New Crane Economizer?

**CurtP** · 02-06-2006, 07:15 AM

Hello,
At our old house in Virginia Beach, I had installed a Crane Economizer that had a Flushmate pressure vessel. It always worked great and it never clogged. The only problem with it was the duckbill valve wearing out and needing replaced about once a year.

In our new house outside of Chicago, we have the original 1995 toilets which no longer flush very well because of hard water deposits. They're low-flow units and I suspect that they never did well even when new. I've been looking at the new Crane Economizers at a local home improvement store, but the new versions have PF/2 pressure vessels. How do the PF/2 compare to the FM? I'd like to go elongated bowl, but they only carry them in round.

We have set a budget of $200 or less per toilet and I need three of them. Because of previous experience with the Economizer, I'm sold on pressure assist. However, after reading reviews, the Toto Drake looks to be a good choice too. I have found them online for under $200, but shipping costs drive the prices up considerably. The sites that advertise "free shipping" are $275+ per.

Any suggestions for other toilets to look at would be appreciated too.

**Scott** · 02-06-2006, 10:59 AM

Before you further consider a PF/2 system, I suggest you contact Crane and find out how much longer they'll be using that particular system. I would also ask about technical support and the cost and availability of replacement parts. Last year Eljer moved away from PF/2 and now uses Flushmate's system. It wouldn't surprise me if Crane did the same.

My experience has been that PF/2 parts are either unavailable or extremely over-priced which is unfortunate because the system is prone to failure. It's not a case of "if", but of "when".

Extreme water conditions will speed the deterioration of the Flushmate duckbill valve but it's an easy fix and parts are readily available (usually for free) from Flushmate. If you enjoy the effectiveness of pressure-assist fixtures, Flushmate is the only way to go.

For my money, pressure-assist is the only choice, but like anything else, consider your options and make your decision based on what's right for you.

**CurtP** · 02-07-2006, 07:19 AM

Thanks Scott.

I'll try to call Crane today, but I suspect that they won't say much, if anything, about upcoming models. I'm sure they want to move as much of the existing inventory before the new ones come out.

Are there any other inexpensive pressure-assist toilets that use the FM? Eljer is considerably more expensive. How about any good gravity-flush toilets available from most home improvement centers? I have a feeling I'll have to either order online or go to a plumbing speciality center.

I really liked the FM in our old Economizer. Duckbills are less than $1ea online, and I kept about a half-dozen of them on-hand. I was afraid the PF/2 wouldn't be as reliable which is why I asked.

**BlueHouse** · 10-26-2011, 03:19 PM

The Economiser has been redesigned and it's not getting better. In fact, its gotten a lot worse. Good choices call for the Kohler FM systems. Terry agrees that these are the best by far.

**Gary Swart** · 10-27-2011, 12:42 AM

You seem to think pressure assisted toilets are the answer to making low flow toilets work well, but here something to ponder. Toto is the largest manufacturer of toilets in the world. The make numerous models, all perform exceptionally well. Do you know how many models have pressure assisted flushing? Answer: Zero. Might there be a reason? Just saying.