If you were stranded on a desert island......

[pinkpajamas]

....and this desert island only had room for a 10" rough in toilet, and that was the ONLY toilet you and your boyfriend had on this desert island, and you NEVER EVER again wanted to pay some dude $175 to unclog that desert island's only toilet, would you choose:

Toto Drake

or

Gerber Ultra Flush 21-311???

Weigh in, please.

 

[TheUniversalDave1]

TOTO Drake for sure! I HATE Gerbers!

 

[Sponsor]

 

[hj]

It might NOT be a Toto, but would not be a Gerber. I would cut down the palm tree behind the toilet so I could use a 12" one.

 

[pinkpajamas]

Let's call it a "vintage" desert island with an existing 11" rough in, leaving no space for a 12" rough, sadly.

If neither, then what? Keep in mind we are not Trumps. I liked Gerber quite a bit until that recall fiasco. Sloan had to custom make my new tank, after three attempts to give me a new factory part. But I so loved the power flush.

 

[Reach4]

Measure your rough-in more carefully. "11 inches" sounds like a measurement give or take a half inch.

I have seen posts that say some 12 inch Toto Drakes can fit onto an 11 inch rough-in because they leave an inch or more of space to the wall when installed onto a 12 inch rough-in.

 

[Koa]

Your boyfriend is going to charge $175 to unclog the toilet?

 

[pinkpajamas]

Your boyfriend is going to charge $175 to unclog the toilet?

No! neither of us could unclog this thing, we had to pay.

 

[pinkpajamas]

Measure your rough-in more carefully. "11 inches" sounds like a measurement give or take a half inch.

I have seen posts that say some 12 inch Toto Drakes can fit onto an 11 inch rough-in because they leave an inch or more of space to the wall when installed onto a 12 inch rough-in.

Pardon me for asking, but if the Drake comes in a 10" rough in size, why wouldn't I use the 10"?

 

[pinkpajamas]

As it happens, I'm using a drake eco flush right now, and it's...okay. It's way more quiet. Maybe I equate noisy flushes with productivity, post Gerber.

 

[Reach4]

Pardon me for asking, but if the Drake comes in a 10" rough in size, why wouldn't I use the 10"?

It would fit with no drama. Some people take pains to minimize the distance that the toilet extends toward the middle of the bathroom.

 

[pinkpajamas]

Yeah, it's not the world's biggest bathroom, and it's our only one, but we have an American Standard Hamilton now and I hate it. I don't want to hate my toilet. I want to love it. I want it to take everything I have to give, and more, in the event of houseguests.

 

[pinkpajamas]

If I could find out if the American Standard Hamilton actually came in an 11" size, that would be interesting to know.

 

[pinkpajamas]

Pardon me for asking, but if the Drake comes in a 10" rough in size, why wouldn't I use the 10"?

And I will remeasure. Thank you.

 

[hj]

quote; No! neither of us could unclog this thing, we had to pay

You are on a DESERTED island. WHO is going to come and unclog it, unless you are like Gilligan and a plumber washes ashore and then sails away again with your $175.00.

 

[pinkpajamas]

OKAY. I got home and remeasured, without taking the baseboard into consideration, and we DO have room for a 12" toilet.
Now the world of toilets is open to us, an almost overwhelming concept.

What, then? My head is spinning. TOTO Ultramax?????? OMG

 

[Reach4]

What, then? My head is spinning. TOTO Ultramax?????? OMG

https://terrylove.com/pdf/ms604-specs.pdf seems to indicate the fit would be good.

 

[pinkpajamas]

Thanks!

My boyfriend is still interested in the Drake.
Drake, or ULTRAMAX?

 

[Reach4]

Thanks!

My boyfriend is still interested in the Drake.
Drake, or ULTRAMAX?

Drake: cheaper, and the pieces are lighter to carry.
Ultramax: one piece means slightly easier to clean, and it looks more elegant. If access is easy and the installer(s) is/are strong, the extra weight to climb stairs etc may not be a big deal. The tank is integral, so no tank assembly required. That extra assembly might be 5 minutes for a plumber or 120 minutes for a novice.

Edit: when you discuss this with your boyfriend, you might translate elegant to impressive.

 

[pinkpajamas]

hmmmm. I had a one piece and loved it. People tend to lean back on a two piece and that can harm it, I've learned. We are first floor, so that's not a problem. I'm intrigued by the double cyclone and the CEFIONTECT the ultramax features.

 

[Wallijonn]

http://www.gerberonline.com/downloads/specs/Toilet/HE-21-311.pdf

The Gerber doesn't look that bad. 2" trapway instead of 2+1/8" for the Toto. But uit does have a nice rounded and smooth trapway. If the Gerber can take a regular round plunger, I'd probably lean towards the Gerber instead of the Toto that needs a trapezoidal plunger. As to clogging any toilet - don't use double ply paper, go instead with Scott 1-ply 1000 sheet paper and only use as much as from the paper dispenser to the floor, or about 2 feet at a time.

It's shortcoming is that it is at the regular 14.5" height. Most new toilets are now coming out in ADA heights. The problems usually surface when in the bathroom you have an extended counter top that goes over the tank lid. Then you have to make sure that the height is under 30". Probably about 28.5" to be able to remove the tank lid. Which doesn't make sense either because you won't be able to get to the innards.

That Gerber would probably be ideal for those that have baseboard heat behind the toilet. It doesn't have the largest water spot size though, at 58.796". The UltraMax II and Drake II 1.28G ADA have 65.015", whereas the Drake ADA has 85.59".

I don't know about the Gerber Power Flush but the Toto Drake is phenomenal. You can't really appreciate it until you see a Kohler without siphonic action slowly swirling and taking a long time to complete a full flush. With the Toto you depress the handle all the way down and let the handle go. That's it - "slurp," it's gone. It takes 20 seconds to refill the tank.

If your counter top is at 30.5" (30" high cabinet and 0.5" high counter top) then you will probably want a toilet that is that high, like the Eco Drake 1.2gpf CST744EL, which is 30.5". It probably doesn't matter to most people, though, as looks account for a lot, so a nice looking tank makes a big difference. The Drake II CST454, to me, is a masculine looking toilet. To me the Toto Entrada and the one piece toilets are feminine looking. Sorry, but to me the Gerber tank is hideous.The two-piece toilets usually have better MAP scores than one piece units and the ADA toilets have higher MAP scores than the regular height two piece toilets.

You may want to search for YouTube.com videos and look at all of them before making a decision.