1970 Kohler Wellworth with a cracked base

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I've been watching that one for quite a while now. I wish I could buy it, but Jersey is too far to drive. Not to mention the $200.
I got my Fresh Green one on eBay. The guy had two brand new ones, still in the box and accepted my offer, which included free shipping. He didn't pack it carefully and the bowl was broken, but he sent the bowl from the second one. I really want to install it in one of my bathrooms, which is probably what I will do eventually. Now, I'm gonna get blasted by wjcandee in New York Ci-tee for implying that I MIGHT replace one of my 1.28 GPF toilets with a 3.5 GPF. LOL!!!
 

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The house I grew up in, and where my parents still live, had 1963 Kohler Wellworths, one pink and one blue. Their first replacements were 1990 American Standard Cadets and then were upgraded last year to Right Height elongated Cadet 3s. Someone bought those Kohlers for $5 each!
 
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I love my Kohlers! Here is my 1962 Wellworth and my 1965 Bolton. Got em for $10 and $20 respectively.
 
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My favorite is the cracked one that started all this. In my entire toilet career, I have yet to see one clog. The trapway is huge! I know of two still in use, and they have a super long slo-mo flush. I think that's so cool.
 

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View attachment 29336 My favorite is the cracked one that started all this. In my entire toilet career, I have yet to see one clog. The trapway is huge! I know of two still in use, and they have a super long slo-mo flush. I think that's so cool.
The contractor who built my parents' house and most of the homes in this tiny town primarily used Wellworths like this one after 1967. He used quite a few Gerber Mount Vernons and occasionally American Standard Cadets. For some ungodly reason (probably because it was cost-effective), he switched to Mansfield in the 1990s. Those late '60s to mid-70s Gerbers used to terrify me because they flushed with such force. LOL!
 
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The house I live in now has a 1978 Gerber Mount Vernon and I highly dislike it. It always leaves paper behind, and as soon as I get a nice Kohler at the Restore, out it goes.
 

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The house I live in now has a 1978 Gerber Mount Vernon and I highly dislike it. It always leaves paper behind, and as soon as I get a nice Kohler at the Restore, out it goes.
That seems unusual. Even though by '78 they were 3.5 GPF, they still worked well. Maybe the siphon and rim jets are partially blocked. Try this and see if it helps: Get a gallon of "green" muriatic acid from any hardware or home store. Place duct tape securely over the rim jets. Plunge or sponge or otherwise remove about half of the bowl water. WEARING EYE AND SKIN PROTECTION and with the area well ventilated, pour 1/2 gallon of the acid through a funnel into the overflow tube in the tank so that it passes through the flush valve. Pour the other half into the bowl. After an hour or longer, remove the duct tape. Brush the bowl thoroughly, especially in the rim jet, siphon jet and trap areas. Flush a couple of times. You might see an amazing difference and your toilet bowl will sparkle. Also make sure the water level in the tank is set to 1/2-inch below the top of the flush valve overflow or to the water line marked inside the tank.
 

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View attachment 29308 View attachment 29309 I got a new toilet today at the Restore. It's one I've been looking for for a very long time, and when I saw it, I was thrilled. However, my elation was short lived, because the base is cracked in two places. I got it anyway, at a discount, but those cracks worry me. I will be rebuilding it with all new parts, when I can afford them. Until then, l'll just clean it up. Also, the trap looks to have bad calcium buildup. Does anyone know a good way of getting it out? In the past, I used a flat screwdriver, but a screwdriver won't reach up there.
See my post regarding your '78 Mount Vernon about the calcium build-up. As for your Kohler rebuild, if you want to stay close to the original, Korky makes the "bulb" type flapper that these Wellworths had. It's red instead of black, but that's good because of the chemical resistance. If these toilets are to be used, I really don't understand why you wouldn't want to replace the old float ball fill valve with a newer Fluidmaster or Korky. They work SO much better and are SO much more trouble-free. If this is something of a collecting hobby for display or whatever, then I understand that you'd want to keep them as close to original as possible. But good luck finding OEM parts for anything over 10 years old.
 

WJcandee

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I got my Fresh Green one on eBay. The guy had two brand new ones, still in the box and accepted my offer, which included free shipping. He didn't pack it carefully and the bowl was broken, but he sent the bowl from the second one. I really want to install it in one of my bathrooms, which is probably what I will do eventually. Now, I'm gonna get blasted by wjcandee in New York Ci-tee for implying that I MIGHT replace one of my 1.28 GPF toilets with a 3.5 GPF. LOL!!!

Nah. There's plenty of water in Tennessee.
 
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Terry, can't you take them to the Restore? That's just wasteful to me. Here I am killing myself trying to find this toilet, and you're just throwing them away like they're nothing.
 

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Terry, can't you take them to the Restore? That's just wasteful to me. Here I am killing myself trying to find this toilet, and you're just throwing them away like they're nothing.
I suggest that you contact a local plumber or two. Identify what you are looking for, and establish a bounty.
 

Terry

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Terry, can't you take them to the Restore? That's just wasteful to me. Here I am killing myself trying to find this toilet, and you're just throwing them away like they're nothing.

In the Seattle area, we're more concerned about water supply. We get most of ours from snow melt, and some years are very lean.
Seattle offers a rebate for toilets taken out of service. That means they get destroyed.
It's kind of fun smashing them. :)
 

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Nah. There's plenty of water in Tennessee.
In my case, there really is. My tiny town (pop. 2,200) sits right on the Tennessee River from which we draw our city water supply, which is then recycled at the water treatment facility. And, the 3.5 GPF will be in a rarely used bathroom. I'll use it once a week just to keep it lubricated.
 
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