Toto/Aquia

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TPA

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Holes in rim

My Aquias just arrived today (haven't been installed yet, probably going to be a week or so before the plumber arrives). I just noticed that the holes in the rim are different sizes. I'm assuming this is by design (knowing Toto), but just want to confirm. The 2nd Aquia is sitting underneath the first one, so I don't have easy access to it right now.
 

Mike50

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TPA said:
My Aquias just arrived today (haven't been installed yet, probably going to be a week or so before the plumber arrives). I just noticed that the holes in the rim are different sizes. I'm assuming this is by design (knowing Toto), but just want to confirm. The 2nd Aquia is sitting underneath the first one, so I don't have easy access to it right now.


Yes. Mine has the graduated hole sizes as well. Congrats.
The robust lesser .9 flush will exceed your expectations.

Mike
 

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Thanks for the reply Mike.

I figured this was the only time I'd ever want to get THIS close to the toilet. Once they're hooked up and in-use, toilets aren't exactly places where you want to poke around and investigate. I'm an engineer, so of course, I have to totally over-analyze things.

I'm shocked at how deep the bowl is. No doubt, this is a large reason why the toilet is skirted. The bowl is nearly 15" deep, with an estimated water spot that's 8-9" deep. For reference, my POS American Standard toilets only have a water spot that's 4.5" deep if you're looking at the total depth of the water, including the bottom of the trapway, only 1" deep in the bowl (on both the elongated POS AS and the round POS AS.) Ironically, the surface area of the water spot in the Aquia is nearly identical to the POS AS Compact Elongated I have... so the extra depth of the Aquia should be a real improvement and reduce the odor issues I've had with the AS. Likewise, the POS AS Round's tiny trapway and shallow water spot meant that most of the solid waste was exposed to the air. So, in my case, the dual-flush toilet looks like it's going to have less soiling and smell associated with its use.

Basically, I can "see" how this is going to work...and I believe the varying rim hole sizes are engineered to maximize the fluid dynamics, very clever. I'm very impressed with it. For once, something which I look at and haven't had something stand out as being in need of improvement. I also can see where the Toto seats come into play. If you're lined up with the "funnel", then all is well. If not, then it'll be a less than optimal experience. I did order the Toto Softclose seats... couldn't justify the extra $$ for the Softclose Oval seats and I don't think they quite look as good... hoping the seat on them isn't that different from the regular Softclose.

Other things I've noticed and liked:
1) How small it is! This is an "elongated" toilet, but it's smaller in size than the POS AS Compact Elongated and the POS AS Round, drastically so. The Round is 28" long, the "Compact" Elongated is 30" long, while the Aquia is only 27". Even the width/size of the tank is tiny! If you thought you didn't have room for an elongated toilet, take a look at these, you might be surprised.

2) It's far better looking than I thought it'd be... I know, I know... it's a toilet.. but it actually looks good. Just changing out the toilets is going to make a difference in my bathrooms.

3) Concealed water supply. This toilet is about as close as it gets to a 1-piece toilet in terms of looks & such...but at the same time, I've never seen a toilet where the water supply line can be concealed.

If they perform even half as good as they look, I'll be happy...but have a feeling they'll perform far better. At any rate, just looking at the engineering on them, they'll easily outperform the POS AS toilets I've come to hate. At the same time, the AS toilets have given me a possible 2nd career path if I ever choose it, as I've become well-versed in the usage of a toilet auger with those.

Also, does anyone have any good dual-flush signs or possibly a .PDF version of the sticker on top of the tank? I'd like to remove the stickers, BUT want some way to notify my guests of the "proper" use in a tasteful manner. The dual-flush makes such sense to me. This past weekend, I used an old 6-gallon toilet from the 1940's... seemed like such a waste to use 6 gallons to flush down a minimal amount of urine.
 
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Mike50

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TPA said:
Thanks for the reply Mike.

I figured this was the only time I'd ever want to get THIS close to the toilet. Once they're hooked up and in-use, toilets aren't exactly places where you want to poke around and investigate. I'm an engineer, so of course, I have to totally over-analyze things.

