The CST454CUFG Drake II 1G is up on the Toto Web Site

[wjcandee]

Just noticed that the "Drake II 1G" is now shown among the Drakes on the Toto web site. There's a photo, but no literature yet.

Different tank and trip lever (not as attractive to me as Drake II regular tank).

CST454CUFG and CST454CUFRG Right hand

List price $580; for comparison the Drake II list is $536.
http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/terr...tml#CST454CUFG

Terry's price in Seattle is $399.99
http://savingwater.org/inside_bathro...#toilet_rebate





Drake II 1G,CST454CUFG, Water Surface 6-7/8" x 8-7/8"
Drake II, CST454CEFG, Water Surface 7-1/8" x 9-1/8"

[SamC]

Right-hand trip lever. Is that standard?

[wjcandee]

The picture I see on the site is a left-hand trip lever, and I don't see any downloads (where the spec sheet, parts list, etc. usually are), so I don't see any variants (like a CUFRG) shown yet. Shows 1 color for now, Cotton White.

This is what I was talking about: http://www.totousa.com/ProductDetail...productid=1214

I have to say that at least in this photo, the new tank seems a little boxier. I think I like the sleekness of the original Drake II tank better.

[SamC]

This is the picture I saw at the Toto web site.

[wjcandee]

Ah. Could just be a reversed photo, or maybe they will make an "R" version. If they're starting with only one color, though, it seems like maybe they're concentrating on filling the initial demand with just one product. Don't know.

[wjcandee]

Spec sheet just became available at the link in my post above. There will be an R option. Available in Cotton White only, I assume for now.

CST454CUF(R)G Spec Sheet

The new spec sheet actually gives a little more info than previous Toto spec sheets. For example, they now give the distance from the back of the china footprint to the finished wall (so you can calculate whether your floor molding is going to ice your installation), not just the minimum distance between finished wall and tank (here, 5/8"). They also show the shape of the footprint, although there are no useful measurements.

Not surprisingly, the bowl for the 1G is different from the bowl for the Drake II.

[SamC]

Have you found any info indicating what specifically they changed, other than the flapper, to make it work well with 1 gallon? You said the bowl is different from the Drake II; any details? Is the waterline higher in the tank?
http://terrylove.com/pdf/cst454cufg_spec.pdf



Fill Valve TSU53A
Flush Valve Thu396
Gasket Seal for Flush Valve 9BU094

[wjcandee]

I have no details beyond what they have said publicly, which is that double-cyclone plus Sanagloss allows more water to be used in the siphon jet for a good flush. Looks like they optimized the trapway, as well.

I do know that it has been said that people should be able to have them delivered by early October.

I don't know about the waterline in the tank. I do know that it is 1.5 inches narrower than the Drake II tank (15" instead of 16.5") and, accordingly, is deeper than the tank on the Drake II.

I'm sure that Terry is privy to a lot more info than I on this.

[Terry]

I'm now selling the Drake II 1G in the Seattle area.
Tacoma, Spokane and Anchorage too.

http://www.easycarts.net/ecarts/terr...tml#CST454CUFG

We still need to pick one up and see how it looks. But they're here now.

[wjcandee]

This is exciting! Given that 1G is a real step forward on water-saving, I expected that Terry would be interested in this toilet. However, it does depart from one of Toto's prime advantages, which is that their gravity toilets use straightforward, no-gimmick, readily-available parts. This thing has yet another fill valve and a complicated-looking flush mechanism. I assume that the fill valve can still be replaced with a 528MP (or TSU99A.X), and that the flush mechanism may be in place to effect a highly-precise metering of the water.

Nevertheless, as I hadn't seen any comments from Terry on the toilet yet, I wondered whether he was just operating under the principle of "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything". It's nice to know that there was a more simple explanation, which was that the toilets weren't yet widely-available.

The few user reviews that I was able to find around the web seem quite positive, but the early-adopters of a toilet like this are likely to be fairly-forgiving as one would assume that they bought it primarily for its benefits to the environment. I am very interested in Terry's take on it once he has installed one and received the owner's feedback.

[Terry]

I haven't had it in my hands yet, so comments will have to wait.

[jcanavera]

Just bought mine over the Internet. Toto said that list price is about $40 more than the 1.28 g model.

This was my first experience in buying or installing a toilet so I was somewhat apprehensive. Bottom line the old Cadet which was 25 years old came out easily. I decided to use a Sani-Seal rather than a wax ring. I'm glad I made that choice cause I can tell you I probably would have ruined a wax one since I did move the toilet around more that what a wax seal would have allowed. All in all it went so well that I'm seriously considering replacing the other toilet in the house. I replaced the toilet in the main bathroom due to the fact that the underwater area had turned dark and we were having to use a pumice stone to get out the stain, only to have it come back within days. The other reason was my wife has bad knees and she wanted an ADA height toilet.

I've been to too many newer homes that have the low water flush toilets only to be disappointed that it took 2 flushes many time to clear the bowl. I did my research and while the Toto is higher priced, we are extremely happy with the flushing power. Just a quick flick of the handle clears all liquid waste, and you can hold the handled slightly longer to dispense a little more water if you wish. The sanigloss finish? Well it's okay but you can't say it is absolutely perfect. We have a very soft brush that we use instead of the old bowl brush. We use liquid dish soap to clean the bowl.

I noted that with the solid performance and easy installation of the new Toto, and after plunging the Cadet in the other bathroom for the third time in three weeks, I'm ready to possibly get a matching Toto for the other bathroom (even though I'm not having the difficulty with stains like the other one). I have a good feeling that this will positively affect the water usage in the house. Those original Cadets were put in over 25 years ago and no one in this part of the country cared about low water units. Here's a picture of the finished installation.

[wjcandee]

Great job! Nice installation! Nice complete review! Thanks for sharing.

I would love to see a photo of the inside of the tank, if you get a chance.

Thanks!

[jcanavera]

Great job! Nice installation! Nice complete review! Thanks for sharing.

I would love to see a photo of the inside of the tank, if you get a chance.

Thanks!

Here you go!

[wjcandee]

Here you go!

Awesome! That flush cable arrangement is fascinating. Looks like the interior is solid and set to last a while. Thanks again!

PS Hard to believe that that's your first install. You really did a nice job!