In price shopping on line for a pressure assist toilet, I’ve noticed that the the ones I can reasonably afford, the tank and bowl are sold separately.
Since I would love to save money and rather buy just the tank and use my old bowl, but I wonder if the two are compatible. I’m not sure I would get an honest answer from a plumbing supply company that would certainly want to sell me both. And the guy in my local big box might give me wrong info, wouldn’ be the first time. I surely would hate to see my first flush end in an shattering of my toilet bowl. That would be messy and costly.
Any ideas or point in the right direction?
Thanks!
This is purely an opinion, but when we remodeled both bathrooms last year, we had Kohler Cimarron toilets installed. They are designed to provide a more powerful flush without the air assisted problems, and have an adjustable water usage thingy in the tank; we’ve been happy with them. You might consider them as an option.
As is the case with two-piece toilets, one can look them up in a manufacturer index, such that if you currently owned a Fleur 1.6 elongated 12" rough in white, you’d note that a complete fixture would be comprised of a T1234W, and a B5678W. Then, you could check on the power flush versions, and if a given model also mates with a B5678W, then you’re safe in assembling the two.
Modern 1.6 gallon toilets actually work now and do the job on one flush. We’ve only had two clogs over the past three years with our three TOTO toilets. You just need to get the hang of holding the flush lever longer for a full flush. If you just flick the lever, you get about a one-gallon flush.
I don’t like pressure-assist toilets in homes because they make a lot of noise. They’re a really bad choice for something like a master bathroom unless you want to wake up your mate in the middle of the night.
I hadn’t really thought about the noise of a pressure assist. I’m familiar with the ones in an office building I have meetings in once a month, and the initial noise is loudish, there’s not the looooooong tank filling noise the one I’m looking to replace makes.
I do have a TOTO downstairs that I put in when I finished the basement, and it is an efficient 1.6 gallon flush.
I was looking for the most water saving toilet. Right now there are 4 people in the house, and yet another son is moving back in. The town I live in has some pretty pricy payment tiers for water, and toilet usage is going to be an issue.
But since the one I’m replacing is on the main living area and a shared bathroom with the master bedroom, maybe I better look at the others ya’ll mentioned.
For another consideration on water savings, look at a fixture which offers dual flushing mode. Several manufacturers provide units which flush at ~ 1 gallon for liquid waste, and 1.6 for solid waste. Toto, Kohler, and Vortens come to mind, but you’ll need to see what plumbing suppliers in your area can get.
I just checked with my brother, the master plumber. He says no. You do NOT mix bowls designed for standard flow with pressure assisted tanks. They have different water jetways, and the end result will not work as well. The cost of the matching bowl is minor compared to the labor of installing the unit and risk of clogging using the wrong tank/bowl combination.
He installed a Gerber dual flush in my home and I love it and have never clogged it. It’s handicap height, and sitting on a non-handicap height toilet now feels strange. The dual flush is great, and the .9 gallon urine flush actually works fine for most BM’s. And as a man, the elongated bowl keeps the dangly bits from contacting cold porcelain.
He has previously had a Toto and a Coroma in his home, but those occasionally clogged. The Gerber never has. By the way, he has nothing good to say about Kohler, which looks great outside but terrible construction and favors Delta for faucets.
Never underestimate the value of quality plumbing.
Check out the Toto ECO-Drake 1.28 gallon or the Aquia Dual Flush. The Aquia averages (and qualifies for rebates) 1.28 gallons with the option for liquid flushing at .9 gallons and works very well. The Drake also scores very high on the MaP tests.