American Standard Cadet 3 Three Toilet consumer product review

[Ian Gills]

Good advice from Redwood. You can see why he earns the big bucks. Change the flapper to a Korky one and then sit back and enjoy the luxury of a Cadet 3 for years to come.

You'll soon forgive that ol' flapper design.

Not just any standard, but American Standard!

If you want to convert your Cadet 3 to a luxury model, I have posted my proposed conversion here. Very cheap and simple. http://www.terrylove.com/forums/show...ighlight=korky

[igrant]

After reading as much as I could about these two toilets I installed a Drake in Feb 08. Didn't want to risk A.S. quality or lack thereof. It's been a great toilet so far, except the tank lid has never sit correctly, it wobbles. Now I have another toilet to replace I bought another Drake. Noticed that they are made in Mexico too, now; so much for the manuafcturing-quality argument. I also noticed that the trapway did not appear to be properly glazed - very rough surface well within finger reach of each end - unlike the glossy smooth trapway of my first Drake. Complained to store, they said Toto rep would call, waited a month while reminding store, gave up and returned toilet. So now I'm back to wondering about Cadet 3. I looked at one at Home Depot, porcelain had a flaw right in the trapway entrance. Has anyone had a Cadet 3 for greater than a year, and does it work well? Thanks.

[jadnashua]

The trapway is glazed and it's been shown that the slight roughness helps keep the paper from adhering to the sides since some water flow can catch the edges.

If you can get a Cadet that doesn't have a defect, it should work okay. The Drake is likely more reliable. Toto's QA is pretty consistent, regardless of which factory is producing their stuff.

[Terry]

The roughness in the trapway just prevents things like wipes from "sticking"

I've had more problems with the Cadets over the years. I've never had a problem with a Drake bowl.
And we sell the Drakes every day.

[Reader Review]

We bought two Cadet 3 toilets about 3 years ago. For the first 8 months, we had absolutely no problems and loved them. Then, the toilets started leaking down in the back of the tank and refilling every hour or so. We replaced the flappers and that would cure the problem for 2-3 months and the problem starts again. We have replaced the flappers on both commodes at least a dozen times but the problem still persists. We have called the American Standard Co. but they say no one else has complained of such a problem. We have to pay tremendous water bills because of this problem, we are just about crazy at this point. We would love an answer to this problem. Are we just stuck with toilets that don't do thier job properly? Thank you for any advice you care to offer. Pam S


The black rubber on the Cadet 3 Flapper starts to blister, this one is six months old.

[Redwood]

Pam I suggest you fire the OEM American Standard Flappers and Hire the Korky Fits American Standard® Cadet® 3 Flapper p/n: 3040BP.
http://www.korky.com/Flapper3040BP.html

Your problems will be a thing of the past...

[Ian Gills]

Er...yeah like Redwood said. Nobody said the flappers were any good on these otherwise excellent toilets.

Put a korky fill valve in it and your are done.

My Cadet 3 is almost three years old now and it looks and performs beter than the day I bought it.

It is a fantastic toilet....if you change the flapper.

I might buy a Drake to hide away in my basement, when it's finished.

And I'll leave the Cadet 3 on the main floor: my pride and joy for all the VIP guests to see.

"Cadet 3 at your service SIR!"

[dlf]

I have just installed 2 Toto Drakes and am very satisified. I have 3 other toilets in house - on of which gets heavy use - but is a 10 in rough in. I was going to get a Toto, but the water supply to the toilet wont work with the skirted Totos.

I am getting the impression that the Cadet 3 may be the best available for a 10 in rough in. Are there any other good 10 in rough-in toilets. The water supply comes up out of a tiled floor 3.5 in from wall and 5.5 inches from center of toilet. Any suggestions?

[Art Johnson]

I purchased an American Standard Cadet 3 toilet last spring. I think that it's water-saving feature is a joke. I find that I have to flush the toilet at least twice and often three times to clear the bowl. (that's water-saving?) I have written two letters to A/S, neither of which was ever answered, asking if there is some treatment I can apply to the bowl itself to make it flush more efficiently. I don't know what bothers me more, the toilet's poor functioning or the company's completely ingnoring letters I have sent to them. Does anyone have any suggestions to remedy the former?

[Terry]

I find that I have to flush the toilet at least twice and often three times to clear the bowl. Art

Art,
Are you referring to bowl rinse?
or flushing solids?

All new toilets since 1992 use less water, therefore there is less bowl rinse then before.

If it's not clearing solids, then the trap in the bowl may have something left over. Sometimes a closet auger will clear that.

[davesyo]

About this replacement flapper 3040bp from korky .Does anyone know if this flapper closes a little slower then the american standard flapper ?

[Redwood]

About this replacement flapper 3040bp from korky .Does anyone know if this flapper closes a little slower then the american standard flapper ?

It should close the same as it is a 1.6GPF toilet.
However, it doesn't blister and leak.

[Sweeneyps]

Need replacement toilet. Considering As Cadet 3 or Toto Drake, UltraMax or Carlyle.
Local Plumbing Supply house has AS Cadet 3 Models 2403.128 (1.28gallon) and 2403.016 (1.6gallon) These are both 1-piece, elongated, everclean, ADA height, complete w/seat models.
Lowe's has a Cadet 3 Model 2568.128 (1.28gallon) This is also 1-piece, elongated, everclean, ADA height, complete w/seat.
I can not find any reference to the AS 2568 Model on the American Standard website, or anywhere else, except @ Lowe's. Appearance and feature-wise, the 2403 and 2568 seem identical. Lowe's has the 2568 at a very attractive price, but will soon be stocking the 2403 (at a higher price).
Any insight is appreciated. thanks

Grading the best toilets, the ones that work!

[davesyo]

It should close the same as it is a 1.6GPF toilet.
However, it doesn't blister and leak.

The reason why I'm asking is because I've seen them in home depot and it looks like their made a little lighter meaning there's no plastic body on top of the rubber like the american standard and it has a hole at the bottom with a small plastic insert .I thought maybe this would have something to do with the closing rate the same way some of the 2 inch flappers have that adjustable foam on the chain to adjust the flapper closing rate .

[Terry]

The Korky replacement flapper for the Cadet 3 is made differently, but should be timed to release the same amount of water.