American Standard Cadet 3 Three Toilet consumer product review

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gurgler

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I am also still trying to figure out how to make it flush consistently. It seems the flapper closes so quickly after releasing the lever, that the flush quantity varies depending on how long the lever is held down. On one recent occasion, releasing the flush lever too quickly didn't syphon the trap and clear solids. A longer flush is a completely different story however. Also with the varying flush quantity, the refill quantity, and therefore the water spot level after the flush varies. Holding down lever longer -> more flush quantity -> more time refilling the tank and bowl -> higher level water spot. I find the water spot is not usually completely refilled for a very short quick flush. Regardless, I find the water spot level to still generally be pretty decent on this toilet, especially considering it's only using 1.28gpf.

I can say that I have no problems whatever on this score. I don't fool with the flush at all, I just push the lever down and take my hand right off it, don't hold it different lengths of time, or anything like what you describe--and it takes down everything in that one flush, period. Thought I saw on this thread something about adjusting the chain? Anyway, no problems here with that.
 

gurgler

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How about the Toto Gwyneth with Double Cyclone? Would that be even better for bowl cleaning than the drake, drake II or ultramax?

Looking further, I see that the Ultramax II has Double Cyclone--what do you think of Double Cyclone--will it take care of the bowl wash thing? Is this feature more or less effective in different Toto models that have it?
 

miracj

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Bad point: bowl wash not so good. If anything brown gets on the sides above the water spot, it's got to be cleaned with a brush. Any brown intially left within the water spot will disappear soon, possibly due to the gloss finish.

My Cadet 3 Elongated Flowise (1.28 Gallon), standard height (made in Mexico) does not seem to accumulate any brown on the sides (no matter the source type), nor does it seem to have any detectable splash. Both issues were important to me.

So I don't know why you are experiencing the issue, unless there are slight differences between models or you have a badly manufactured toilet. But it is clearly not an issue for me.

Regards,

Ira
 

gurgler

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gurgler - you have the 1.6gpf version of the cadet 3, correct? Mine is the "flowise" / 1.28gpf version. It has a green flapper, which is more quick to close I think than the 1.6gpf white flapper.

On Toto double cyclone flush - I've seen the drake II (AKA two-piece gwyneth) flush in person, and it indeed seemed to have good bowl wash, for a 1.28gpf toilet.

Jakeru, I have the 1.6gpf Cadet 3. Awesome performance, except for bowl wash.
Thanks for telling me about seeing the Gwyneth. I have to choose soon, hope Terry Love will give us his take on double cyclone and bowl wash. I'm on the East Coast, and I've been quoted a price locally of $469 for a 2-piece Gwyneth ADA elongated in Sedona Beige.
 
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Sparty007

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So installed a Cadet 3 last night in my home and the tank is pretty loose because of the big thick rubber gasket between the tank and bowl.

Should I keep cranking down? I'm afraid I'll crack the tank! I love that the directions say "don't overtighten" to release them from liability.

:D
 

Sparty007

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So installed a Cadet 3 last night in my home and the tank is pretty loose because of the big thick rubber gasket between the tank and bowl.

Should I keep cranking down? I'm afraid I'll crack the tank! I love that the directions say "don't overtighten" to release them from liability.

:D

Sorry to bump this, but wondering if I'm an idiot worrying about cracking the bowl re:question quoted above.
 

Sparty007

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Sparty - The porcelain on my cadet 3 seemed plenty thick and strong; I would be surprised if yours wasn't.

You might need to get a better tool than the factory nut driver, which is hard to get much torque on. Putting a drop of oil between the washers & nuts makes it easier and keeps the washer from spinning on the porcelain.

Tighten each side a little bit at a time, keeping the top of the tank close to horizontal (with a level set across the top of the tank, or just eyeball for horizontal.) Stop tightening as soon as the front and rear of porcelain makes contact between tank & bowl; this is the proper amount of tightening and will make the tank and bowl very rigid.

Do not tighten beyond when front & rear just make contact, it will not make the tank any more secure, and will just add needless stress to the porcelain. I hope this helps!

Perfect, you guys rock!
 

