Toto Drake toilet product review

[PaulZ]

I recently had to replace an old toilet that just wasn't performing (solid waste just wasn't making it down). I initially purchased a kohler cimarron but after reading more and more, primarily this site, I took it back (prior to installing it), bought the Toto Drake and installed it.
All I can say is, "thank you." This toliet performs. Upon the first flush, I wasn't so sure it could do the job. But during the real tests, it's doing the job and has yet to clog or fail to get solids down.

Thanks again!!
Paul

[AstroProf]

Hi,

I posted a while back about the possibility of leaky Drakes. Well, we went
ahead and bought two, and while we like the overall functioning of the devices,
we are having *serious* problems with leaks. Both of them leaked at first;
we called the plumber back and he replaced the washers. The secondary
toilet has not leaked since, but the primary toilet started leaking again.
He tried again to fix it, and it started leaking again. We had the tank replaced
and it was fine for a few days, then started leaking again. The plumber
tried again yesterday, and today it started leaking again. We are at the
point of trying to return this and get a Cimmeron or something, but I thought
I would ask here if anyone has had this trouble or if there is something
we can do about it. We're going to try using our secondary toilet as the
primary for a while, to see if it's *using* it that makes it leak.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

PS Oh, I thought I should add: the leak seems to be coming from the right
bolt (as you face the toilet), and it's consistently from the same spot, throughout
this whole process.

For Installation Instructions

[jadnashua]

The important thing in the instructions for you is: take a piece of sandpaper and smooth the area around the bolt hole in the tank. Takes all of about 10-seconds. Then, install the bolts and washers as indicated.

[mapetrone]

If you are really worried about leaks I would upgrade to a one piece.

It is a bit tricky to read the entire instructions before assembly. The directions are straight forward, I just couldn't find them when I installed the toilet because they were on the bottom of the Tank box. (My wife laughed at me while it was leaking because I didn't read the instructions, so I made her help me take it apart and redo it.) You have to finger tighten the first bolt and then turn 1/2 or 3/4 then slowly tighten the bolt again on top of the bowl. Just read the directions or have the plumber read them.

My dad is a general contractor and I called him when I did not find the directions. He told me just tighten everything together, well that is when it still leaked. So when I was taking everything apart my wife found the directions and we followed them. No problems since.

The downstairs toilet is older 6 gallon flush and it didn't care how you put it together when I replaced the washers. The toto is pretty specific. Just get a one piece and be done with it.

Good Luck,
Matt

[Reader Review]

want to thank you for your help recommending the TOTO Drake. I just installed one and it works great. I really appreciate your website and your help locating a dealer local to Colorado.

S. Cox

[titan77]

The Drake is the best. I have (3) with sanagloss in my home. Nothing beats the flush!

[Gnarfledonk]

I just picked up a round Drake CST743 1.6 liter toilet based on the great reviews I found here. I had to go with the round version since the bathroom is a bit too small for the elongated bowl. Installation had just one slight problem: 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 and thus rocking between the forward and rear supports. I checked and my floor is level and flat with the flange installed on top of the existing seamless vinyl.

With the toilet upside-down, I used a piece of wood the same height as the flange to compare to the spacing between the raised area and the plane formed by all the weight-bearing ridges, the outlet edges, and the outer skirt edges. Resting the wood piece on the raised area, it stuck up about 1/16" above all the other points.

So I had to shim the weight-bearing ridges up that high to get a good solid mounting. I used some of the blue plastic plates that are sold as electrical box covers at Lowes and HD. I made a paper pattern of the bottom of the toilet and marked the location of the four weight-bearing ridges. Then I used the pattern to screw the plastic plates down to the floor in the right places. The result is a flawless solid mounting with no rocking at all.

This toilet is terrific! I am really impressed and so is my wife. The most amazing thing is the super fast flush. It takes less than two seconds and EVERYTHING is gone! It is a wonderful improvement over the old 1990's toilet it replaced. That one reached the point it would slowly fill up, swirl around for a while, and then just stop without ever getting enough water in the bowl to flush.

