What toilet to buy? (tank, room, plumber, toilets)

[PokerMunkee]

I need to buy two toilets in the next week. One for our master and one for a new powder room we are having put in.

I'm on a budget, so $250 max for the master and $200 for the powder.

My research is leading me to a A/S Champion 4 for the master and a Cadet 3 for the powder.

Lot of love for Toto on terrylove.com but some of those guys are out there. Looks like you can order a Toto Drake II online for my price range but people on TL say most mail order toilets end up broken.

I've seen Consumer Reports ranks the A/S Champion 4 #1. They also ranked the Kohler Cimmaron (K-3609) as best buy.

I never thought I would be spending hours on researching a toilet!

[RayinAK]

I can't tell which one would be better for you, but when you go to the store to buy the toilets, make sure that you pick ones of the correct heigh for you. For example very low toilets require a lot more efforts to sit on by older or taller people. Since a toilet will last many years, select the features that are more convenient to you and your family, but don't forget about toilet heigh.

[PokerMunkee]

Yeah and you gotta love how the big box stores have their toilets on the second shelf so you can't even try them out!

The wife is 4'11 and I'm 5'11. So I think we are going to go for a standard height.

[wit-nit]

You might want to get opinions from a couple of plumbers at regular plumbing stores and ask them about the pros and cons of the type you want to buy, or what they reccomend.

[maf763]

American Standard is a good brand - your picks should be good to go.

[blazerj]

Same question here. American Standard Champion 4 is the top rated by CR, but I have had some issues with their top picks before. My plumber and a random contractor at the supply store recommended Kohlers.

What I don't understand is how CR has some Kohlers at the top, and 1 at the bottom. Is there really that much variation? The prices are all in the 300 range too.

[K'ledgeBldr]

Two decades ago I saw good, accurate, and totally unbiased reporting from CR-

Today, I have about as much faith in a CR report as I do the weatherman. Know of anyone else who can be wrong upwards of 75% and not get fired?

[Coldjensens]

UNless you can spend a lot, the non-water saver toilets are the best. Watersaver toilets have been mandated in the USA for more than ten years. Probably more than 20. They are crummy toilets, especially the cheap ones. Some of the high end ones now are execellent. However on a budget, you are better off getting a non-watersaver smuggled in from Canada, or an older toilet that pre-dates water savers.

I know there are toilet smugglers who bring in illegal Canadian toilets that work. I do not know how you find one.

Older tolets can often be found at Re-store shops and architectural salvage places. Just don't go too old, or it will not work very well, maybe even worse than a water saver. I think 1940s-1960s is what you are looing for, maybe into the 1970s.

[blazerj]

Well, I'm ok with the water saver. The random contractor that I spoke to kind of said the same thing. He said the Kohlers have improved a lot, because they are on the 3rd or 4th gen of water saver toilets, but all water savers will get clogged and will need to be cleaned more often. It's just a fact.

I guess since we have septic at least my tank won't need to be pumped as much.

So are Kohlers good then?

[PokerMunkee]

I put a champion 4 in our master bath. It works great but I don't like the chair height. Too tall. I put a standard height Cadet space saver in our tiny half bath. Doesn't clean the rim when you leave a large pile. Takes a couple flushes to clean it. But overall I'm happy with it. No clogs either toilet.