American Standard Doesn't Flush -- New House

[DrDel]

I just moved into my new house and my builder chose the American Standard Cadet. All 4 toilets in the house get clogged after it is used.

I have removed the tank on one of the toilets and I want to replace it with a larger tank instead of the 1.6 gallon tank.

Will my flushing power be increased if I simply change to tank to a higher one -- I live in Canada and the stores here sell larger volume American Standard tanks.

One of the toilet salespeople told me that I have to also change the bowl since I will require a larger trap door to prevent things from getting stuck.

If I buy a larger tank will it not suffice? Is the sales person just trying to get me to buy a bowl and a tank instead of just a tank?

[DrDel]

Also, I think I have the Cadet... .based on my toilet and the pictures

how do I tell what model of American Standard toilet I have? where is it written on the toilet?

[master plumber mark]

you might want to try jsut changeing out the flapper in the toilet first to see if this gives you more volume.

just go out and buya cheap 2 dollar flapper and see if it doesent help

[jimbo]

Toilets are designed as a set:tank + bowl. There is more than one tank and more than one bowl in the Cadet series ( hi-boy, round, elong, etc) but you may not be able to mix in a tank from a different series, and especially not from a different brand. The cadet is a so-so toilet. There are much better flushers on the market. Do you have the 1.6 gallon per flush limit in Canada? If not you have more options open to you. In any event, a pressure assist toilet will outperform most gravity models. Lots of plumbers down here prefer the TOTO brand. Don;t know if that is available to you. They make both gravity and pressure assist models.

[DrDel]

is there a Cadet series pressure assist 13L tank ???

[jimbo]

There are 3 models of Cadet Pressure-assist available in Canada: 2333,2366,2377. All are ultra-low flush 6.0 lpf. Keep in mind that you cannot drop a pressue tank on a regular bowl. They are different. You would have to change the whole thing.

See www.americanstandard.ca

[hj]

The 1.6 gpf tanks were intentionally redesigned so that the larger/older tanks would not fit them. If Canada has the larger tanks you would have to check all the critical measurements to see if it will fit your bowl.

[adenwork2]

To improve the flush, make sure the tank water level is the highest possible.
Change to a generic flapper or adjust the float on the flapper chain so that the flapper opens longer. Or hold the flush handle manually until the tank is empty.

If it is the Cadet non PA bowl, it will fit some other American Standard tanks such as the Compact and Ravenna. But it may not be worth the trouble for small improvements.