my cadet 3 experience
Hi All,
First I want to thank Terry for this forum and everyone for posting. I found this site invaluable in selecting and installing a unit to replace a 40 year old toilet in my home this past week.
I had been reviewing manufacturers & models for a while and based on the recent wave of posts on the Cadet 3 I decided to give it a try. I bought the all-in-one kit, round bowl. Based on recent posts, here are my findings regarding the most common issues I saw posted.
1) Glazing quality/finish :
I did not open the box prior to leaving the store, but scrutinized over the unit when I got it home. Honestly my first reaction was one of concern. The unit was packed well, but when I pulled out the bowl, I found three areas of glazing that looked dark, rough, and messy, as if they had glazed over a dirty unit. Then I realized that these were all at the points one might hold the unit while lifting it. I'm not sure what the workers had on their hands but these marks required some soapy water and some good rubbing to get off. The glazing was actually fine in these areas. It was just dirty hand prints that had baked on during storage and transport. I did find areas on the bottom of the bowl unit (the undermost surface facing the floor and not normally exposed to water), where it appeared that glazing might have been missed and the material had been spot sealed with some type of rubberized sealant.
Marks/malformations:The only mark was a small dimple on the front edge of the tank lid that is visible if you crouch down to eye level with the lid, but not when you look down from the height of a normal adult while entering the bathroom.
2) Tank to Bowl, and lid to tank fit:
I had read that some people were very concerned about the tank feeling loose after tightening. The plastic bag that held the tank nut wrench (yes, this kit includes everything necessary to install) stated that the tank should be tightened until the tank met and contacted the front and back of the bowl. I carefully aligned the rubber gasket and even squeezed it into the place, and then began tightening. When I started tightening, the gap was at least 3/8 inch. I went back and forth and I'll admit I got worried, as it took a little bit of effort to tighten each nut. I actually bent over and rested some of my weight on the top of the tank (chest resting on open tank) to compress the rubber ring, and these seemed to help a bit. So, I took about 10 minutes just to do this, but just as they stated, I was able to bring both the front and back into contact and once I did not feel any motion when I tried to gently rock the tank back and forth, I stopped tightening. The tank feels very firm on the toilet and there is no gap along the junction where the tank and bowl meet.
Also I found that the tank lid fit very well, and was very stable, on the tank.
3) Toilet flush effectiveness and splash:
As others have noted, the toilet has a quick efficient flush, that is relatively quiet (very subjective area). I did notice a bit of a "gulp" at the beginning of the flush where it seemed a little air was escaping, and wondered whether my bathroom DWV had been vented properly. Since the previous old toilet did not exhibit this, I think it is just a result of the rapid flush.
Although I did not notice any large scale splashing that might result in the seat getting wet, I did sit down and flush as a test, and found that I remained dry.
4) Comfort:
I bought the regular round bowl unit. The height of the bowl is 15 inches, one inch taller than the unit I replaced. So even though I didn't get the taller unit, this toilet is taller and more comfortable than the unit it replaced.
5) Overall Conclusion: Overall, my experience was good, and although I found that the finish of the unit did not match that of the 1967 unit I replaced, it is completely adequate (the expected visible areas are all finished well) and the unit is attractive, solid feeling and works well.
I would also consider replacing my other toilet with this. One thing to note is that if you have an older home where they didn't paint behind the tank, the new smaller tanks will force you to break out a paint brush, but that is to be expected with any newer, smaller toilet.
Although the Cadet 3 unit has worked out fine, I do think American Standard should improve quality of the unit, and get them packed without dirty hand prints on them, because I wouldn't be surprised if possibly some of the others' comments about flaws in the finish were these baked on dirty hand prints. Also since the packaging of my unit was fine I believe these marks were made at the packing facility, not due to a return. I would happily spend a little more to have overall better finish and a clean unit.