American Standard Cadet 3 Three Toilet consumer product review

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davidg60

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Anyway - after reading this thread, I made 2 adjustments. I didn't notice the valve not being inserted into the overflow tube in the tank... took care of that. Also adjusted the water level to roughly the bottom of the blue cap on the overflow tube.

Doing these two adjustments made the splashing go away.

I did both of these things as well, to no avail.

Mostly for grins, I've actually listed "the splasher" for sale on craigslist (Philadelphia). Search using the terms "american standard cade 3 flowise" if you're interested. I'll be in no way offended if the moderators of this board think this reply is (in some way) inappropriate and decide to remove it.
 

jackcracker

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Two years ago I purchased a 30 year old house and started bathroom renovations shortly thereafter. Replaced existing toilets with two American Standard Cadet 3’s purchased through Home Despondent (approx $260.00 ea). All worked well for about six months when I heard water running at random times throughout the night. Since neither the wife nor I were making any midnight potty runs in our sleep,,,, and toilet training the cat failed miserably,,,,there could be only one other reason. Blistering of the flapper seal - as my fellow board brethren earlier made mention of. Marched back to HD with the offending part only to be told they do not carry AS replacements. You sell their product but do not stock replacement parts???!!!! Shopped the other big boxes to be told the same sob story. Apparently they are not permitted to sell AS replacements through their chains. (Inner voice chimes in, “I smell a corporate conspiracy brewing”.)

Furiously dialed up American Standard Customer service,,,only to be placed on brutal ignore for almost one hour (on two separate occasions) and several emails – a fruitless waste of some choice profanity as they never responded. Finally got a lead ‘bout a plumbing supplier in Oshawa who happened to have one OEM flapper in stock. Fortunately he gave it to me as the toilet was still under warranty. WELL HALLELUJAH!!! Ordinarily you have to buy the entire flapper assembly ($15.00) as the rubber seal is only sold with the plastic flapper housing (more corporate conspiracy). Installed the new part and not 2 weeks later the second toilet starts leaking. AAARRGGHH!!! Had to wait another 2 weeks as the plumbing supplier did not have any more flappers in stock. A month thereafter and I’m in toilet heaven – no more leaks or wasting water.

Fast forward five months and the 1st toilet starts leaking again. The dreaded blistering of the flapper seal had reared its ugly head. DOUBLE AAARRRGGGHHH!!! OOOOHHHH MY KINGDOM TO HAVE A SPLASHER problem. More “spirited” emails,,,,More phone calls to American Standard went no where as their call center obviously specialize in customer irritation. Ended up shelling out $30.00 to replace both flappers.

Happy to report everything is fine,,,,,,,,,,,,,until this week . The DAMMMNNNN white hunk-of-junk is leaking AGAIN!!!

After scrutinizing the box the flappers came in I finally discovered what the ultimate underlying problem has been all along:

MADE IN CHINA

Closing Remarks:
(1) American Standard Cadet 3 is a great product ,,,,if you are looking to purchase a unique lawn
ornament.
(2) My previous 30 year old toilets were better water conservers than this 1.6l Niagara Falls.
(3) For a “delightful” case of frustration and cauliflower ear syndrome,,,try calling American Standard Customer Service
(4) Imho, there is more crap in this product,,,, than the "floaters" found in the bowl.


I wouldn’t put one of these units in my grandma’s outhouse!

Good day and good farmin’
 
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Tigercruise

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Fill valve turns on and off.

I think the Cadet three made in Mexico is defective. This is the second one I've had in less than 2 years and the newest one, just installed today, turns on and off during periods of non-use. I suspect it's the flapper. Flushes good but a water waster.
 

theBigSee

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Tried over the past weekend to replace my mother-in-law's 1991 vintage toilet with an American Standard Cadet 3 from the big orange box store. Here's my summary:

PROS: Extremely easy to find (they have them at every big box store), relatively inexpensive, very easy to install, does the job just fine.

CONS: The tank appears to be designed with a forward lean to it, or mine was defective. It looked like it was on the verge of tipping foward, even though it was bolted down snug. It made my wife feel concerned.

The tank lid does not sit snugly on the top, it is sort of wobbly if you touch it.

Not an attractive toilet -- tank seems too small for the body. I have a Toto Aquia II and it is beautiful with a smaller tank. Proportions are just a bit strange on the Cadet 3.

Worst of all -- it's designed to sit 4" from the wall. I thought I'd gotten the wrong model, like a 10" rough-in, by mistake, but I checked the install drawings and that's how it is -- with a 12" rough-in, you have a 4" gap behind the tank. Everyone who looked at it thought it looked bizarre. Again, my Toto Aquia II sits snug against the wall -- why 4" away?

