T0T0 Drake toilet product review

Solid waste sticking to side

dtinEnid said:

... 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?

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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.

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.

Mikey said:

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

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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.

Toto Drake 3 year review

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

Toto Drake is excellent

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

Reader Review said:

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

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

Ottawan said:

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

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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?

Ottawan said:

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?

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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!

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

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

Toto Drake on thick ABS flange - problem?

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

Gnarfledonk said:

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

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Gnarfledonk said:

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

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Gnarfledonk said:

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

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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?

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

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Is the difference enough to justify the price? EcoDrake ADA

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

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

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.

jadnashua said:

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.

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

Truth be told the 900 gram flush is overkill!

Toto Product Review

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

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.

Drake toilet tank sweat

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?