Toto Drake toilet product review

[Peanut9199]

With low flush toilets not all the water needs to drain from the tank it usually is half.

[Reader Review]

Terry,
Thanks very much. Here's a little feedback on the whole affair for what it's worth...
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Your crew was great in answering all my questions along the way. We knew we wanted to spring for a Toto Drake instead of any old cheap toilet, but we were short on cash, so I opted to do the install myself. I'm always overly cautious and not entirely confident in my skills when it comes to anything in the realm of home maintenance.
Usually a trip to a Home Depot or a Lowes leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth as the staff seems less interested in or tolerant of someone with less of a grasp of the proper skills or terminology. Not so with you guys. I was treated with respect and given easy to understand information and advice, and I can't begin to tell you how appreciated that was. At times, customer service seems like a dying art form, but your crew proved that it's alive and well.
PRODUCT
Our old toilet never did the job properly ... sometimes it took up to
3 flushes to clear. After it actually achieved flush it took a good 2 minutes to refill the tank, but 75% of the time that required jiggling the handle once ... maybe twice ... sometimes 3 times. Before I replaced it, the tank lid was split in two ... a direct result of my ongoing frustrations with suffering through using that ridiculous toilet every day.
We love our new Toto Drake. It takes 20 seconds from depressing the flush handle until the thing is refilled. The flush is amazingly quiet. As odd as it may sound to say, getting this new toilet just took my daily stress level down quite a few notches.
Thanks for the informative (and entertaining) web site, your GREAT well-informed crew, fantastic customer service....
Matt

[gardner]

I read this thread about installing a Toto Drake on a thick ABS flange...

I just picked up a round Drake CST743 1.6 liter toilet based on the great reviews I found here.

Just in front of the drain outlet there is an area that is slightly too low to fit above the ABS flange. This left the toilet resting on the flange at this point

So I had to shim the weight-bearing ridges up that high to get a good solid mounting.

I'm worried now, as I have a thick ABS flange set on top of a finished porcelain tile floor. I'll have to check with my depth gauge when I have a chance (not at home now) but I'll bet it is 5/16th (8mm) thick.

Am I also going to have trouble with fitting the horn of a drake over this flange?

Is this something that happens with toilets? I mean I have a perfectly fine flange that I bought from a good plumbing supply just a few weeks ago, installed, according to the best practices I can find, screwed down to the top of the finished floor.

I'll be bummed if this winds up limiting the choices of toilet I have or causes some install nightmare.

Gnarfledonk, if that is your name , I don't suppose you have any pictures of the offending part of the base? Any thoughs of whether it was a manufacturing defect? Would a touch with a diamond wheel have cleaned it up to fit properly?

[planetiowa]

I had been led to believe the Toto would solve my toilet problems. It solved one, while creating others. The toilet flushes well. But, it doesn't have enough force to dislodge spatter above the water line. I didn't even think water cascaded down the inside until the factory had me put my hand in there. Yuck. The customer service rep suggested I preflush to moisten the inside of the toilet. Of course, if that is done, not much water is being saved. I haven't tried it, and I doubt it works. I'm still looking for a toilet which will shoot some water down the sides. Otherwise, I sometimes have to clean it with a brush. Ridiculous.

All toilets since 1992, that is now sixteen years, use 1.6 gallons or less.
Maybe you should look at a toilet that has been taken out of someone's home.
There is only so much you can do with 1.6 gallons.
The current reviews are for new toilets.
I don't have ratings on antiques, Terry

[Probedude]

I'm am going to get one of these, but don't know if the price difference is worth it.

Eco Drake EL 600 map
Eco Drake EL ADA 900 map

I keep reading about people getting the 1.6 gpf Drake, but my water company has a healthy rebate on a 1.28 GPF model.

Will I miss the 300 difference in map if I don't get the ADA model? The ADA model is ~$90 more in price. This is going in my daughter's bathroom (she's 9) so the ADA height may actually be a negative.

TIA,
Dave

[Terry]

I have the standard height EcoDrake with 1.28 gallon tank installed, it works fine.

[jadnashua]

A pound is approximately 454g...think four sticks of butter end-to-end. More than most people ever dump. The extra on the ADA height is essentially because of that extra height...the water has further to fall and takes more with it. For most people anything over 500g is more than enough. For a young girl, the ADA height might be uncomfortable, but is the same height most public restrooms are set at. And, she might be on the basketball team before she leaves the house...so, it's your call.

[Probedude]

A pound is approximately 454g...think four sticks of butter end-to-end. More than most people ever dump. The extra on the ADA height is essentially because of that extra height...the water has further to fall and takes more with it. For most people anything over 500g is more than enough. For a young girl, the ADA height might be uncomfortable, but is the same height most public restrooms are set at. And, she might be on the basketball team before she leaves the house...so, it's your call.

Thanks to both of you. Looks like the Eco Drake EL non-ADA will be do the job.

[Redwood]

Truth be told the 900 gram flush is overkill!

