Toto Ultramax product review, comments & pictures

[Reader Review]

Hi Terry,
Thanks for taking the time to create such an informative web site.

We are working on a home addition which when complete will replace our 1949 bathroom with 2 bathrooms. We had already decided we wanted an ADA toilet in the master bath. When my toilet with the tank bolted on the wall continued leaking (into bowl recently even after replacement of the ball, I decide to go ahead & purchase one of the new toilets for the addition & get it installed in the old bath & then just move it into addition later. After research including your site & the MAP tests, I narrowed my choices down to Drake or Ultra-Max. My wife wanted the one piece UM instead of the 2 piece Drake so I shelled out the extra $ for it. When I went to order from the wholesaler, they informed me that Toto was in the midst of switching from 1.6 to 1.28 gal flush models so I decided to go ahead & purchase both toilets while I could still get the 1.6g model. The old cast iron toilet flange is well over ½” above the floor, not allowing the toilet to sit on the floor when on the flange so I had a friend who makes Corion countertops cut out a piece of ½” Corion from a template for the toilet to sit on. Got the ADA model on & all hooked up. Works great. Now I just have to fix up the wall where the tank was bolted & get the addition finished. This thing flushes really fast & is a little noisy at the end of the flush (when it sucks the air down) for middle of the night flushes, but we have yet to have to flush twice. My wife is VERY happy, & the water bill should be back down next month as a result of the replacement.

I was also wondering if you have any idea on any uses for the antique that I removed or who may want it? Round bowl with a huge wall mounted tank & chrome pipe in between. Flush valve needs replacing but I knew I couldn’t use one of the plastic ones since the threads don’t go to the end of the flush valve on those to be able to affix the nut to hold the chrome pipe.

Anyways, I just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you for the advice & the web site.


Best wishes,
E Hobbs,
Corapeake, NC

[Terry]

A cutaway of the Toto Ultramax showing the sweeping trapway,
and how it points the waste down the drain.
That little dip will hold water between flushes too.
It helps to fool it into thinking the trapway is smaller, which creates more suction.
When the solids are sucked though, it finds a round 2-1/8" trapway.

http://www.terrylove.com/pdf/toto_cst854_2.pdf
How a Toto toilet flushes

[Jetta Whirlpool Baths]

I believe this is the thread for this, but if not someone can create a new thread with this info. Now with that being said....


Now introducing the Ultramax II:

http://www.totousa.com/ProductDetail...2-4642d3ceb28c

AKA the one piece Eco-Gwyneth. I dont understand why Toto is renaming it, but still a great value.

Not to be confused with the Eco-Ultramax 1.28 flush ADA Sanagloss toilet. No Cyclone flush, only available in white and $135 MORE!

Or the Eco Ultramax 1.28 flush ADA toilet. No Sanagloss or Cyclone, also only available in White and $66 MORE!


I am all for Toto giving such a great deal on the Gwyneths but at the same time they seem to be pricing other models out like the Drake and the Ultramax. Any one know if anything else changes with the MS604 other than the name?

[kartuli]

Terry, you say on your site that the Ultramax is your first choice - but the Drake and the Gwyneth are both cheaper, with higher map scores than the Ultramax. What is it about the Ultramax that makes it your first choice?

Thanks!

[Terry]

Any MaP score "over" 500 grams is overkill.

I have a 305 V-8 engine in a rear wheel drive Chevy Nova with drum brakes and an AM radio.
Goes fast, doesn't stop worth a darn. Crummy bench seat in front, no leg room in back.

Which is better, that or a Toyota Highlander with ABS four wheel disc brakes, four wheel drive, overhead cam engine with electronic fuel injection and satelite radio.

I drive the Highlander. Much better for skiing.

I like one-piece toilets.
For looks and cleaning.
And they come with the softclose seat.

And My next one will be the Toto Soiree.
Love the skirted base, sanagloss and the style.

If I were buying the Drake, I would get that in Sanagloss too.

[Peanut9199]

Terry, you say on your site that the Ultramax is your first choice - but the Drake and the Gwyneth are both cheaper, with higher map scores than the Ultramax. What is it about the Ultramax that makes it your first choice?

