Ultramax questions

Hello All,

I'm new here, but have gathered a lot of information and reviews over the last couple of days. Still, I have a number of questions I was hoping someone could answer. Here goes:

1. I'm deciding between a drake and ultramax. Besides the cleaning factor, are there any additional reasons to go with the higher priced ultramax.


3. Is it necessary to get the insulated tank? In what situations would I want this? My current (30 year old) toilets seem to have some kind of insulation on the inside of the tanks.

4. If I buy the NON-insulation tank does Toto make an insert of some type?

5. What additional hardware is needed (bolts, etc) when installing.

That's it for now. Thanks for any assistance.

Most toilets don't come with a wax ring or flange bolts, so you'd need those. Dpending on their age, you may want to replace your shutoff valve and should replace the hose.

Style is the biggest determination of which Toto you get.

Because modern toilets do not empty the tank, there is (normally) some room-temperature water in the tank to warm up the incoming, so unless the toilet gets several flushes in a short time (essentially emptying the room-temp water with all cold), condensation isn't as big an issue as with older designs since the water will usually stay above the dew point. If you think it will be a problem, best to buy an insulated tank, but it isn't an issue for most people today.

1. Any Toto from the least expensive to the most costly will do what we want a toilet to do...flush and flush well. Some may have a slightly better bowl wash, but the rest of the differences seem to be cosmetic.

2. Online purchasing is chancy because of the possibility of breakage. Some folks do and have no problems, but if one arrives broken, it can be a hassle dealing with the shipping company to get a replacement.

3. The reason old toilets had a problem with condensation was that every flush drained the tank and had to be refilled with cold water. Low flow toilets do not use all of the water and, because of the small volume of water they use, the new cold water mixes with the remaining water and raises the temperature. This means that condensation is usually not a problem.

4. Not that I am aware of, as stated, condensation is not a problem.

5. No additional parts are needed to install a Toto. You will need a couple of basic tools, and a piece of emery cloth or sandpaper, but all parts are included.

The Drake and the Ultramax are similar, except that the Ultramax is one-piece and comes with the softclose seat.
There is less to go wrong with a one-piece,
Wiping down the outside the are less places to hide grim.

All toilets need standard hardware items for installation.



Condensation should not be a problem.
Toto does have an insulated Drake tank available though.

Installing the Drake

online dealers

Thanks for those 3 quick posts.......

I wish I knew the way to calculate whether or not condensation would be an issue. I'd hate to buy the toilet and see that I need the drake insulation model.

Secondly, I was reading at
http://www.*********************.com/Shipping.aspx
(scroll down to "receiving")

that a damaged product upon arrival seems easy to return. It sounds, however, that this might not be the case. Hopefully, I'll get some others to read this post with some "online purchasing experience".

Also, are the drake and ultramax just cosmetically different on the outside, but inside they function the same?

continued

Link doesn't work. Here's what it says:

WHEN YOUR ORDER IS DELIVERED TO YOU THE RECEIVEING INSTRUCTIONS ARE VERY SIMPLE:

1. Do not sign for this shipment until you have thoroughly inspected inside and outside of each box for any damage. Shipper is not responsible for shipments that are not signed for as damaged upon arrival.

2. If an item is damaged, please refuse delivery of that particular item and accept delivery of the undamaged goods. For instance, if a tank is cracked and a bowl is in good condition, please refuse the tank with a note on the freight bill and accept the bowl. It is easier for us to ship you a tank instead of the entire order again. IN ANY CASE OF DAMAGE, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT THE DAMAGE IS NOTED ON THE FREIGHT BILL AND ONLY THE DAMAGED ITEMS ARE REFUSED.

This would seem to cover any possible damage.

1. Do not sign for this shipment until you have thoroughly inspected inside and outside of each box for any damage. Shipper is not responsible for shipments that are not signed for as damaged upon arrival.

Click to expand...

And if it comes foam packed, and it takes 30 minutes to pry the bowl or tank from the packaging, is the driver going to hang around that long for you to sign for it?

Most of the time, homeowners sign right away, hoping it's okay, and then later when the driver has left, and they find the damage, oh, that's right.
then they are no longer liable for damage.

It's almost impossible to get a trucking firm to pay for damage that they cause.

The last time, they told me

"Mr Love, you can't prove the toilets weren't damaged before you handed them over to us. We would have had to see them before you closed up the boxes."

Well, that pretty absolves the trucking company from paying for any damage, unless you pull the toilet out of the box in front of the shipping clerk, and have them finish closing the box.
On that last little shipment I did, they had broken five toilets, going to three places in Washington State. All five toilets had been set on their shipping pallet.
Most likely, they had been broken before the fork lift had gone more then fifty feet into their warehouse. Oak Harbor Freight Lines, Inc. was the outfit.

All the frieght companies i deal with will not cover damaged products unless the "frieght shows visable damage" the driver will inspect the material before it leaves here and if he see's damage to the box he will refuse or note it on the waybill.

All the freight companies i deal with will not cover damaged products unless the "freight shows visible damage" the driver will inspect the material before it leaves here and if he see's damage to the box he will refuse or note it on the waybill.

Click to expand...

Yes, visible damage.
The toilets I shipped were brand new toilets in unopened boxes.
They were perfect when I handed them off.

You can also crack a toilet but dropping it just a little ways, causing no damage to the box.

When I quit handing my toilets over to shipping companies like Oak Harbor, I was stuck with twelve broken toilets that were never paid for.

I used to have problems with Apex.
I pack my skids so there is no way they will move or shift and was getting lots of calls from my customers claiming broken material and couldn't figure out why.
I then spoke with a customer and he told me the material was all loose on the truck and that's when i found out they were breaking down my skids to fit better on their truck (even though i was paying for cubic feet).

I switched to APPS and have maybe one call a year with damaged material and it could have left here cracked (hard to tell with cracks).

You're right

I acquiesce on this point and will not buy mail order. It would be fool hearty to do otherwise. Your experience on this matter is something from which one should learn.

In addition, I was able to find a dealer close by.....with some digging as they weren't mentioned on the Toto site.....and will purchase from them.

Thanks for all the insight.