[ZaneLockhart]

I don't usually take the time to post product reviews, but I have been so impressed with my Toto Drake (elongated) toilets that I just wanted to add my two cents. I purchased two Toto Drake toilets about 3 months ago. I started by going to Home Depot and Lowes and was looking at top of the line models because I was tired of plunging and wasting water with two-three flushes. Silly me, I thought all high-end toilets would work about the same, but decided to research a bit online before making a final decision. Found Terry Loves website and was impressed by all the information along with consumer reviews. I also found out that all manufactures are not of the same quality.

I had never heard of the Toto brand before and it was not sold in the home center stores. But based on what I had learned, Toto seemed to be one of the top performers, so I thought I would take a chance. I went to a local distributer to see the Toto brands up close and personal. The sales people said it was their most popular brand and they had hardly any complaints after installation.

I typically do most things around the house myself, but decided to use a real plumber to install the Toto's. Again, glad I did. He installed both in about 3 hours and hauled off the old commodes. I have not had a clog since installing them. (By the way Terry - I use the Charmin 2-ply!) The flush may not seem that strong, but it sure works as well as everyone says. Not only does it only use 1.6 gpf, but with my old toilets often having to flush at least twice, I'm saving at least 5 gallons or more water per use. These Toto's will pay for themselves. I splurged and added the soft close lids. They were a little more expensive but they work as advertised and close without a sound. They make a interesting conversation piece after guests use them too.

The only small negative I might have with the Totos is that unlike my previous toilets, the Totos do not fit flush to the wall. There is about a 1-2" gap. I was not expecting this, but when I checked the Toto drawing, it shows the gap. They are designed like this so it was my oversight. However, I now have a large unpainted wall section where the old commode used to be and it is going to be a pain to paint behind that small gap. Had I caught this design issue, I would have painted the wall prior to installation.

The bottom line though, is that I give my two Toto Drakes a "10" rating for performance, looks, & efficiency; and that's what really counts in my book.

Drake 800 grams by Veritech Video

[Redwood]

They do make a small diameter paint roller that should be able to get in there and cover it. I usually mention this in advance to my customers and give them a chance to touch up if they have painting supplies available or can get them quickly. I usually pull the old toilet first then go assemble it while the clean and paint the wall.

[wanderso97140]

I decided to purchase the drake eco model (1.28 gal per flush). Installation was straightforward and I have been pleased with the results. One drawback I've noted however is that the new tank sweats. (Our older 1992 model toilet did not).

The bowl was item C743E.

Are others experiencing any tank sweat with this model? Perhaps my old toilet was an insulated model, but I don't believe so; I think it is more of an issue of less of the water being cleared from the tank, thus the water was warmer.

I'd prefer not to install one of those styrofoam anti-sweat kits (I own one from another house that exhibited this problem).

Is there a Drake tank model that is insulated?

[Terry]

Is there a Drake tank model that is insulated?

The Eco tank only lets out a little bit of water.
If you are "draining" the tank, you must be holding the handle down.

Try just pushing and letting go of the trip lever, the flapper will only stay up for a second. The most of the water will stay in the tank, and you shouldn't have a sweating problem.

Toto does make a ST743SD insulated tank.

[wanderso97140]

Thanks. You're right on the quick flush. As I talked with family members further, I found that the days with sweating were heavier use (such as guests over the holidays). Makes sense that the heavier use would add to it. Also, I think guests are surprised at how little water is required and likely proceeded to empty the tank rather than the quick flush. Since things have gone back to the more standard use, the problem has gone away. I have a 2nd toilet to replace soon, but wanted to test out the drake first on the higher use bathroom. I suppose if the problem returns, ordering an insulated tank and doing that swap could make sense.

[Probedude]

Installed my Eco Drake today. The installation was uneventful. Much shorter flush than the old 3.5gpf 1964 vintage toilet it replaced.

Observations
- bowl has a label stating it's 1.6GPF or less. (Others have mentioned the Eco Drake and Drake are the same other than the flapper float.)

- bottom flange of the toilet was not circular but oval. It was still 2-1/8" at the narrowest. Suprised there would be a lip to constrict the outlet - the trap is bigger than the 2-1/8" exit.

- The shape of the exit path in the bowl is rectangular. I saw posts of people complaining about the Kohler Cimarron being this way which hinders plunger use. I would guess the Drake would have issues too for the rare (hopefully for the Eco Drake) cloggings.

- Flush handle action feels weird, it's not direct acting since it's on the side of the tank and the handle rotation is converted to an upward lift of the arm. Takes a bit of force to actuate. Flapper is pulled up from the center instead of from the lip like the previous toilet's 2" flapper. I wonder how well this handle will hold up over time.

- Great looking toilet! Can't wait to get the next water bill. This along with our new front loader washer I'm hoping for BIG savings!



After the install I have 2 questions:
- Bought and used the 'composite shims' that Terry likes to get the Drake leveled. Question for the pros - do you shim a lot of points on the base of the toilet, or just a spot or two to level and get it to not rock (wondering if I need to 'fill in' a few gaps with shims).

- I saw a post stating that to convert an Eco Drake to a Drake, one just needs to remove the float. Doesn't the flapper have to change too? The way I see it the flapper wants to close immediately all the time and only because of the float does it stay open until the water level in the tank drops to a certain level. Remove the float and now you have a < 1.28 gpf toilet, no?

Dave