Thanks!

The Drake is a 2pc toilet and the Ultramax is a 1pc toilet.
Ultramax has a Map test of 700 and the Gwyenth is 500.
If your looking at the Eco-Ultramax it is 500.

[simagic]

I just installed the Ultramax model MS854114SL. I seem to have a flushing problem and was hoping that someone in this forum could help me. Here's the situation. When the tank in full, there is 7 inches of water in it. When I flush it, the water quickly drops down to 4 inches. Less than 1/2 the water is flushed. It appears as thought the flapper doesn't stay up long enough to allow more water to come out. The toilet supposed to flush 1.6 gallons per flush. So this is what I did. As I said the tank when full has 7 inches of water in it, so I scooped out enough water to bring it down to 4 inches of water and then measured the amount of water I removed from the tank. That came out to just a little more than a gallon. So I'm clearly thinking something must be wrong. I was hoping someone out there with the same toilet could let me know if their toilet has the same measured drop in water in the tank ( i.e. from 7 inches of water when tank is full to 4 inches of water after the flush )
Is my toilet flawed ?? Help

[Terry]

There is water that drops from the tank,
And there is water that comes from the fill valve tube that refills the bowl.

Add the water in the tank, to the water in the bowl, and then a little more for the overfill.

Most of the old five gallon toilets used a little over 2 gallons on the actual flush, and ran another 2 gallons down the drain while "overfilling" the bowl.

That's one reason the old toilets that used so much water worked as poorly as they did, most of the water would leave the bowl, long after the flush. Sometimes water would run down the drain for two minutes after a flush.

New toilets use their water much more efficiently.

[simagic]

Terry.
Thanks for the reply about the water amount, but I'M STILL NOT SURE
AND IT'S STILL NOT CLEAR TO ME if having 4 inches remaining in the bowl after the flush would be normal or not. 7inches when filled ...4 inches when flushed??????
Do you have one you could look into and flush and see if the results are the same as mine? I'm not getting a great flush and that's why I think that 4 inches remaining might be not normal. Any chance of checking one you have??
Thanks very much for your time....Simagic

[Terry]

Only some of the water leaves the tank.
That's true for every new toilet since 1992.

The flapper is designed to drop quickly.

How a Toto toilet flushes

[jadnashua]

They use the height of the tank like a water tower to generate more pressure during the flush. What you have is entirely normal. Coming from an old toilet that took forever (in comparison) to flush, it just doesn't seem like it could work, but at least with Toto designs, it does. After a week or so, you'll wonder when you flush an old toilet what's wrong and think why is it still running!

That water going down the overflow tube will be the 'rest' of the water of a 1.6g flush. It's needed to fill the bowl back up again.

[Reader Review]

Mr. Love,
I am writing to express my thanks for the great service you did by posting your "Consumer Report on Low-flow Toilets" on your website. In the process of remodeling my two bathrooms, I did a lot of toilet shopping and web searching, which turned out to be very time consuming and quite worthless until I stumbled onto your report. Trips to the big home improvement stores only provide about 1% of the information you need to make an informed purchase, and trips to plumbing supply showrooms and company websites were useless for comparative or real-world performance information. I had never even heard of Toto, but after reading you report I immediately bought a Soiree and an Ultramax, installed them myself, and am totally satisfied with their performance.
Incidentally, I had never remodeled a bathroom or replaced a toilet before, and your website is the best resource I have found for a novice seeking useful information. Now I even plan to replace the other two toilets in my house because the Toto's are so superior.
I used to live in Lake City and have recommended you to all my old Seattle friends. I've also sent your website to more than a dozen folks whenever the subject of bathroom remodeling comes up. Attached are few photos of my bathroom project.
Thanks again, R Ferek
Arlington VA

[Reader Review]

I am so happy with the Toto UltraMax toilet that I purchased from you that I want to post my experience.
P Chatard
Camano Island WA

[Terry]

The lid for the Ultramax


Looking inside the EcoUltramax tank

[Terry]

We installed six of these bad boys in Redmond yesterday.
They qualify for the $100 rebate in Cascade Water District.

http://www.terrylove.com/toilet_rebate.htm