TOTO Eco Drake HET Watersense toilet review and comments. EcoDrake

[malpower]

Hello everyone, new to the site. I cant believe how much research involved in getting a new toilet today, glad I found this site.

I have narrowed my search to this toilet, but no one has a review or comments on how good it is. Can anyone that has this let me know how is working, thanks.

Oh, Im in Canada and checked out getting it, they said its brand new and they should have it in about 2 weeks, but they want $399 and I see it in Terry's store for about $220, can believe the difference in price.

I'm not in Canada but northern California but thought I'd make some comments to your posting!

I FINALLY replaced two old (one pre-1980 and one from 1985) water guzzlers. I had been waiting until the water district here in Marin County put the Drake Eco on its rebate list (will only give rebates on the Drake Eco and the Aquia) and they finally made the list recently.

The price here was $256 for the EcoDrake EL and $48 for the soft close seats - we figured that was a pretty standard price and grabbed two. I gather that they can't keep them in stock for very long -- they tell me they've been very popular.

I couldn't be happier with mine -- what a difference from the old ones. Flush is really fast and quiet compared to the old ones too -- startlingly quick. I was worried about so little water to whoosh things away but absolutely no problems there either. Maybe it's just that they're the EL models and my old toilets were all Round, but the Toto seems to be a bit larger and stands out more, especially in my smaller bathroom. But that's really OK and just something to get used to. My friend who installed them had no problems whatsoever and he got them both in and others hauled away in just a couple of hours.

I never thought I'd be having a conversation about toilets and do so much research on them -- but I'm really pleased with these and think I made a great decision. Lots of the credit for that decision goes to Terry, his website and the forums. Thanks!

Kerry

[ejmiami]

I searched quite a bit on the internet looking for a new toilet that is on our Miami-Dade County rebate list (up to $100). I have a small 1950's bathroom and the longer elongated seat toilets just wouldn't fit. The local plumbing supply stores still don't know much about HET toilets and the only one I could identify on the list they would sell is the Gerber UltraFlush. I was nervous about putting a complicated (and potentially loud) toilet in my small bathroom right next to the two bedrooms.

I ended up ordering a TOTO EcoDrake ADA elongated toilet. I hesitated on getting the elongated, however the better MaP rating for this model (900 grams) kind of sold me. Plus I liked the idea of having a taller seat.

Does anyone have experience replacing an older 1950's toilet with this EcoDrake (or any similar TOTO models) ? My handyman is really good, however I would like to be able to prepare him for any surprises we might experience during the install.

Thanks for a great site Terry!

[malpower]

I searched quite a bit on the internet looking for a new toilet that is on our Miami-Dade County rebate list (up to $100). I have a small 1950's bathroom and the longer elongated seat toilets just wouldn't fit. The local plumbing supply stores still don't know much about HET toilets and the only one I could identify on the list they would sell is the Gerber UltraFlush. I was nervous about putting a complicated (and potentially loud) toilet in my small bathroom right next to the two bedrooms.

I ended up ordering a TOTO EcoDrake ADA elongated toilet. I hesitated on getting the elongated, however the better MaP rating for this model (900 grams) kind of sold me. Plus I liked the idea of having a taller seat.

Does anyone have experience replacing an older 1950's toilet with this EcoDrake (or any similar TOTO models) ? My handyman is really good, however I would like to be able to prepare him for any surprises we might experience during the install.

Thanks for a great site Terry!

Just this morning we were saying that we probably should have bought a round Drake Eco for the small downstairs bathroom just because the elongated one we just put in pokes out towards the tub -- it DOES fit and one has no problems with their knees hitting the tub or anything like that, we have about a 17.5" clearance still, but a round seat would most likely give a slight bit more room and not look so large in the tiny bathroom. Also to consider is that instead of an ADA version which adds an inch or so to the height, we have "Toilevators" which raise the toilets by 3.5" -- so that gives us a bit more room simply because we're sitting higher up. Personally I prefer the round seats and they look more oldfashioned, but the elongated ones seem to be the best choice if there are men in the house!

There were absolutely no problems or anything out of the ordinary about installing these toilets and we were putting them on top of the Toilevators, too. As I said in my post above, it took my handyman friend a couple of hours to replace the old toilets and install the two new ones. He did have to shim the one in the older bathroom downstairs because the floors are not level but that wasn't a big deal.

Good luck -- I hope it works out for you!
Kerry

[ejmiami]

[QUOTE=malpower;113278]Just this morning we were saying that we probably should have bought a round Drake Eco for the small downstairs bathroom just because the elongated one we just put in pokes out towards the tub -- it DOES fit and one has no problems with their knees hitting the tub or anything like that, we have about a 17.5" ...

Hi Kerry,

Thanks for the info. Fortunately the toilet is position just to the right of the doorway along the wall and the elongated version will still be an inch inside the door frame, so I'm hoping it will not look too large. I've never had a clogged toilet with the 50 year old one that is in there and didn't want to start having problems with a new toilet.

