Toto Soiree or Guinevere review, installing, comments and pictures

[Terry]

Either one would be fine.
I have an Ultramax II with 1.28 installed with double cyclone, it works fine.

[blevinson]

When they use the term eco when describing the Soirée and the Guinevere are they merely talking about the 1.28 GPF toilets?

We have a local rebate program for installing low flow models. It's not much and only covers two toilets, but....

For the 1.6 it's $50 and $100 for the 1.28. Considering the cost of the toilets is it really worth it to buy the 1.28 if available or should they both run about the same?

[Reader Review]

A friend of mine purchased a Guinevere from you a while ago and is very happy with it.
R Bolger
Los Angeles CA

[dinkledoodle]

It's worth it to go eco, not only because of the good you do the Earth by saving water, but for the dollar savings from using less water. The toilet is the largest single user of water in the average home (I always thought it was the shower).

The difference from 1.6 to 1.28 gpf is not petty. Saving 20% of your flushing costs can add up really fast. We figured upgrading our Soiree to the eco version will pay for itself in less than 2 years. After that it's all free money.

And then there's that whole saving the planet for future generations thing...

[Terry]

The handle for the Guinevere
Pretty nice.

[midnightshow22]

I put a Toto Guinevere into my bathroom (the only one functioning at the moment all the rest are gutted) 2 months ago, and I have had no problems with it.

[Terry]

Looking inside the tank of the Toto Soiree


A Soiree in an older home in the Ravenna neighborhood.


The TOTO Guinevere

These older homes have 14" rough-ins.
Since the Toto with skirted base lets me change the rough-in, I can still pull the bowl back closer to the wall.
I can install these at 10", 12" or 14"

[Reader Review]

Dear Terry & James,
Thanks so much for all your help.
I love my new TOTO!!!

Maggie
Seattle WA

[fred54]

I'm thinking of replacing an ancient eljer with a Soiree. My supply is fine left to right (8 inches), however it is 8 1/4" off the floor and Toto says it should be at 4 1/2". Is that a potential problem? It would seem to me that as long as I can connect the supply to the toilet without crimping the flexible connector I should be good?

Thanks.

[Terry]

My supply is fine left to right (8 inches), however it is 8 1/4" off the floor and Toto says it should be at 4 1/2". Is that a potential problem?

As long as the shutoff doesn't hit porcelain, you will be fine.
There are many ways to bend a supply that doesn't kink.
We've even installed right behind the bowl up high, there is a little indent there, it worked out fine.

[lennym]

We're trying to choose a toilet for a new bathroom. There are reports on another forum of problems with the washdown of the Guinevere. Could there be a significant performance difference between the original and the "eco" versions? If so can the new ones be retrofitted or tweaked to use 1.6 gallons?

In another bathroom we have had a Toto Carrollton for 6 years and have never had to plunge. The G-Max design seems to generate enough flow so that the siphon pulls the waste down rather than pushing it down. Does the "Double Cyclone" system generate enough flow to do the same thing?

Thanks for any help.

[Terry]

The 1.28 works fine.
If you look in the bowl, and it looks like you have given it a real "work out"
Just hold the handle down a bit, and let that much more water drop from the top tank.

You can flush with as much as 2.2 gallons that way.

[lennym]

Terry,

How do you account for the thread in the other forum? You posted to it. Could it be venting?

In any event, if someone has that problem can the Guinevere or Soiree be "tricked" into using 1.6 gallons with an ordinary flick of the lever? A part replacement perhaps? My toilet is going into a guest bathroom.

Thanks.

[Terry]

How do you account for the thread in the other forum? You posted to it. Could it be venting?

which forum,
There was a real nice post I did on the Guinevere with stats that is no longer there.
The other forums don't let me say much without deleting.
I try to keep it real and honest,
It's funny the posts they do keep.
Most of it is just wild guesses, and then those start getting repeated as fact.

Venting has nothing to do with it.

If the line is not clear, that would make a difference.
Or if there is something in the trapway that slows things down, that matters.
Homeowners always tell me the trap is clear, but when I pull toilets, I find all kinds of things that "weren't there"
They might have been missing those things for a long time, but nobody remembers "placing" them in the bowl.

The world is shifting to 1.28 gallons.
If you need more, hold the handle just a bit longer
Remove the weight that causes the flapper to drop so quick
Replace the flapper with the blue Korky Flapper for Toto.

I've been installing a lot of the 1.28 toilets.
They're out there, and working fine.

[Reader Review]

Hi again -
Toilet is working great (so far!) Bathroom looks better, too.
S. Wood
Seattle WA