Toto SS204 Seat reviews?

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Hi-

I've got an Eco-Drake elongated, standard height on order but haven't decided on a seat for it. In a recent thread the Toto SS204 was recommended/shown as a soft close alternative to the standard Toto soft close. I have some experience with the standard Toto seat at my in-laws and don't like the funnel like contour of the seat itself. (And much more importantly, the spouse objected to it...I haven't been married this long without learning to listen carefully to such input.)

What are your thoughts/reviews of the SS204 seat? Is it a good conventional seat choice but with soft close? Any regrets? I realize the price is a stretch.

Thanks!
 
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Thanks for the info.

Oh well, back to the drawing board. I'm not keen on the look of the SS214. Might have to settle for Bemis or some other standard design. At least it won't be expensive.

I wish Toto had some sort of comparitive images of the contour cross sections of their toilet seats. I've not seen them at suppliers so they really need to improve their online presentation.
 

Peanut9199

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I looked again and the SS204 is flatter than the SS114 it's hard to see but here's a picture of the two.

SS204 SS114.jpg

SS204 on the Left & SS114 on the Right
 

Peanut9199

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Here is the old style SS114 on the Left and the SS224 on the right and this is much flatter and kind of looks like a SS154 Traditional seat.
The new SS114 is now flat.

SS114 SS224.jpg

and here is all three together

SS204 SS114 SS224.jpg
 
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Terry

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We sell a lot, I mean tons of the SS114 with the curve.
763 of the SS113/SS114 in the last year.

And 75 of the Church 540 and Church 585 seats that are flat.
Not too many people like the flat seats.

So many previous customers come back and want the seat again.
I laugh everytime someone gets the flat style.
Flat is not good.

I sold 22 of the SS204 seats last year

The Toto softclose seat is the one that customers have been buying the most of.

update 3/29/2014
The TOTO SS114 and SS113 have been flat for some time now. If you want a dished seat, Kohler now has some.
 
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Jadnashua

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I wonder if people that use the flat(er) ones are those that tend to have more skid marks. The curved one tends to center your butt over the water spot. If you crowd the front of the toilet, it won't be as comfortable, and you'll miss that spot, requiring manual cleaning of the toilet.

My doctor told me try to never sit longer than 3-minutes as the pressure and straining can create hemorrhoids. So, the long-term comfort isn't that big a deal.
 
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My doctor told me try to never sit longer than 3-minutes as the pressure and straining can create hemorrhoids. So, the long-term comfort isn't that big a deal.

Who has to strain to take a dump? Something is wrong with a person's plumbing, diet and/or excercise level if it takes that much work to get it out.

On a related note, I actually find the ADA height to be somewhat counterproductive to proper positioning for taking care of business. So perhaps that is why some like the funnel--it might correct some of the problem of the additional height. I'm not going ADA height for my master bath toilet. With all the stairs we have that particular toilet is the least of the worries for those with limited mobility/flexibility. I will probably put an ADA height on the main level through.

Are the skidmarks noted in a few Toto comments predominantly in the front? Or rear of the bowl? With the 1994 Gerbers (~150 MaP for the optimistic) skid marks are at the back, not the front of the bowl.
 
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Thanks for the pics and info, folks. The end was somewhat anti-climactic: I found an inexpensive Westport that I liked in one of the big box stores. I'll try it for awhile to see if I want to transition to something else.

Once again I had to install a spacer ring since the contractor who did the tile work didn't raise the flange and instead had used a jumbo wax ring. While that had been working on this toilet, the other leaked with the same arrangement. This delayed the toilet install until I could catch the supply house open with the Sioux Chief ring I needed.
 

Wallijonn

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Has anyone ever measured the thickness of the SS204 and the S114? Say from the bottom of the pad to the top seat ridge? (definitely not to the top of the cover).

I just finished installing my CST744E 1.28gof Drake and the problem I feared reared its head: the toilet seat. I knew going in that a 14+5/8" high toilet would be low. I knew that what I wanted was a wood seat since these are usually taller than plastic seats. The CST743E diagrams state that the bowl skirt to mounting holes distance is 18.5". So I bought a Bemis wood seat that said that the distance was 18.5" on the cover. Nope, it over hung the bowl by about 1/2". So I went and bought the same Kohler seat as I have on my ADA Drake. The seat is easily removable and there are two positions available, normal and "+". In the shorter position it overhangs by about 1/4". Unfortunately the Kohler seat is 3/4" thick while the Bemis is 1+1/16". I want the thicker seat.

