Drake II or Ultramax II?

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Hawaii Sunshine

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Hi Terry,
I'm having a hard time deciding between the two. Being in Hawaii, the best price I could get is $452 for the Drake II with the toilet seat, and $534 for the Ultramax II. I like the one-piece look, but am concerned about the ease of installation since my husband is going to do it himself. He thinks that a two-piece installation would be a little easier to install. I also read that the Drake II has better flush rating than the Ultramax II.

I need to make a decision quickly. Thanks!
 

Gary Swart

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Because the bowl and tank are a single piece, the Ultramax is heavier which makes it a bit more to handle, but a second pair of hands would help with that. The one piece is nicer day in and day out because it is easier to clean. I would opt for the Ultramax, but with any toilet, I use nuts to tighten the flange bolts to the flange. The keeps the bolts upright so it's easier to slide the toilet straight down on to the wax ring. Do not use a wax ring that has a plastic funnel, just a simple, plain ring is best. Either toilet flush is excellent.
 

Hawaii Sunshine

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Thanks Gary!

I'm puzzled that even though both Drake II and Ultramax II have the same double-cyclone flushing system and everything else being equal except for that Drake II is two-peice and Ultramax II is one piece, somehow the two-piece Drake II have a higher flush rating of 800 vs the one piece Ultramx II with a flush rating of 500.
 

Gary Swart

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First of all, the mapp test scores are misleading. Anything over 500 is very good. Second, a two piece toilet does give a slightly more powerful flush because the tank is a little higher and therefore gravity gives a little more power to the flush. Operative words here are "slightly" and "little". Don't fret the difference. I use, you won't tell the difference.
 

Terry

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What Gary said.

Anything 500 or more is good.
And there is a bit of plus and minus in the testing it seems.
I've seen MaP scores that were good for a bowl, and then quickly plugged it, and scores that were poor, and the bowl was fine.
Real world is different then the testing.

You're looking essentially the same bowl, with a different tank attachment.
You can look at ease of cleaning, ease of installation, and whether you like how it looks.
My son and I like installing one piece toilets, the weight isn't a factor for us.
But then we are like 210 pounds too.
 
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