Kohler Cimarron toilet review, Owner comments and pictures

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drewc

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Cimarron, the sequel

Has anyone here used the new, Class Six version of the Cimarron?

According to this Consumer Reports blog entry, the Class Six flush system can be configured as a HET (1.28 gpf) or for 1.6-gpf flushes. The wording in the blog entry suggests that it's a dual-flush design, but I don't believe that's the case; the Kohler web site doesn't say anything about dual-flush in the features for this model.

More interesting is the claim of better bowl cleaning:

And older Class Five toilets, for example, fell short when it came to cleaning the bowl after bulk flushes, explains a Kohler spokesperson. But according to Kohler, the rim-jet flow on the company's Class Six toilets has been redirected in an effort to improve bowl cleaning.

That sounds good, but is it true? I won't be the first to test it. We've already replaced all the toilets in our house.
 

Terry

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I believe the Tulalip Casino in Marysville has the Kohler Class 6 in the rooms.
The rinse is now 360 in the bowl, no longer missing the back.
Still very little rinse, and what I considered a loud flush.
But the rooms there are very nice.
The shower has three shower heads, nice.

The trapway design has bends that are too tight.
In real use, they will clog more then a toilet with a good trapway.

It is not a dual flush. I don't know why they would think that.

The last time I went there, the Cimarron was leaking and refilling all night long.
It needed a replacement flapper after one year of use.
 
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Crapper

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We had the original 1992-1993 Kohler Wellworth Lite No-Flush toilets when we built our house (what was I thinking! I had a duplex and had used the Wellworth in those 2 bathrooms but that pre-1992 standards). Anyways these would plug 9 out 10 times when you took a dump. Ended up keeping a toilet plunger next to each toilet. I complained to the local dealer and they sent out a Kohler rep who insisted everything was "fine". I invited him over for dinner so that he could take a test drive himself but he refused. I wonder why? I wrote a letter to Kohler directly and they finally admitted that "Yes, they do have a slight problem" and that gave me the OK to change out the toilet bowls that have a larger opening. So I spent the better part of day taking apart 3 toilets and putting them back together again. Now they only plug 8 out of 10 times! They used to plug so bad that on 3 occassions I had to remove the toilets and use a coat hanger to unclog it from the bottom!! Gross !!! After 15 years of this crap my wife and I decided to upgade to the Cimarron (kept with Kohler because of the Biscuit color and we had sinks that matched). The Cimarron flushes well but it does have a tendency to leave "skid marks". We traded the plungers for brushes! The whole flushing process takes about 2 seconds. It got plugged once and they don't work very well with a plunger due to the way the drain is designed (the plunger cannot cover the opening). Ended up using a plastic coated coat hanger to retrieve the toilet paper that was causing the problem.

I will never ever consider a Kohler product again! Stay clear of this one.
 

Dlroseberry

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cautiously optimistic

I installed a cimarron two days ago. It is already apparent that it's not going to plug as often as our circa 1994 Crane. But the complex shape of the bowl may make it harder to get a seal if plunging is necessary; I don't know yet on that. The bowl is designed to hold very little water and still has a decent water surface. To do this the slope of the bowl is pretty shallow below the waterline. Bowl cleaning may be a problem but we haven't seen it and frankly, plugging is is the more serious issue as far as we're concerned.

I suspect there will always be tradeoffs with low flow toilets because larger traps take more water, more water in the bowl keeps it cleaner, better rinsing takes more water or more water velocity. More water velocity is noisier, complicated and expensive. But on the whole, I think the large diameter valve between the tank and the bowl is the best way to go.
 

pfs53

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Clogged in less than 2 weeks

I am remodeling both bathrooms and let the contractor recommend which stool to install. My only caveat to him was that it must work (that plus I requested the comfort height and the elongated bowl). He and the gentleman who installed it assured me that this particular toilet works very well.
Well, it's less than 2 weeks since the first one was installed and it has now clogged up. I went out to Bed, Bath and Beyond and purchased the best plunger they had in stock, but it will not work with these toilets. Because of the shape of the bowl, I cannot get a good seal. Consequently, instead of the air being forced down the drain and clearing the clog, it is forced back into the bowl splashing water out of the bowl - and on me.
I asked my contractor what plunger works with this toilet and he had no idea. He claims it had never come up. He seems like an honest enough guy, but I'm wishing now I had done my own homework. I'm afraid I'm now stuck with a couple of toilets that clog easily.
 