Jadnashua

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Never a good idea to put oil on rubber unless you know it is able to withstand it without disolving...a little liquid soap should work fine.
 

gurgler

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Cadet 3 vs Gwyneth

We bought a Cadet 3 ADA hgt elongated about 2 months ago. Reading here about problems buying possible seconds from big box stores, bought ours from a local plumbing supply house. All the holes and the main drain were not perfectly smooth, but my plumber said "good enough!" Good points: one flush does the job every time. The toilet looks nice. Bad point: bowl wash not so good. If anything brown gets on the sides above the water spot, it's got to be cleaned with a brush. Any brown intially left within the water spot will disappear soon, possibly due to the gloss finish. We're now looking to replace an old unit in the first floor powder room, most likely to be used by guests, so unfortunately we are looking for something other than the Cadet 3 just because of the bowl wash. Love our Cadet 3 otherwise! Hope we don't have to go with the expensive and, to me, ugly-looking Soiree or Guinevere (YMMV!). Looking for an alternative with good bowl wash that flushes as well as the Cadet 3.
OK! I bought an ADA height elongated Gwyneth Eco 1.28 with Double Cyclone and CEFIONTECT. Believe this is supposed to be the same as a Drake II (?) Results--not much different from the Cadet 3! If things are loose, and any brown dots hit the side of the bowl above the water line, they're there until you brush them off. No difference! Basically no difference in flush--both get the stuff out in one flush. I think the Cadet 3 looks nicer than the Toto. The Toto comes with a slow-close seat which is OK. The Cadet 3 cost less than the Toto. I have a third bathroom--if I ever have to replace my old 5 gallon toilet, I wouldn't hesitate to choose the Cadet 3.
 

davefoc

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Jakeru's trick of lubricating the nut/washers seems like it might be a really good idea although the last time I (not a plumber, but I have installed quite a few toilets) installed a Cadet III I didn't have the difficulty with compressing the washer between the tank and bowl that I have had with every other Cadet III installation (about seven now I think).

I installed one at my Dad's house and now he likes it so much he wants me to install another one.

I think I've already said this before, but I'm very happy with the Cadet III's but I can totally relate to how Terry seems to feel about them. I do enough of this kind of work that it really annoys me if I have to make a special trip to the store and in one of the seven installs the Cadet III quality was low enough that if I had been a professional plumber installing it in somebody's house I would have taken that one back.

So 14% you should have returned.
But I've never had any of the other problems that people have mentioned here except maybe bad washing action which I've never looked for. Mine have come with Fluidmaster valves that worked fine. I haven't had to replace any of the flappers and I've done exactly zero maintenance on the Cadet III's I've installed over the last two or three years.

But, I am really aware that this is a small sample over a short time. I'll tell you this, if Terry tells me to buy a Toto and he gives me the extra hundred bucks or so they cost, I'm buying one every time.:)

Oh, yeah, what did cyborg28 mean when he talked about lined tanks? Apparently he bought his toilet from Lowes and he took it back because the tank wasn't lined. I've never heard of this as an issue. Are some or most tanks lined? I've just never thought about it. It seems like most of the tanks I've seen didn't have a full coating of glazing on the inside of the tank. Maybe this is high end toilet feature (I'm pretty sure I've used a high end toilet somewhere, but I doubt that I've ever worked on one).
 
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Peanut9199

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Oh, yeah, what did cyborg28 mean when he talked about lined tanks? Apparently he bought his toilet from Lowes and he took it back because the tank wasn't lined. I've never heard of this as an issue. Are some or most tanks lined? I've just never thought about it. It seems like most of the tanks I've seen didn't have a full coating of glazing on the inside of the tank. Maybe this is high end toilet feature (I'm pretty sure I've used a high end toilet somewhere, but I doubt that I've ever worked on one).

Back when toilets used to flush all the water in the tanks in a hot summer day when the tank refilled it would sweat.
If you had a liner (foam) on the inside of the tank it would insulate and stop the sweating.
Now with low flush tanks it does not flush all the water and when it refills the cold water mixes with the existing water in the tank it will not be ice cold anymore and should not sweat.
 

tesla

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I almost went with a Cadet, instead I got a Drake II. Sounds like both are good performers but the biggest reason the Drake got the nod was that I wont have to return it because of defects. I'll be installing it myself Superior bowl wash and reliability are the other reasons.
 

