Kohler Class 6 vs Pressure Lite

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Spta97

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Hi everyone,

I purchased a Kohler Class 5 toilet a few months ago and just got around to installing it today as the other parts of my remodel took longer than I thought. Anyway, I was apauled at the lack of performance of it (does not clean the bowl) and found out that many other people had the same issue. Doing the "pepper test" left me scratching my head how this thing made it to market.

I called Kohler (EXCELLENT customer service!) and they said they would send me a credit letter that I can take to my place of purchase to have applied to another Kohler product so I want to apply it towards a toilet.

Kohler said that my options for great bowl cleaning would be a Class 6 or Pressure assist. I recently had experience with the pressure assisst on a recent business trip and I was blown away by the performance and loved the loud "WHOOSH!" sound it made during flushing.

Tank:
http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?item=9952002&section=2

Bowl:
http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?item=9951702&section=2

I know that the recommendation of the forum is Toto, but I'm locked into Kohler due to the credit so I wanted to get opinions on the Class 6 vs Pressure assist. Kohler says the pressure assist is the most powerful flush they make, but I want to know if there are any concerns with them like difficulty in maintenance.

I would imagine that the pressure assist is used in hotels to cut down on calls for clogged toilets so I'm not worried about the performance (I got to use it first hand) but just any maintenance issues.
Thanks and happy holidays!
 
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Gary Swart

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Pressure assist toilets were a gimmick some manufactures came up with in an attempt to make there poorly designed toilets work with the new low flow requirements. The are very noisy and prone to fail. Kohler is not known now days for a quality toilet. They keep coming out with new models, but they still clog frequently. More over, their redesigns use parts that only Kohler makes and in some cases cost as much as some toilets. I understand why you will stay with Kohler, and I wish you luck. Maybe this 6th design will work, but I'd keep a plunger handy.
 

Spta97

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Gary,

Thanks for the reply. I have seen both sides of argument on this site and many people who have had pressure assisted toilets really liked them. The hotel I was able to try it at was brand new construction built by a company that specializes in property management and contruction (http://www.themresort.com/). The hotel used all first-rate materials from granite / marble floors to Grohe fixtures in the bathrooms so I don't think that they would skimp on the toilet. My thought would be that they would steer away from problematic items as it would just result in more service calls.

I see your point as the gravity toilets have much less to go wrong but I am worried if I go with the Kohler Class 6 that I will be dissapointed when compared to the pressure assist. They will cost me about the same.
 

Terry

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I stay at a hotel sometimes that has the class six Kohler,
Rinse is pretty sparse.
One room, the tank was losing water all night.
The hotel is one year old.

cim_1_top.jpg

Kohler Class Six Cimarron

The Pressure Lite won't plug on you, so don't worry about that.

A hotel is impressed by units that don't plug.
Saves time for sure.

I had a pressure assist in my master bathroom for a while, I'm changing toilets often to get a feel for what's out there.
Let's just say, a pressure assist isn't too many peoples top choice for a home.
I can see a hotel would have different reasons for having them.
My home is quieter then most hotels though.
I prefer something a bit more subtle.
But since you are returning the Class Five, which I found to have no rinse at the back, and plugged fairly easily, then you might as well try the pressure lite too.
There are better choices out there, but this will work.
 

Spta97

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Terry,

Thanks for the reply and great forum. I am thinking the pressure lite is the one to go with. I actually really got a kick out of the sound but I see that I may not have the same reaction if I was woke up by it in the middle of the night ;)

Thanks also for the input on the class 6 as unfortunately you cannot try a toilet before you buy it. The You Tube videos seemed much better than the class 5 so it's hard to tell. I wish I had found this forum before I ordered but can't change the past so I will go witht the pressure lite since I have had first hand experience with it. If it ends up being too loud I can put it down stairs and go with a Toto in the upstairs bath but I would like to save that expense now if I can help it.

ps: After about 10 flushes I still have pepper in the bowl of the class 5 :rolleyes:
 

Terry

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ps: After about 10 flushes I still have pepper in the bowl of the class 5 :rolleyes:

The Class Six above, didn't have much rinse either,
And the flapper was leaking after one year.
I could hear it running and refilling all night.
Even though it had it's own room and a bathroom inbetween.

I love the three shower heads though.

kohler_shower_2.jpg
 
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Spta97

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Wow that's nice! I got that same shower head but only one (about $260 for the brushed nickle). I do have a hand held shower head and the tub spout as well. The hand held I got is a WaterPic with a "rain" mode that is just awesome. Hopefully by the new year I will have the shower tiled so I can finally stand up while bathing! Taking a shower with the hand held on low flow to prevent splashing while sitting in the tub has lost it's appeal after 4 months ;)

I was nuts to think I could completely gut my bathroom, replace the window, reside the house, replumb, run the electric, hang sheetrock, install tile and get it all working in a week. Since that vacation in August I've been working crazy hours while also going back to school for my MBA. Needless to say my free time has been somewhat limited!
 

Spta97

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Installed the Pressure Lite....

Well I finally got the Kohler Pressure Lite toilet in. There was no gasket in the box and no mention of it in the instructions so I against my better judgement installed it without - that was pretty funny as I had a 360 degree deluge of water spray everywhere! ;)

Kohler had them on back order but I got it in last weekend and installed the toilet. I have to say, this is my FAVORITE toilet ever! Not only is the flush super powerful, but it is so quick to flush and fill. The big "WHOOSH!" sound is just music to my ears.

Hopefully I won't run into any mechanical problems with the added complexity of the pressure assist mechanism but I could not be happier with it.

The two things that I didn't like are the "comfort height" and the Kohler toilet seat. I'm 6' tall so I figured I would like the increased height but I guess it takes some getting used to as I have been using the regular height toilets my whole life. The seat was weird as the part where you sit is rounded so it gave you this feeling like you were sinking in the toilet. I was able to remedy that by getting a Bemis soft-close seat that has a much flatter sitting area.

I know that Kohler and pressure assisted toilets are not the forum favorites but, provided it holds up over time, I will never buy another brand again.

Thanks again for the advice!
 

Redwood

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It's too bad they ended up locking you in with the money...
Wait until one day when that pressure assist tank needs repairs...

It will be a little more than that Toto Flapper would have cost...
 

Spta97

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I actually thought they handled it very well. I had the toilet for 6 months and they basically gave me a credit for the whole thing ($465). I don't know of any other company who would have done that. I could have used it towards any Kohler product but I had already bought everything for this bathroom.

I'm sure that it will eventually need repairs (anything mechanical will including regular toilets) but since this same exact model was used at the M Resort where I stayed in Nevada that it must be farily reliable. Their toilets surely see WAY more action than mine ever will ;)

After all this I figure I will keep my $100 Kohler toilet in the downstairs bathroom when I get around to remodeling that. It is just a regular size one but flushes well (not as well as the pressure assist of course) and has been going strong for about 6 years.
 
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