Please Help Me Choose a Toto Toilet?

[organic_smallhome]

We need to replace an old toilet in our 1938 house (although the toilet itself is not from 1938). The bathroom is very small--seriously just enough room for a vanity, a toilet, and a bath: about 5x8. The rough-in is 14" and the plumbing is not new (in another post I made, I noted that one site said that only a skirted Toto could be used to unifit for a 14" rough-in). Our current toilet (a basic American Standard) has clogged several times, but I'm assuming that the problem is the toilet and not the plumbing. We would like to get a low-flush but have been told that they are not powerful enough to flush in one flush and that they don't work well in old houses. I was also told that round-seat toilets do not have as strong a flush as elongated toilets. The ones we are looking at are the Drake, the Dartmouth, and the Promenade (although I've read that the Promenade is a bit loud). Sana-gloss and G-Max would be great--but again, maybe too much toilet/power for an old house/plumbing? In terms of cost, we don't want to spend a fortune, so the higher-end Totos are not an option.

I've been driving myself crazy, looking on this forum and on several other sites, trying to collect the information I need to make the right choice. Instead, I'm now just thoroughly confused. This forum seems to have the most knowledgeable folks, so if anyone has any suggestions for a model that would fit our needs, I would be eternally grateful.

[Peanut9199]

When you have to have round front your limited and then 14" your getting worse.
The Drake and Promenade are not 14" and the Dartmouth is only available in Elongated rim.
If you can fit an elongated bowl than your options are more open.
The only thing i can think off is to use a C733F Dalton Bowl which is round front and Universal Height, but no Sanagloss or G-max.
Then use the ST701 Reliance 14" tank.

http://www.totousa.com/ProductDetail...7-d465084608f8

[organic_smallhome]

Thanks, Peanut. It's not absolutely required that we have a round rather than elongated bowl. Does this widen our options?

[Gary Swart]

Round bowls are going the way of buggy whips. With the new tank sizes brought about by low flow requirements, it is now possible the have an elongated bowl that takes up less space than some round bowls. Elongated bowls are male friendly and are available in every model of toilet. Round bowls are not available in some models, so your choices are greater with the elongated bowl. I seriously consider the ADA or comfort height as well.

[Terry]

None of the Toto toilets are considered loud or too powerful for a home.
I sell a few thousand Toto toilets a year for homes.
They are the best choice, considered best by homeowners and plumbers.
You know, the people that have actually used one.

Lab rats that don't use toilets, like the white cloaked guys at CR may not agree. They have a list that mentions the same dog of a toilet five times and pretends it's five different options.
And then they list another toilet four times, pretending they gave you four more options instead of just one more.
Don't trust lab rats. Go with the flow. Homeowners know more.
There is nothing like bolting a bowl in and taking it for a "spin".

Do the posters on other sites understand plumbing?

All plumbing is designed to carry water.

Your only consideration here, is how much to spend, and what style.

If you want to spend the least, pick up a standard 12" rough toilet.

If space is important, consider moving the bowl back with an adapter.
Your closest distance from the wall will be with a skirted bowl with a 14" Unifit.

The other brands will use a 12" bowl, in the middle of the room and a thick tank. Save a buck, use the 12" bowl in the middle of the room, and the standard tank and don't worry about the space behind the tank, it's less money.

But if you really want to "pull" the bowl closer to the wall, spend the money.


Flush valve for the one-piece versions

[organic_smallhome]

Thank you. We definitely want a Toto--no question about that. Just trying to figure out what the options are--whether the 2" distance from wall is a big deal, whether we can find the right style/price that is adaptable to a 14" rough-in, etc.

I very much appreciate the responses I'm getting. I've learned more about toilets/toilet installation in the last 1/2 hour than I ever thought I would learn in my life.

[organic_smallhome]

Two more questions (I forgot to ask):

Is it true that the eco versions, at 1.28, are not as good at flushing?

Is it also true that they don't work well with old plumbing?

Thanks.

[Terry]

The 1.28 has less water, therefore less to flow with.

Or.........you can hold the handle down a bit if you think you need that.

However, the old toilets flushed pretty slowly, and with not as much water as you would think.
Most of the wast with the old ones, was the overfilling of the bowl, long after the flush had taken place.
Two gallons could easily be wasted that had no real purpose.

Drainline flow with the new quick flushing toilets has been good.
They shoot it out quickly down the line.

[organic_smallhome]

The 1.28 has less water, therefore less to flow with.

Or.........you can hold the handle down a bit if you think you need that.

However, the old toilets flushed pretty slowly, and with not as much water as you would think.
Most of the wast with the old ones, was the overfilling of the bowl, long after the flush had taken place.
Two gallons could easily be wasted that had no real purpose.

Drainline flow with the new quick flushing toilets has been good.
They shoot it out quickly down the line.

Just talked with my plumber. He said that just to be on the safe side--given our old pipes (one of which he is replacing)--we should go with the 1.6. He also recommended the Sanigloss. And said that he MUCH prefers Totos, installs them all the time, and that he could easily do the unifit thing for us if we want to.

Thank you so much, Terry. You have been extraordinarily helpful. Much appreciated.

[jadnashua]

The only way to save room in front of the toilet is to choose one of the Totos that use the UniFit adapter (this would be one of the skirted models). This actually moves the entire toilet back 2". All other brands accommodate the 14" rough-in by making the tank thicker, and leaving the bowl stick out further into the room than necessary. This will save you 2" over another either 12" toilet or one configured for 14".

[organic_smallhome]

The only way to save room in front of the toilet is to choose one of the Totos that use the UniFit adapter (this would be one of the skirted models). This actually moves the entire toilet back 2". All other brands accommodate the 14" rough-in by making the tank thicker, and leaving the bowl stick out further into the room than necessary. This will save you 2" over another either 12" toilet or one configured for 14".

Thank you, Jim. We did decide to select a Toto with the UniFit adapter. If we had a larger bathroom, we probably wouldn't care that the toilet was 2-3" away from the wall. But in our tiny bathroom, I think it would look weird.

[Dodycats]

I just want to report back that my shiny new Toto Ultramax II was installed today and I JUST LOVE IT. I want to thank Peanut and Terry and all the others who helped me make up my mind. The double cyclone is really neat and removes everything promto on the first flush, the sanagloss finish is wonderful, I love the taller ADA complient stool -- and I can't believe how fast it flushes and recycles -- WOW. Good riddance to that old slow leaky poor-performing American Standard Cadet that was nothing but headaches the last decade. Now all I have left is which small sink to buy to go with my SECOND TUII that I will order for my powder room....I kinda like the Rohl 1090 Hand Rinse Basin....so very cute, traditional so it will fit with my 50's house, and half the depth of the original wall-mounted sink that takes up a lot of room in my tiny powder room. I'm excited.
THANK YOU GUYS!

[Dodycats]

my new Toto Ultramax II is 1.28 gpf and it's plenty of water....go for it!