My only concern is that there are no center bolts on the old toilet mounting- so I suspect we will need to do some modifications on the flange area which could be easy or hard (with the iron waste pipe below).

Liz, Miami, Fl

[malpower]

Hi Kerry,

Thanks for the info. Fortunately the toilet is position just to the right of the doorway along the wall and the elongated version will still be an inch inside the door frame, so I'm hoping it will not look too large. I've never had a clogged toilet with the 50 year old one that is in there and didn't want to start having problems with a new toilet.

My only concern is that there are no center bolts on the old toilet mounting- so I suspect we will need to do some modifications on the flange area which could be easy or hard (with the iron waste pipe below).

Liz, Miami, Fl

I'm glad that you have room to fit! As to the actual plumbing details, sounds like you know far more than I do! I was happy to just go look at them once they were installed and let my friend deal with the plumbing -- I would have heard about it if there were problems though! Good luck, I hope you get it all hooked up with EASY modifications!

Kerry

[ziv]

Thanks to Terry and all the posters! I've been researching toilets and this forum is amazing!

I'm thinking about buying the Eco Drake ADA and I have a couple questions:

Is there some flexibility with the rough in? I know it is listed at 12"

Also, what kind of materials does one use to shim? Standard wood shims?

Thanks,
Ziv

[Nate R]

No, there are plastic shims available specifically for shimming toilets.

[Terry]

You will need a rough-in of at least 11-1/8" to install the Eco Drake.

[ziv]

Thanks Nate, I found the plastic shims.
And thank you Terry - I think the 11-1/8" measurement is exactly what I have to work with.

One more question:

From the Toto spec sheet I see that they recommend the supply line 8" off the floor. My supply lines are only 3" from the floor - will this be a problem?

Thanks again,
Ziv

[Terry]

My supply lines are only 3" from the floor - will this be a problem?

Only if the water supply were to be right behind the toilet.
I almost never see that.
Most likely, a 12" or longer toilet supply will work fine.

[loke]

Just had a chat with my local Toto retailer. Was advised that the EcoDrake and regular Drake are the same toilet but that there is a small difference relating to the flapper. The retailer is only bringing in the EcoDrake models now, but says that if one is unhappy with the flush that a simple manipulation of some sort with the flapper will convert the toilet into the regular 1.6gpf model. I made my enquiry by phone so have not been able to see what he was talking about. Is he correct?

[Redwood]

You shouldn't have to worry about it. Both the regular Drake and the Eco-Drake MaP tested the same at 900 grams per flush.

[loke]

I had checked out the MaP link in post #18 on this thread and noted that the regular height EcoDrake EL rated as 600, while the ADA height EL was 900 (same as the regular height Drake EL). But 600 is still considered very good, I gather, so perhaps I shouldn't worry so much. The other toilet in which I am interested, the Ultramax ADA fares less well in the Eco version, listing at only 450, though I have seen a rating of 500 on a link from a Canadian site. The non-Eco Ultramax is 700, as I recall, so the reduction in MaP score seems somewhat proportional to that of the decrease from the regular Drake to the EcoDrake.

Still do wonder just what the fellow is meaning about being able to make a change. From the picture that was inserted into my message (thanks, Terry), as well as the spec page I just downloaded from the Toto website, it does appear that there is some extra piece (float I think someone suggested) above the flapper. The part on the left side of the tank looks different from the G-Max set-up, too, though perhaps it is only an external difference.
difference.

[loke]

Visited the Toto retailer today and was told that it is the small float above the flapper on the Eco models that one would remove to convert back to a non-Eco model, should one feel the need to do so. That being said, one of the sales staff said that she has both the 1.6gpf and Eco Drake models in her home and hasn't perceived a difference in capability. Seems like everything is pointing to going with the Eco models.


E-Max flapper THU277S

[Reader Review]

Found your site on the web and have to ask. Do you have no (or few) complaints about the TOTO. I got the Eco-Drake just after my mother passed away as I was worried about the potential traffic after a memorial. This thing has not cleanly flushed once. Toto insists it could flush what a horse leaves behind and I am sure it is true. However there would be little (or often big) green marks all the way around the bowl (under the water line). Unfortunately I have become way too familiar with the term “skid marks”. I was told some people use a brush (right like I want to have a stinky bacteria filled brush in my new bathroom and ask guests to use it) or that I was too sensitive (had to explain my husband is a wildlife biologist and I can eat a meal while he does a field necropsy with no problems!). I just want to see leftovers from me or anyone else when I open the lid.

After 3 months of getting pushed back and forth from TOTO to the store where I bought the toilet, I finally called the local TV consumer line. Toto came out and made it a 2 gallon flush…same problem. If I have a defective model, I will push for a replacement, but if the model itself doesn’t work, I will push for a new type altogether.

Long winded to ask if you REALLY don’t hear much negative about these toilets?
Lisa Sinizer
http://www.loainc.com/
Live Oak Associates, Inc