I'm shocked at how deep the bowl is. No doubt, this is a large reason why the toilet is skirted. The bowl is nearly 15" deep, with an estimated water spot that's 8-9" deep. For reference, my POS American Standard toilets only have a water spot that's 4.5" deep if you're looking at the total depth of the water, including the bottom of the trapway, only 1" deep in the bowl (on both the elongated POS AS and the round POS AS.) Ironically, the surface area of the water spot in the Aquia is nearly identical to the POS AS Compact Elongated I have... so the extra depth of the Aquia should be a real improvement and reduce the odor issues I've had with the AS. Likewise, the POS AS Round's tiny trapway and shallow water spot meant that most of the solid waste was exposed to the air. So, in my case, the dual-flush toilet looks like it's going to have less soiling and smell associated with its use.

Basically, I can "see" how this is going to work...and I believe the varying rim hole sizes are engineered to maximize the fluid dynamics, very clever. I'm very impressed with it. For once, something which I look at and haven't had something stand out as being in need of improvement. I also can see where the Toto seats come into play. If you're lined up with the "funnel", then all is well. If not, then it'll be a less than optimal experience. I did order the Toto Softclose seats... couldn't justify the extra $$ for the Softclose Oval seats and I don't think they quite look as good... hoping the seat on them isn't that different from the regular Softclose.

Other things I've noticed and liked:
1) How small it is! This is an "elongated" toilet, but it's smaller in size than the POS AS Compact Elongated and the POS AS Round, drastically so. The Round is 28" long, the "Compact" Elongated is 30" long, while the Aquia is only 27". Even the width/size of the tank is tiny! If you thought you didn't have room for an elongated toilet, take a look at these, you might be surprised.

2) It's far better looking than I thought it'd be... I know, I know... it's a toilet.. but it actually looks good. Just changing out the toilets is going to make a difference in my bathrooms.

3) Concealed water supply. This toilet is about as close as it gets to a 1-piece toilet in terms of looks & such...but at the same time, I've never seen a toilet where the water supply line can be concealed.

If they perform even half as good as they look, I'll be happy...but have a feeling they'll perform far better. At any rate, just looking at the engineering on them, they'll easily outperform the POS AS toilets I've come to hate. At the same time, the AS toilets have given me a possible 2nd career path if I ever choose it, as I've become well-versed in the usage of a toilet auger with those.

Also, does anyone have any good dual-flush signs or possibly a .PDF version of the sticker on top of the tank? I'd like to remove the stickers, BUT want some way to notify my guests of the "proper" use in a tasteful manner. The dual-flush makes such sense to me. This past weekend, I used an old 6-gallon toilet from the 1940's... seemed like such a waste to use 6 gallons to flush down a minimal amount of urine.

Yea. The design is So good I consider it revolutionary. Design people love it.
Engineers love it. Big home run for Toto.
You are one the first people who really nailed it-why this puppy works so well.
They basically said "Hey..lets shape a graduated bowl in a funnel configuration....then blast 9/10 gpf at a high rate of speed focused at the hole/trap..."
Voila! Dual flush. Then wrap it up in a minimalist skirt design.

Your observations are very astute and appreciated. I really enjoy reading the engineers POV.

Live without stickers first and see how it goes. I was going to color code mine--but never needed to.

You've joined the rather embarrasing club of Aquia owners who will parrot out.."Hey before you leave Bob-- I want to show you My TOILET!!.."
Weird but true.

:D

Mike
 

SteveW

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TPA said:
3) Concealed water supply. This toilet is about as close as it gets to a 1-piece toilet in terms of looks & such...but at the same time, I've never seen a toilet where the water supply line can be concealed.


As someone about to buy an Aquia, the concealed water supply actually kind of bothers me. How accessible is the shut-off valve - is it behind the skirt? That would seem to be a bad design.
 

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SteveW said:
As someone about to buy an Aquia, the concealed water supply actually kind of bothers me. How accessible is the shut-off valve - is it behind the skirt? That would seem to be a bad design.

The shut-off is on the wall wherever you put it, so it is as easily accessible or as hidden as you (and your plumber) desire. The "concealed" part is that the supply line ends up entering the tank through the back of the bowl rather than directly to the bottom of the tank. If you look at the toilet, the tank's bottom is entirely covered by the bowl, so it has to work this way for the toilet to look the way it does. As far as I'm concerned, it's a non-issue, but maybe someone who's installed a couple of these can comment better. To be honest, that skirted design of this toilet is what caused me to buy these for my new place instead of the old trusty Drakes & Pacificas I have at my other residence.

