Zerkle50
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Champion4 redesign is a decent toilet.
This review is for the newer AmStan Champion 4 (RF) design, without the spring-loaded tower outlet valve. I replaced my aging Kohler Wellworth, responsible for many overflows onto the old linoleum floor. (I swore never to buy Kohler again.) As advertised, it would be almost impossible to clog the AS Champion 4.
The new outlet valve consists of a large PVC tube with top flange. A huge float with attached gasket sits on top. The seal is very positive. Unlike a small flapper “ball,” the float assembly is heavy and closes before the water level reaches the top of the outlet valve tube. There is no way to adjust this shutoff level. I use a two-stage flush: For liquid waste I just tap the handle for a normal flush, but for solids I hold it down for a slightly longer cycle. (In either case, the flush is less than a second so the value of this longer cycle is questionable.)
I do not like this new FluidMaster 400 valve. A vaned diverter disk at the input pipe slows down the fill to about 45 seconds. The old Fluidmaster 400A had a straight-through pipe, so fill was only about 15 seconds.
The trapway pressure is tremendous. Rinse down the sides of the bowl is only adequate, although the under-rim holes are really large and angled. Kohler also had inferior bowl rinse, especially after the tiny rim holes clog with lime scale.
Installation was easy. (Truthfully, I am an amateur, but have had to replace too many old or terrible toilets.) As users have noted, the tank mounting instructions don't match between the assembly sheet and the hardware bag. I carefully tightened the bolts for a 1/4 in. gap between tank bottom and raised rear rib on the back of the bowl. Any further and the tank would lean backwards. (Front and rear ribs on bowl are of different heights). Be careful, as you can crack the porcelain-coated clay and/or crush the grommet seal around the bolts, leading to leaks.
Quality control is a little below average. There is some slight lack of symmetry inside the bowl and a few places where the porcelain coating is thinner (like inside the critical trapway!), but it does not seem to affect function.
I paid $199.00 at Home Depot. Was it worth double the new $99.00 Kohler Wellworth/Ingenium? Only my new floors can answer that!
Grading the best toilets, the ones that work!
This review is for the newer AmStan Champion 4 (RF) design, without the spring-loaded tower outlet valve. I replaced my aging Kohler Wellworth, responsible for many overflows onto the old linoleum floor. (I swore never to buy Kohler again.) As advertised, it would be almost impossible to clog the AS Champion 4.
The new outlet valve consists of a large PVC tube with top flange. A huge float with attached gasket sits on top. The seal is very positive. Unlike a small flapper “ball,” the float assembly is heavy and closes before the water level reaches the top of the outlet valve tube. There is no way to adjust this shutoff level. I use a two-stage flush: For liquid waste I just tap the handle for a normal flush, but for solids I hold it down for a slightly longer cycle. (In either case, the flush is less than a second so the value of this longer cycle is questionable.)
I do not like this new FluidMaster 400 valve. A vaned diverter disk at the input pipe slows down the fill to about 45 seconds. The old Fluidmaster 400A had a straight-through pipe, so fill was only about 15 seconds.
The trapway pressure is tremendous. Rinse down the sides of the bowl is only adequate, although the under-rim holes are really large and angled. Kohler also had inferior bowl rinse, especially after the tiny rim holes clog with lime scale.
Installation was easy. (Truthfully, I am an amateur, but have had to replace too many old or terrible toilets.) As users have noted, the tank mounting instructions don't match between the assembly sheet and the hardware bag. I carefully tightened the bolts for a 1/4 in. gap between tank bottom and raised rear rib on the back of the bowl. Any further and the tank would lean backwards. (Front and rear ribs on bowl are of different heights). Be careful, as you can crack the porcelain-coated clay and/or crush the grommet seal around the bolts, leading to leaks.
Quality control is a little below average. There is some slight lack of symmetry inside the bowl and a few places where the porcelain coating is thinner (like inside the critical trapway!), but it does not seem to affect function.
I paid $199.00 at Home Depot. Was it worth double the new $99.00 Kohler Wellworth/Ingenium? Only my new floors can answer that!
Grading the best toilets, the ones that work!
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