Advice about an American Std Savona one piece toilet

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I hope I can get some good advice from this informative forum. I have an American Standard one-piece 1.6 gpf toilet in my upstairs bathroom from a bathroom remodel about 15 years ago. Love the look of the toilet, but performance has always been a problem. (All serious bathroom business is best conducted in the downstairs bathroom ancient toilet ;-). I was planning to replace the upstairs toilet as part of a large home remodeling project because I'm tired of the clogging. But on a recent Green Built home tour, I saw a 1960's navy blue toilet that had been converted to low flow with a conversion kit. Wasn't able to ask the homeowners about "performance" issues, but it got me wondering. Is there a toilet repair/conversion kit available that would provide better results with my current American Standard? What are the brands to use or to avoid? Is this just wishful thinking on my part and should I just suck it up and buy a new Toto?

Sorry for the long message. Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.
 

Reach4

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It seems to me that you would want a modification that increased the amount of water for each flush. Start by holding down the flush lever during the flush to see if this improves flushing. If so, then a flapper mod that lets the flapper stay open longer could solve the problem.

Another action would be to raise the level of the water in the tank before the flush. If the tank does not fill to within 1/2 inch of the overflow level, you could manually add water to the tank as a test. See if the flush improves. If that works, adjust your fill valve or get a new one that will allow easy adjustment.

If the water level fills to near the top of the overflow, it is possible to extend the overflow tube. Then raise the level.

I am not a pro.
 

WJcandee

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With all due respect to my friend Reach, I am absolutely convinced that no amount of additional water is going to help the hideous flushing capability of most of the toilets built at the beginning of the new standards. We had a horrible Kohler that was also very beautiful, but a terrible flusher. If you filled the tank to the brim and held the flapper open all the way until it drained the entire tank, some 5 gallons, it would still clog. It was just a terrible design and there's nothing more to say about it. Probably the same is true for your American standard toilet. It gave me great satisfaction to hit the Kohler toilet with a sledgehammer, and dispose unceremoniously of the pieces. I replaced it with a simple Toto Drake, and for the life of me I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. The performance difference is just night and day. If you want something prettier, there are some really spectacular looking Toto one-pieces. do yourself a favor, and just get rid of the thing. You will be much much happier.
 

Terry

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Fifteen years old? Is it the Lexington by American Standard?
If so, it's the toilet. Most anything will be better.

And don't bother trying to improve a poor toilet by using a water reduction kit on it. It uses 1.6 gallons now and is pinched by the poor trapway design. There is no fix for that.
 
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I don't recall the model name. There's a number embossed into the underside of the lid - 2095/97, I think. Hard to read.

Wasn't really concerned about further reducing water use as much as avoiding the clogging problem. I suspected there wasn't a fix other than to replace it. Thanks for everyone's input and advice.

savona-flush-valve-2.jpg
savona-flush-valve.jpg


as-savona.jpg


American Standard Savona
 
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WJcandee

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It was a smart question. Why buy a new one if you can somehow modify the old one so it works well? But sadly the answer is pretty definitive that you can't.

PS Our member "SewerRatz", Ron Hasil of A-Archer Plumbing in Chicago, is a knowledgeable and respected Illinois-licensed plumber if you ever need one...
 
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