See this image, graciously stolen from another thread:
aquia_angle.jpg
 
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TPA

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Mike50 said:
Yea. The design is So good I consider it revolutionary. Design people love it.
Engineers love it. Big home run for Toto.
You are one the first people who really nailed it-why this puppy works so well.
...
Your observations are very astute and appreciated. I really enjoy reading the engineers POV.

Live without stickers first and see how it goes. I was going to color code mine--but never needed to.

You've joined the rather embarrasing club of Aquia owners who will parrot out.."Hey before you leave Bob-- I want to show you My TOILET!!.."
Weird but true.

Thank you Mike. I figured this was the only time I'd ever consider getting my head near a toilet, and I wasn't exactly the type to "ride the porcelain train" in college, so I had little experience with my head in the bowl. :)

The stickers were pre-applied on my Aquias. While I understand Toto's reasons for doing this, I wish they had left them separate, or included a second set. I'm thinking of doing something along the lines of a chrome version of the water droplets & 1.6/0.9 gallons and having it in a small, neatly framed plaque immediately behind the top of the tank.

As far as being one of the club, I've been that for a long time... I've had Toto Pacifica toilets since 2001, so I've gotten plenty of comments from guests upon such unusual looking and quiet fixtures. Then again, I'm know to have unusual fittings in my homes. Imagine a stove which doesn't get hot to cook food, or light switches which aren't actually connected to the lights they control. These and many other odd things permeate my homes and my friends and guests seem to enjoy the peculiarities. I kept on threatening them that I was going to put a squat toilet in the guest bath. I've not let them off the hook yet, telling them that my Asian toilets arrived and I can't wait for the plumber to get them installed. The story was made even more credible by telling them they were from Thailand (one of my friends is a Thai national and had squatters at her house there). The next dinner party should be fun. :)

abak_pacifica.jpg

TOTO Pacifica CST808
 
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Mike50

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TPA said:
Thank you Mike. I figured this was the only time I'd ever consider getting my head near a toilet, and I wasn't exactly the type to "ride the porcelain train" in college, so I had little experience with my head in the bowl. :)

The stickers were pre-applied on my Aquias. While I understand Toto's reasons for doing this, I wish they had left them separate, or included a second set. I'm thinking of doing something along the lines of a chrome version of the water droplets & 1.6/0.9 gallons and having it in a small, neatly framed plaque immediately behind the top of the tank.

As far as being one of the club, I've been that for a long time... I've had Toto Pacifica toilets since 2001, so I've gotten plenty of comments from guests upon such unusual looking and quiet fixtures. Then again, I'm know to have unusual fittings in my homes. Imagine a stove which doesn't get hot to cook food, or light switches which aren't actually connected to the lights they control. These and many other odd things permeate my homes and my friends and guests seem to enjoy the peculiarities. I kept on threatening them that I was going to put a squat toilet in the guest bath. I've not let them off the hook yet, telling them that my Asian toilets arrived and I can't wait for the plumber to get them installed. The story was made even more credible by telling them they were from Thailand (one of my friends is a Thai national and had squatters at her house there). The next dinner party should be fun. :)

Firstly, I like the idea of the framed sign you are going to do. This metal leaf media would work really well for your design concept BTW:
http://www.houstonart.com/metalleaf.asp
I work with it weekly.

Ahh. We have this in common--trying out new technologies. Im interested in hearing about those features you mention.

As for me: I heat my home with a wood burning pellet stove.
One bedroom has no floor covering at all. Gray Concrete slab-thats it.

My office/art desk is actually a brand new Kobalt rolling tool chest on casters which I had fitted with a glass top.
And I'm painting my kitchen with some Hollywood Special FX metallic paint soon. Etc.

I have great admiration for people willing to take chances with these things.
It's Not always easy and it doesn't always work.

And uh..oh yea... My ex-wife is a Thai National who I met at the local Embassy in Los Angeles. She is actually now my best friend.




Mike
 
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rdiz

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I just finished a bathroom remodel and installed one of these toilets based on the recommendations and reviews posted here and other sites. The toilet has a nice design and looks good in the bathroom. However, I'm very dissatisfied with the flush of solid waste. There is good bowl wash action at the higher levels, but the bottom leaves skid marks every time. I need to flush four or five times to clean the bowl. What's the point if it doesn't clean the bowl?

I replaced this toilet with a seven year old Kohler Wellworth which cleaned the bowl 95% of the time and costs much less. I'm going to try and exchange the Aquia with a Drake. Hopefully, it will perform better in the bowl wash of solid waste.
 
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