jeremy34756

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My 2 cents, The cadet 3 is a good toilet, But made in mexico. Quality control seems to be lacking. I work at a resort filled with nothing but briggs model toilets, Not sure what model. We are replacing all bad toilets with cadet 3's and each one flushes somewhat different. Each trapway and siphon jet is slightly shaped different. It has a great flush. Set the water level just right at the mark though, As I found that even alittle more than normal will cause it to flush actually worse. But if I were to buy a toilet it would be a toto, Why? Cause american standard bought out crane and eljer and put many US working familys out of a job just so they could save some money and shipped there manufacturing over to the sweat shops in china and other low wage countrys. Bad desicion on there part. I knew a person that worked for eljer in ford city PA, Almost 90 years this old plant was operating made in the USA fixtures. There later e-force flushing from eljer was horrible but there pro-1 was good and now crane copys it to, CRANE TITAN. Anyway back to toto the toto flushes way better and impresses even more. Every toto I ever seen is exactly the same. No differences at all. Toto is based in georgia too. Kinda like toyota, Yes originally japenese but now they are almost as american as the big 3 or 2 whatever it is now. I was thinking for the longest time that this site was biased, But I actually got to test first hand how a toto performs and I was blown away to say the least, The champion 4 flushes just as good, Expect that nasty flush tower that seems to be a problem.
 
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wood1919

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American Standard 1.6 gpf elongated

I am looking for some help on a problem with two American Standard toilets that I had installed at my home about two years ago and that, for two reasons, I feel pose a health hazard.

Before describing what happens, I would note that I did call American Standard directly shortly after the toilets were installed and was given a suggested solution to the one of the problem which was to untwist a wire coat hanger, bend the end up and poke the holes under the rim of the toilet where water comes out on flushing to make sure they were clogged.

Although this made no sense at all as without somehow taking a picture of these holes, it would be impossible to tell if they were clogged ( I assumed the tech I spoke to meant during manufacturing since the toilets were new and the problem started immediately) and because amount of water dispensed during flushing seemed similar to any other toilet and finally because the main problem I was calling about was that almost every time I use either of these toilets for a bowel movement, they clog and have to plunged before they can be used again. This obviously I an embarrassing problem but not one that I have ever experienced with any other toilets including the ones that these replaced.

I am convinced that this and a second problem, that when these toilets are flushed a small amount water is frequently likely to actually splash out of the toilet up into the air and either onto the floor, the bath mat or onto me or my clothing.

Both of these problems are so disgusting and frustrating to me that because of them, if I possibly can, I will stall what should be normal bodily functions until I can get to my office or some other location where there is a toilet without these problems. Alternatively, if I do use one of these toilets before leaving the my house and I have to plunge it before leaving (which takes more time and effort than I have ever experienced with any other toilet in the past) I can wind up being rushed or even late for scheduled events.

I know AS is being sued for leakage problems on their Champion toilets, has anyone reading this experienced or heard of a problem similar to this one. I suspect because it is a little more embarrassing, it is not one readily discussed but based on what I have described, I feel these toilets pose serious potential health hazards and would like any information anyone reading this can provide of similar experiences and their resolution.

Thanks for any replies to this post.
 
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kindajazzy

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American Standard Cadet

I am in the process of buying a new toilet & am so glad to have found this site, as I've already learned so much!

It looks like the AS Cadet that everyone is raving about will be my choice. But I do have a couple of quesitons.

Lowes lists Cadet, Cadet 3 & Cadet 3 FloWise models, though they really only show the latter two models - what is the difference? To get the 1.28 GPF as apposed to the 1.6, I have to pay about $250 more. I just can't afford that. Is the difference, in that aspect, that vital?

Also, what is the difference between the Cadet 3 flushing system & the Cadet 3 FloWise flushing system?

And what is a 'lined tank'?

Oh - and what is the price range that you are all speaking of when referring to the toilet you purchased?

I'm sorry to ask so many questions, but this is the first time I've had to do this & I hate to depend totally on the sales associate, as I know from experience that very few are as well informed as the Lowes commericals state. Yet I want to make an informed choice, so as not to end up with regrets and/or constant problems/adjustments/repairs.

Thanks again for any advice.

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American Standard Flowise
 
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Mad Plumber

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What planet are you on?

The reviews on the Cadet range from it's a piece of crap to I'm so glad that something so cheaply made still functions.
If you feel lucky, buy one and take it home, pull it from the box and see if it's even installable.
If you want a worry free expierence, this isn't it.
It's just a nunther case, of you get waht you pay for.
 
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