Probedude

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For what it's worth, when looking at my friend's Cimarron, the bowl shape is darn near identical to the Toto Drake - rectangular'ish.

What TP are you using when you're clogging your Cimarron? We had some Charmin Ultra soft and that was clogging even our Toto Eco Drake. Put that TP in, do your duty on top of it, then add more TP and you've now clogged a Drake, and I'm sure a Cimarron too.

Grading the best toilets, the ones that work!
 
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Kohler Cimmaron Discontinued?

Just quoted a customer a Kohler Elongated Comfort Height Cimmaron. (K-3496-33) And when I called my supplier for a shipping quote, she told me that that model has been discontinued and is requiring an upgrade to the 3489, one piece with class 6 flush, quite the upgrade.

Can anyone confirm?
 

SewerRatz

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Just quoted a customer a Kohler Elongated Comfort Height Cimmaron. (K-3496-33) And when I called my supplier for a shipping quote, she told me that that model has been discontinued and is requiring an upgrade to the 3489, one piece with class 6 flush, quite the upgrade.

Can anyone confirm?

I can confirm Monday morning for you. I sold one about three weeks ago, but in this industry anything can happen in three weeks.
 

Redwood

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Kohler constantly reengineers it's stuff...
Part of the reason why Kohler parts are such a PITA to get...:mad:

I hate Kohler!

kohler_canister.jpg


Link about the chain tangling on the new canister flush valve
__________________
 
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Gusherb94

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Kohler constantly reengineers it's stuff...
Part of the reason why Kohler parts are such a PITA to get...:mad:

I hate Kohler!

There wild contraptions certainly are fun and challenging to study though!:eek::p:D
 

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Gusherb94

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Campbells soup company was low on sales and Kohler was feeling bad so they bought a million cans of soup from them, but then Kohler didn't know what to do with all those cans of soup, so then Kohler fed the soup to the wild dogs in back of the factory and made flush valves out of the soup cans.:eek::D:mad:
 
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OK did a little research from yet another supplier and have found:

1.) Kohler is upgrading the Cimmaron to the Class 6 flushing system.
2.) In this upgrade, they are discontinuing a majority of their fashion and full line colors. (killing the only reason ever to buy a Kohler IMHO.)
3.) This requires you to upgrade to the 1 piece Cimmaron, which for whatever reason hasnt been upgraded/discontinued or move over to a completely different toilet that does have Mexican Sand as a color option, like the Kelston? Which is still more money I believe.

Nice to see that Kohler still lists discontinued models on its website as if you can still order them like usual... *sigh*
 

12inch_rough_in

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KOHLER-Cimerron toilets

Hey just read many of the comments of people having problems with various problems from cleaning action to what sounded like a bad installation.

The latest KOHLER-Cimerron Version is the only class 6 toilet available on the market today. For just about the same price as American Standard you get a far Superior product with KOHLER.

A Cimerron toilet has a 3 1/2 flapper opening, boasting the largest of any manufacturer to date! Kohler when they introduced this line stated " You can flush 100 feet of toilet paper in on flush!" Now I would never try that myself, that's one hell of a claim, and Kohler was was the first to say it. (Geez 40 golf balls in a single flush, claimed by others just makes me feel "Ahh Yea Right, let me test that one out when I paid $35.00 for the new Spaldings golf balls I just bought":eek: (OK maybe the kid in my house might).

American Standard months later came out with the "CADET 3" meaning they had had the toilet that could flush 150 feet of toilet paper with a flapper opening of just 3 inches.

As of June 17, 2009 I am to attend a Kohler sponsored class on the new or what ever I can learn about products all through where I work paying me to do so.
I'll will dutifully share what I learn with you all!
 

Terry

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The problem with the Cimarron is mainly the trapway, which has not improved since it was introduced.

Class 4,5,6,7 are marketing terms now.

The numbers mean nothing.

In real use, a Toto class 4 is equal to a Eljer class 7
A Eljer class 7 and Toto 4 are better then the Kohler class 5 and 6

All of these use a 3" or larger flush valve.
But you still have to look at the trapway. That is where the clogging occurs.
The Cimarron trapway has too tight of bends where it leaves the bowl.
It does clog more then other trapways out there in real use.

