important.
For a plumbing contractor to send out a truck, with the hope of paying bills at the end of the month, and providing a living wage for the plumber, means that they don't do the trip twice. We install all brands, however, second trips are killing to any business.
If you like spending time at the return counter, Knock your self out.

Jamie put in a home center cadet 3 for a friend of his, the tank lid came chipped from the factory

We sell a few thousand toilets a year, and do installation in the Seattle area. Sometimes we even go out to the Islands.
We can't be bothered with "returns"
A homeowener can stand in line at the return counter all weekend, and that's fine.
But making two trips on a ferry? Never!

[Redwood]

No, you're right. I am not interested purely in quality.

I am interested in price and quality. What we might call "bang for the buck".

That's why I do not drive a Mercedes, do not own a Rolex watch and passed over the chance of a Toto.

I'll just make do with a Toyota, Seiko and a Cadet 3 instead.

But I ain't complaining. Retire a couple of days early or buy a Toto. The choice, for a DIY homeowner, is yours.

It's kind of funny how you use the anologies yet seem to be unfamiliar with the entire Toto line! Lets have a look!

The Neorest MS990CGR AKA Rolex, Rolls Royce
White MSRP $5200



The Lloyd MS934304SF AKA Seiko, Mercedes
White MSRP $1189



The Drake CST743S AKA Swiss Army Watch, Jaguire
White MSRP $318



The Carusoe CST715 AKA Timex, Toyota
White MSRP $201



Now that you are familiar with the Toto line perhaps you will see that all they make is a quality product line from top to bottom a wide product line with availability to everyone... Whether you are a Billionaire or just an everyday working stiff like you and me!

[Redwood]

Unlike Am. Std. Toto has not built a Yugo or, $5 Chinese watch in their line!

[Ian Gills]

Then I stand alone in support of the Cadet 3. A mighty fine crapper.

[Terry]

Are those American tanks? or British tanks?

[Redwood]

I'll give the Cadet 3 it's due...
It's like a Fiat... AKA Fix It Again Tony!



The tanks are Chinese! Tiananmen sq. stock footage.

[achutch]

I have said this time and time again. Adjust the chain. It sounds like you need to slacken it off a little. Cadet 3s are very sensitive to chain adjustment. Get it right and it will be trouble free for years.

My Korky flapper also came with the box opened. But it works just great. There are numerous design improvements over the OEM version. The rubber, the chain, the way the chain attaches to both the flapper and the flush mechanism, and the way the flapper attaches to the overflow tube. All better than the original.

So great, I then pulled my perfectly functioning Fluidmaster 400a and replaced it with a Korky Quietfill, just for the heck of it.

I love plumbing that much.

I like the Quietfill though. It is quieter and I like the float design.

I'm running Toto parts without the price.

But ultimately, I want a toilet that is good enough for an American... what we British call "American Standard".

Ahhhh! The "New Compact" !! I remember that ad quite well, around 1968 !! At the tender age of 14, my friend and I got quite a kick out of that ad. (Of course we liked the names that were given to their earlier models, especially the "Standard" EJECTO. I have only experienced the New Compact once, over 30 years ago (and I did try the Vent-Away). I remember the old "Standard" Compact and have seen and used many more of those.

Ahhh, the good old days....

achutch

[Terry]

On February 2008, American Standard Americas merged with two other plumbing fixture companies, Crane Plumbing and Eljer to create American Standard Brands.

American Standard Brands is a closely held manufacturer of plumbing fixtures, sold under the American Standard, Crane, Fiat, Sanymetal, Showerite and Eljer brand names, based in Piscataway Township, New Jersey, United States. It is principally owned by Sun Capital Partners with Bain Capital Partners holding a minority stake.

[rontarbert]

I have said this time and time again. Adjust the chain. It sounds like you need to slacken it off a little. Cadet 3s are very sensitive to chain adjustment. Get it right and it will be trouble free for years.