I don't really see the need for a soft close seat seeing as sooner or later the springs will probably lose their tension and the seat will slam any way. Why hasn't occurred to toilet seat manufacturers to make wooden seats with plastic covers? It's only the guys that are likely to raise the seat, say to urinate, and they are more likely to let it slam down when they're not thinking. Soft close seats only allow the cover to close slowly, not the whole seat, so I see little advantage - as a guy, obviously.

Anyone know of a wooden seat that is about 1" thick, or more, and that fits flush with the Drake toilet?
 

Reach4

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The CST743E diagrams state that the bowl skirt to mounting holes distance is 18.5". So I bought a Bemis wood seat that said that the distance was 18.5" on the cover. Nope, it over hung the bowl by about 1/2".
I think you are saying that your toilet matches the drawing, but the Bemis seat was not sized appropriately for that.

huge6.png

It seems that "ring thickness" is the search term you want, but I suspect you have used that already.
 
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Terry

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The Bemis and the Church extend more than the TOTO seats.

The softclose, or slow closing works for both the seat and the lid. They last and last. And it saves me having to touch the seat much.
The times I really notice is when I've hurt my back. I'm rather tall, so bending down just to set a lid or seat down can be very painful at those times.

Toilet seats in general.
In the US they make two sizes; regular and elongated.
Any hardware store will carry about twenty seats to choose from.
Add to that, bidet seats, Washlets, Handicap seats with hand rails, raised seats, open seats, closed seats, padded seats, wood, oak, plastic, clear plastic, guitar shapes, seats with lids and seats without lids, secured seats, and clip off seats.
Seats may be flat, or they may be dished. Wide seats for big bums, every seat you can find is out there.
 

WJcandee

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Here is the Mayfair 148E2 Elongated Slow-Close Wood Toilet Seat With Lift-off Hinges, on a Toto Original Drake bowl. I like the slow close feature, and the lift off hinges make cleaning a lot easier. It goes for more or less $40. I can't seem to figure out how to rotate the image...sorry....

The wood on the seat itself is about 3/4", according to my tape measure, and with the spacers underneath, the top of the seat is about 1 inch (maybe a smidge more) from the top of the porcelain. It does overhang a little bit, now that I look at it very, very carefully, which is something that I candidly never noticed.
 

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Wallijonn

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wjcandee,

Thanks.

That second picture denotes an overhang that may drive me crazy, but at least yours looks rounded. On the Bemis the lip over hang was very sharp at the bottom.

If you look at Peanuts' first picture the seats look like they under hang, that the porcelain is protruding past the seat lip. Obviously it may fit the Drake perfectly. But when one considers that the price for the SS204 is about $65, I'm not about to take the chance. At least not without knowing its thickness. Peanuts' picture seems to suggest that they're about 1" thick. I'd like to know for sure.

I heard some mention of the AS seat being liked by some. Unfortunately they were all sold out at my local HD. The AS wood seat has no dimensions on their spec sheet. And the other AS specs don't measure from the bottom of the toilet seat pads and include the cover. What good is that?

Guess I'll be walking into my local ACE hardware, Target, WalMart, Lowes and HDs with a tape measure... What I really should walk in with is a paper template, or a 'T" square with built in ruler.

Then there's the cover... :D Such a silly thing, but you know that some people really liked the old Toto cover looks...
 
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Wallijonn

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I think you are saying that your toilet matches the drawing, but the Bemis seat was not sized appropriately for that.

Yep. The box in the store listed it as being 18.5" When I go to the Bemis website the spec sheets say 18.75". For my Drake that's about 1/2" too long. Maybe I'll just go with a Toto seat. The problem is that when I go to the HD website the Toto S114 is listed and the seat looks pretty thin.
 

Reach4

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Guess I'll be walking into my local ACE hardware, Target, WalMart, Lowes and HDs with a tape measure... What I really should walk in with is a paper template, or a 'T" square with built in ruler.

You could use a caliper as the tool of choice.
 
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