If you look at quality of construction, and consistent rinse, then the Toto class 4 comes out at the top.
Toto doesn't keep changing the number, they are the ones being chased.
4 was meant to be a classification for commercial products.
That's as high as you get.

The other manufacturers can come out with
Newer, bigger, surreal, octofying, suptregasping, amectacking, unreally, wackanobby,
it doesn't change a thing.

My personal experience with Class 6 Cimarron, is that the rinse is now 360, but still not very good.
 
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43sbest

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Class 6 Cimarron

I recently remodeled our master bath and had a choice of the Kohler Cimarron (class 6),Toto Drake or several other toilets at no cost. A couple of years ago the company I work for added to our office and installed Drake's in the two new restrooms. For my remodel I chose the Cimarron comfort height and also replaced the toilet in our other bath with the Cimarron. To me the class 6 Cimarron is not only a better operating toilet but it is also more appealing than the Drake. The soft close seats are the cats meow and the entire seat can be removed in about 5 seconds which makes cleaning around the top of the bowl so much easier.

Just my opinion of course.
 

Terry

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Kohler Cimarron One-Piece, Class Six

cim_1_trapway.jpg

The trapway on the Cimarron lays flat, hopefully waste makes it through the tight bend for the flange.
This is where I find the most plugs with the bowl.
Not a good design.

cim_1_inside_tank.jpg

Looking inside the Kohler Cimarron one-piece tank.
The toilet was installed one year ago.
The flapper is leaking on this one and refilling about every two minutes.

cim_1_top.jpg

The toilet looks nice on the tile floor.

cim_1_bowl.jpg

It could use better bowl wash.
Much of the bowl never gets touched by water from the under rim jets.
 

Reader Review

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am a professional handyman and a former building engineer. I install between 8 to 12 toilets per year and repair/rebuild
another 20. I installed my first, and last, Kohler Cimmaron four weeks ago. A single, middle-aged woman has had the
toilet clog five times since installation. A normal, even large plunger will not seal so that option is out. I have had to
auger the unit four times. I even removed and re-set the toilet, just to make sure nothing had clogged the line. Today

I removed the unit and returned it to Home Depot. I picked up a Toto Drake from the local plumbing supply. I need to
see how this performs. My son-in-law is a plumber and has had numerous problems with newer Kohler toilets clogging.
I've had some luck with American Standard Champion 4 but not with the Cadet 3.


C Schertizing
 
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fyoungrn

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I replaced my old 70s toilets (2) with the Kohler Cimmaron almost 2 years ago. It was taking 2 or 3 flushes to get rid of solid waste, plus the water usage was bothering me. I was looking for a low-water volume, high-pressure flush toilet, and the guy at Lowe's recommended this one. He called it the "big dump" model! They had a sheet that compared different models, and it did say that the Cimmaron was rated lower in the bowl cleaning department, so I knew that going in. I am very happy with them, they flush everything with one flush, and I have not had any problems with clogging, even with my husbands "big dumps." For the occasional "cling-on" I just don some disposable gloves and use a toilet wipe to take care of it (I'm a nurse so dealing with human waste is not a problem for me). I have been very happy with them so far.

The one problem I had early on was that the float was not set properly so that the toilet kept running. That was a simple fix, just followed the directions that came with the toilet.

Now I have a different problem which started last night. The tank fills up very slowly. I'm going to reference the picture of the innards on page one of this threas. I apologize in advance, I don't know the terminology for toilets. The problem seems to be located in the apparatus on the left side of the tank, which has a red cap over it, with a gray shaft running down it. The water is not getting to the little white hose which runs from the gray shaft to the black column located on the right side of the tank. I took the white hose off to check if it was clogged, and it is not. I stuck a toothpick a little ways where the hose attaches to the gray shaft, and it did not appear to be clogged. The interesting thing is, if I turn the water going into the tank off completely for a second, then turn it back on again, it will flow all the way through normally. I'm thinking that maybe there is a stuck valve or a piece of debris that gets unstuck when I turn off the water pressure, but gets stuck again by the time it runs through the flush cycle.

Any help on how to fix this would be appreciated.
 
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