You are correct about critical chain adjustment. I thought that I had all the slack out but was able to move one more link (less slack) and now it works. Thanks to you for your help and to Terry for the very helpful site.
RonT

[Albany]

I have 3 toilets in my house. I bought a Drake a few weeks ago & hired a plumber to install it in my main bathroom. I had my smaller round bowl Ultramax moved from the full bath to the 1st floor half bath to replace a cheap toilet there. I also decided to replace the toilet I have in the bathroom in the (unfinished) basement. The plumber bought a Cadet 3 to install in the basement since I didn't want to spend Toto $ on a bathroom that is hardly ever used. So for the past week & 1/2 I have a brand new Drake and a brand new Cadet 3. Both are performing flawlessly, but in the long run, the Drake will get a lot more use. I'll report back if either toilet has any problems, but right now, I'm satisfied with both, although I wouldn't feel too comfortable with an AS toilet as my #1 used one after having a real bad experience with the Champion. In fact, when the plumber said he got me an American Standard Cadet, my first words were to stop him before he could get out the word Cadet and said "If it's The Champion, please return it, the Champion is the worst toilet ever made."

[budmeister]

We installed a Cadet 3 8 months ago and for the most part, it's been sensational. However, in the last few weeks, we'd hear the tank "topping" up as we approached it. I finally dropped a die tab in the tank and it soon was obvious that the flapper was leaking. I turned off the water, lifted the flapper and felt little bumps on the surface of the rubber ring.

I went to the plumb shop where I bought the toilet, and right away I was told that this was an ongoing issue with American Standard. It seems that the rubber ring is laminated and little "blisters" develop on the surface, causing it to slowly leak down to where the valve opens to top it up.

They gave me a flapper that they have been replacing the defective ones with, because the OEM replacement is in short supply apparently and simply asked me to return the defective one to the store the next time I'm in the area.

BTW, the "area" is London Ontario. The plumb shop is Kitchen & Bath Emporium. Great people to deal with.

[foxhome01]

We had the AS Cadet III installed a few months back and at first it was great. Then we started to hear a clanking noise at the conclusion of the flush. That sound has recently stopped (for the most part), but now we are getting a gurgling sound as the water drains from the toilet.

Any chance anyone else who has this model has had this experience?

Is it possible that this wasn't installed properly?

[krow]

We had the AS Cadet III installed a few months back and at first it was great. Then we started to hear a clanking noise at the conclusion of the flush. That sound has recently stopped (for the most part), but now we are getting a gurgling sound as the water drains from the toilet.

Any chance anyone else who has this model has had this experience?

Is it possible that this wasn't installed properly?

Sounds like a ballcock problem to me, for both your cases. Check to see that the refill tube is inserted into the overflow tube. You may have a lack of water in the bowl before flushing.

[SEG10]

This message is to alert individuals of my experience with the American Standard Cadet 3 toilet. We had 2 of these toilets installed less than a year ago (February of 2008)and had a problem with one leaking to the point that it causes the toilet to flush itself. The other one seems to have a faint hissing sound, which I think is also a problem. However, it wasn't making that sound when the plumber was here so he says there isn't a problem.

Actually, the plumber tried to tell me there was nothing wrong with either toilet, which just annoyed me tremendously because I told him the one downstairs is flushing itself and my water bill has increased as a result. This problem started about 9 months after installation but being busy with the holidays, we just called for the repair this month.

When I insisted that I wasn't going to accept that there was nothing wrong, he did a test with food coloring and then finally admitted that the flush valve is leaking -- but he didn't have the part in stock. I have now waited a week and the part still isn't in. To say I am not happy with this situation is probably a bit of an understatement.

So, buyer beware. I hope this won't be an ongoing problem with these toilets.

[Redwood]

Korky makes a flapper for the Cadet 3 that is significantly better than the OEM flapper. They are sold in big box stores!