It was just too off-putting to keep, so I pulled it out, cleaned it up, packed it up and took it back. I have to say for all the grief that big-box stores get, I give BIG kudos to them for being so cool about returns. I rolled it in, the guy asked if anything was wrong with it, cut the box open to make sure everything was inside, and gave me my money back. I can only imagine the grief I would have gotten if I'd bought it from a smaller store.
 

Gary Swart

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Think of the time and effort you would have saved if you had read the reviews on this forum...or if you did read them, if you had believed them.
 

theBigSee

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Think of the time and effort you would have saved if you had read the reviews on this forum...or if you did read them, if you had believed them.

I suggested Toto right off the bat but she balked at the price -- like many people, to her "a toilet is a toilet is a toilet" and she wanted something inexpensive and more efficient from the big box store. Compared to Glacier Bay, the Cadet seemed the better choice.

It's OK though -- after seeing this Cadet monstrosity, she warmed up to the Toto Eco Drake FAST. We ordered it and it's arriving Friday.
 

Stu L.

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American Standard Cadet

I bought and installed two elongated Cadets, one for a less used bathroom in my home and one for a rental. I bought them at the same time, at the same Lowes store for the same price, $160, including bolts, wax ring and seat. The bolts were cheap but usable, as was the wax ring in both cases. I have installed quite a few toilets and keep extra bolts, rings, replacement rings etc. on hand whereever I install a toilet. The two toilets have somewhat different flushes. In my home, the toilet has a decent flush, longer and more of a swirl type that lasts longer than the Toto flush and is very hard to clog. On the other hand, it has almost no siphon jet finish. When you piss, you just know by the flush that some is left in the bowl; it's not confidence inspiring. The other one has a bit better finish and a slightly faster flush. It's a better toilet. Parts are available, but they can't really be "hot-rodded," changing out to Korky parts did nothing for that bowl's flush. The seat is cheap and not worth replacing until it breaks as it works.
I tend to go against the tide when the tide seems like a mob scene of followers, but in the future I know what I will do in the case of toilets. Toilets are fairly simple if they work well. The Totos do that. A toilet should be installed properly and be a fixture in that bathroom until that bathroom is demolished. Replacement parts must be available to accomplish that. My Ultramax just has that confidence inspiring flush that you either ignore or think about and be happy. The two Drakes that I put in but rarely see have as good or better flushes. If the difference in price is $200 over years of use why am I subjecting myself to irritating thoughts, much less aggravation over something that I don't have time or motivation to think about?
I'll continue to look, just as I look at floors, windows and tiles wherever I go. I welcome any brand, most especially an American made one, being the best. In the meantime, the only decision I have to make for now is where to get the best deal on the Toto Drake or Ultramax. BTW, the new Toto seats, sold separately, IMO suck. They look nice, but you might want to drop trou in the showroom and try before you buy.
 

Stu L.

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Also, to be fair, the Cadet's 12" rough-in is perfect and the tank, installed by a knowledge person, is rock-free. They will take even tightening down to the point of contact without becoming fragile. I have a local plumber who's installed over 50 of them based on price and simple parts availability(he doesn't have one in his house).
 
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BTW, the new Toto seats, sold separately, IMO suck. They look nice, but you might want to drop trou in the showroom and try before you buy.

Even Toto has kinda sorta admitted that their seats arn't for everyone. They are coming out with a larger(?) more comfortable seat this year. Model # SS164 and will be standard on all the newly introduced One Piece Tiolets.
 

Achutch

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Major Defect Found!! Stinky!!!

Below is part of my post dated 04-12-2008 that refers to the defective Cadet 3 bowls. Today I found a defect in "Bowl #4" that goes beyond cosmetic which I consider serious.

We have been noticing a foul odor like stale urine that seems to be coming from inside the toilet bowl (not on the floor or anywhere else -- both of us have good noses). Until now, I have NEVER had a toilet that smells. This morning, after I noticed that the smell had gotten worse, I took a hand mirror and looked underneath the rim. See attached photos of the separation of the glaze between the rim and the bowl. I believe that this may be where the odor is coming from.

While the toilet performs well (never a clog or a leak), a stench is unacceptable. We're giving it another good scrubbing with bleach, but my guess is that it will be going out the door and replaced with a Toto like the one in the main bathroom.

achutch

The bowls, all made in the US, had quality issues.

The first bowl rocked because of a slight projection on the bottom between the horn and the front part of the base that hadn't been trimmed, UNACCEPTABLE. That one was returned.

