Posted by Jakeru
I have some new observations to report about my cadet 3's performance.
Bowl Wash Update: Positive
In the bowl wash deparment, the update is positive. I managed to make my cadet 3 (compact flowise model) pass the "pepper test" successfully every time, 100%. (It was previously leaving behind some unwashed pepper in the bowl in some areas.)
The culprit turned out to be a bit of glazing "flash", such as what I found under the bowl rim nearby some of the bowl rinse holes. The porcelain/glazing "flash" was diverting some of the bowl rinse water coming out of the holes, to prevent the water from distributing evenly around the bowl. A mechanic's "mirror on a stick" was useful to identify and remove any. I knocked the "flash" off and generally smoothed the surface under the rim by using using the flat chisel edge of a prybar. The other thing I did was use a bent metal clothes hanger wire to ream out the bowl rinse holes.
I found a single hole that was obstructed near the top (probably by glazing flash) that I managed to ream out with the wire. I got other holes flowing better by bending an inserted wire in various directions to effectively ream out the bottom opening of the hole. Although bowl cleaning has never been a problem due to the "everclean" gloss finish, (and we still have yet to ever need to use a bowl brush on the inside of the bowl, which has been fantastic), it is kind of nice to see all surfaces of the bowl glisten with running washing water after every flush, every time.
Flushing Performance Update: Mixed
In the flushing department, the update is mixed. Since increasing its flush volume from 1.138 to 1.35 gpf, the toilet is flushing better, but still not perfectly. The flush volume increase eliminated all occurrences of the trap not syphoning due to inadequate water, which I had encountered previously ever so often at 1.138 gpf. However, the toilet does on rare occasions encounter clogging, especially when a particularly long specimen (IE: 8-10"), is combined with any toilet paper. The work-around is to double flush on any such scenarios (with the first flush happening before any paper is added.)
Clearing any clogs that have arisen has at least been pretty easy. Often a "long" flush (holding the handle down as long as is necessary until clog frees) does the trick. Sometimes, some time waiting for the bowl water level to drop and then performing a subsequent flush does the trick. For those times when no additional flushing and waiting seems to work, I have found a plunger is always effective (and easy to use on this toilet, using the style with the horn on the end, which helps block the syphon jet hole.)
Jakeru
9/22/2009
Ian - solids not clearing the bowl reliably in a single flush is the main negative issue I have experienced. However, it might be simply because I don't have the flush quantity properly adjusted yet.
I just measured the current flush volume (by taking the difference in water meter read before and after 10 flushes, then averaging per flush, and converting from cubic feet to gallons) and the way I have my toilet set up, I got a low, 1.138 gallons per flush. It's a possibly significant (~12% lower) difference from the rated 1.28 gallon per flush figure that this toilet was spec'ed at. Also the MaP testing lab should would have adjusted the flush volume close to 1.28 (when practical) prior to performing the MaP testing. This particular model did get the highest, 1000 gram rating, so I am optimistic the increase to 1.28 may help.
I am thinking that by shortening the length of chain between float and flapper, it might keep the flapper open longer, and increase the flush volume. I have not made any adjustments to mine yet since installing it, but I will go ahead and try shortening the flapper float chain length, and report back. I think I have the water level set about as high as I would want it to be. Although I was confused if I should have set it 1/4" inch below the top of the white overflow tube, or 1/4" below the top of the blue coupler that sets over the top of the tube.
So, the jury is still out, if increasing my flush volume will make this a reliably awesome flusher. Like I said I've only had this about 3 weeks so far, and haven't made any adjustments, just been trying it and living with it. I'll report back after I have more information.
My only other negative is a minor cosmetic one - in the bowl, the syphon jet hole is a bit misshapen, not totally symmetic looking. But I'm thinking it's pretty minor; you have to look for it to see it.
Jakeru
9/3/2009
I can back up gurgler's claim that the Cadet 3 doesn't have an ideal bowl wash. I performed the "pepper test" on my Compact Elongated Flowise Cadet 3 (where you sprinkle black pepper around the bowl, flush it, and observe any areas of the bowl that weren't washed.)
I found unwashed pepper remained in the bowl around the 6 o'clock and 4 o'clock positions. I think I also see some yellow urine stains developing there. Although luckily, that location is actually pretty hard to see.
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.
Jakeru