AS Champion Quandary

Hi folks,

So... I went to replace the flush valve seal (which I've done several times) in my Champion 4, and after unscrewing the thumbscrew, the bottom part of the piston slipped from my grasp and disappeared.

Will a plumber be able to fetch that thing from wherever it went, and even if so, would the cost be as much as installing a new one?

Money is an issue, so I'm weighing out whether I should put a band-aid on this one until I can afford the one I want (Toto, from what I've read here), or replace it with a lower priced compromise (???).

My fifteen year old son just walked by and said, "You're on a toilet forum, Dad?... Ha!".

I doubt the the part went very far on your Champion.
You can undo the two bolts that hold the tank, and it should be right there waiting for you at the bowl inlet for the tank water.

My fifteen year old son just walked by and said, "You're on a toilet forum, Dad?... Ha!".

Click to expand...

Tell your son that toilets can be cool. Last Friday Jamie and I installed a Neorest with all the bells wand whistles.
Heated seat, heated water wash, air dry, flushing powered by a pump, and get this; when you walk up to it, the lid opens for you. When you're done, it flushes on it's own. It's all very high tech and comfortable.
A toilet like that is around $4,000

A deluxe, do it all toilet by TOTO

Thanks for the reply.

I called A.S. and they were of no help: she said "well it probably went down the drain". They did offer to send a new flush valve for free, but I cant wait for that (single bathroom home), and quite frankly, I'm fed up with the product.
After reading around here, and elsewhere, I went and bought a Toto Drake, and have called a plumber to install it. I got the 1.6 model, because @ $200 it was over $100 less than the Drake II, and also, having three sons I think I could use that extra flush power.

Thanks again.

TimothyB said:

Thanks for the reply.

I called A.S. and they were of no help: she said "well it probably went down the drain". They did offer to send a new flush valve for free, but I cant wait for that (single bathroom home), and quite frankly, I'm fed up with the product.
After reading around here, and elsewhere, I went and bought a Toto Drake, and have called a plumber to install it. I got the 1.6 model, because @ $200 it was over $100 less than the Drake II, and also, having three sons I think I could use that extra flush power.

Thanks again.

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You are going to love the Drake! And I think you will appreciate the simple design. No fancy-shmancy flush valve "system". Just a typical flush valve and flapper -- just oversized. As you probably read, if/when you need a new flapper, you can get the replacement factory-authorized Korky "Fits Toto" flapper at Lowe's, as well as at many local hardware stores, like Ace. Same for the fill valve if you ever need a new one.

I, at least, love to hear people's reaction to it, so let us know!

(For what it's worth, and I only tell you this in case you live in a jurisdiction where you can get some kind of rebate for a 1.28gpf toilet, there is a version of the original drake that looks just like yours, sells for essentially the same price, and is 1.28 Watersense-certified, and so is eligible for a rebate in those places that give rebates, which are often up to $100. The Drake II is actually a totally=different toilet while this EcoDrake is identical to the regular Drake except it has a different fill valve and flapper in the (otherwise-identical) tank. In fact, the bowl part of the Drake and EcoDrake are the same these days, it's just the tank that is different inside. The tank for the EcoDrake is ST743E while the 1.6 gpf tank is ST743S. So...if the plumber hasn't come yet and the supplier will let you swap the tanks and then you can get a rebate, maybe it's worth looking into. Otherwise, the 1.6 Drake, which is what I have, is a marvelous toilet that you will definitely enjoy! (And if there's no rebate for a "Watersense" toilet in your jurisdiction, then no reason to make any change.))

See here for list of jurisdictions with rebates. Your Drake with the Eco tank would be listed as model CST744e or CST743e

http://www.epa.gov/watersense/rebate_finder_saving_money_water.html