The second bowl didn't rock and the projection was trimmed out. However, there was a gross imperfection of a seam inside the bowl at the bottom where the water goes out which had been permanently stained blue (fired in), UNACCEPTABLE. So in late afternoon during rush hour, it got returned. I, now quite cross, informed the person at the return desk that I expected a rep from the plumbing department to meet with me, and together we would inspect every Cadet 3 bowl until I found one that was acceptable.

After looking at another bowl and finding a flaw in the glazing in the same area as bowl #2, the plumbing rep brought down a pallet of Cadet 3 bowls. Luckily, the first box he opened contained an acceptable bowl, though not flawless. Bowl #4 was brought home, is now up and running, and to its credit, it works well.

1-full view.jpg
4-defect.jpg
3-defect.jpg
2-defect.jpg
 

Ian Gills

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I simply cannot believe a fine bit of American porcelain would do that.

Did you hit it with something heavy by mistake?

Or was there an earthquake perhaps?
 

Achutch

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Or, Perhaps a quality control inspector on siesta?

I'm inclined to agree with Redwood on this one. No earthquakes and no heavy objects. I think I should have made the salesperson in the plumbing department open a few more boxes.
 

hillcrest

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Know this AS model?

I've got an offer on a new AS toilet but they don't know what model it is. I'm scared it's the dreaded Champion but can't tell. Can anyone here tell what it is and know if it's a decent model?
Thanks in advance!

as.jpg
 

Saurav

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Hi, first post here. I started my first toilet install attempt yesterday with a Cadet 3, and after about 7 hours spent on this (including having to use a drill and a sawzall to get the bolts out of the old toilet), I'm stuck. This forum has the most in-depth knowledge I found online, so I'm posting my questions here. I've got the bowl installed, fine, I think. The tank leaks water through the tank-bowl bolt holes, and no matter what I do, I can't get that to stop. Things I've tried:

* Replaced the stock bolts with a bolt repair kit, which let me put rubber washers on both sides of the tank and put a nut there to hold the washers in place. My first thought was that it was leaking through the bolt holes, since that's where I saw the water.

* As far as I can tell, it's leaking around the sides of the gasket that goes between the tank and the bowl. If I fill the tank and watch that space, I see water starting to well up there, and then eventually start dripping out through the bolt holes.

* I've tried everything from barely past finger tight, to tightening it all the way down so the tank isn't rocking at all. No difference.

* The gasket that came with the toilet is square on all the sides, maybe a very tiny taper on the bottom surface. If I just rest the tank on the gasket / bowl and run my finger along the inside of the opening, I can feel that the edge of the gasket and the opening don't line up perfectly. Also, when tightening it down, the gasket compresses / bulges on one side. I'm not sure if that's causing / related to the leak.

* I even filled the tank with some water, (flapper in place) then picked it up to look underneath. I think I see water starting to leak from the outside edge of the plastic "nut"-like piece that's on the underside of the tank. I'm not sure if this is even a valid test - is the tank supposed to be watertight without the gasket in place?

* I've tried Ace Hardware and Home Depot, and I can't find any replacement gaskets with a 3" opening.

If someone could tell me what I'm doing wrong, and how to fix it, I would be really grateful.

Thanks,
Saurav
 

Terry

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* I even filled the tank with some water, (flapper in place) then picked it up to look underneath. I think I see water starting to leak from the outside edge of the plastic "nut"-like piece that's on the underside of the tank. I'm not sure if this is even a valid test - is the tank supposed to be watertight without the gasket in place?

Yes, that's your leak. The large plastic nut may need to be tightened.
If snugging it up doesn't fix it, you can remove the flush valve, inspect the china inside the tank, and sand smooth if needed.
 

Saurav

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Thanks a lot for the reply. I took the flush valve off, and found 2 bumps in the porcelain under the flush valve's gasket. One of them landed right on the edge of the gasket, I could see part of it visible outside. So I spent some time with a dremel and various sanding wheels, and ground those down as best as I could. Put it back together again, and so far, no leaks (fingers crossed).

I dumped a lot of water on the floor with my "lift the tank up and look under it" test. Also, I left some gaps in the caulk between the bowl and the floor. That was a suggestion from someone at Home Depot, she said it would help spot wax ring leaks sooner, otherwise the leaking water would just get into the floor... not sure if that was a good idea or not. Anyway, now I see a bunch of water coming out from under the bowl, but I'm hoping that's water that got in there when I practically flooded the bathroom. If I've broken the floor seal with all my shenanigans, that will be the icing on the cake for this venture :)

Thanks once again, it's a huge relief to have finally (hopefully) solved this extremely frustrating problem.
 

Saurav

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The flange was a little bit above the floor, which is just sheet vinyl, so hopefully that's OK. I'll keep an eye on it over the next few days. Thanks again for your help.
 
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