[brucedelaplain]

... Solid waste DOES leave its mark, though. Another flush doesn't wash it away and it usually needs brushed.

Do any of the other models clean better while keeping the famous flush?

Yeah, that's a big problem. That's the reason I'm on this forum now -- wanted to see if anyone else has it. Your post is the only one I've found that mentions it.

I called Toto and they told me to flush the toilet before using it -- to wet the bowl. I will try that. When I asked if this was a problem with every 1.6 gal. toilet, he said yes.

I hate to think that I'll want to leave instructions for guests on how to use the toilet. But that may be better than one guest finding a leftover from a previous guest.

[Mikey]

I think I've seen maybe 2 or 3 "skid marks" in the 3 years we've had our Drakes. Maybe we a) have a different diet or b) aim better ?

As an aside, I see bowl brushes beside/behind many residential toilets, and most commercial toilets these days, so I think most people understand the problem, and probably don't need a lot of instruction.

[Peanut9199]

Maybe we a) have a different diet or b) aim better

Might seem funny but it is true for most 1.6 toilets.
(a) Have had a few customers complain and it came back they had medical conditions that produced hard stools.

(b) Have had a customer because of height of the bowl had to sit closer to the front and stools would not hit the water mark.

[achutch]

October 22, 2008 marks the 3 year "service anniversary" of my Toto Drake, the Comfort Height model.

It was installed in the main bathroom to replace a Kohler Cimarron that didn't rinse.

The water is from a regional system that serves many of the towns in the Burlington Vermont area. That system uses chloramine rather than chlorine as part of its treatment.

To date, the Drake has never clogged, flushes everything every time, and the original flapper and Korky Quiet Fill have so far withstood the chloramine in the water.

It has also significantly lowered my water bill, even though the rates have risen.

Would I recommend this toilet? The answer is YES!

achutch

[dbjannapolis]

Hi folks, had to finally replace my 50 year old American Standard and w/o doing any research (and being on the spot) my plumber recommended the Kohler Wellworth elongated. It clogged on the first use and took days of trying different things to finally clear. I then ran across this site and read as much as possible for several days (thank you for being here). The plumber then said he would replace my Wellworth with a new Kohler Cimarron. I said no thanks, get me a Toto Drake.

The new toilet was installed this week and it has been excellent. Everything flushes completely! I have had no problem with leaking, no problem with skid marks (there seems to be plenty of bowl wash), and it is not noisy to me at all. I could not be more satsfied. The owner comments on this site really helped me make the right selection...finally. I wish I had searched for information before buying the first toilet.

David

[Ottawan]

love my Toto Drake. Thanks to your website, I listened to your reviewers and opinions and purchased the Toto Drake. As my plumber said, "Flush one second if no paper and two seconds if paper" - says it all to clog free use. Thank you for your wonderful website! God bless.

Violet from Miami

Do you actually have to hold the handle down depending on what kind of job the toilet has to handle?

[Ottawan]

Do you actually have to hold the handle down depending on what kind of job the toilet has to handle?

I should have added that I am having Toto Drake toilets installed as I write this message and the plumber seems to think that he may have to adjust the chain because the flap does not stay up, as it does with traditional toilets, to let all the water drain from the tank. Is this normal for the Drake? Should one have to hold the handle down for a second? Or is it the case that not all of the water in the tank normally drains out during a flush?

[Redwood]

I should have added that I am having Toto Drake toilets installed as I write this message and the plumber seems to think that he may have to adjust the chain because the flap does not stay up, as it does with traditional toilets, to let all the water drain from the tank. Is this normal for the Drake? Should one have to hold the handle down for a second? Or is it the case that not all of the water in the tank normally drains out during a flush?

No, it is not necessary to hold the handle.
The water delivery from the tank to the bowl is so efficient that it is different from most toilets.
The transfer takes place in a blink of an eye and that is one of the things gives the Toto Drake its slammin flush...
The Trapway out of the toilet is engineered to give the most rapid possible transfer of the waste in the bowl to the waste pipe also.

Just drop a big one in there and hit the handle. The toilet will do it's job! The first time everytime!