Calling KOHLER Aficionados!

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I have a question about Kohler. I recently got a 1970 Kohler Wellworth that was cracked in two places and has a very fragile tank. I compared this toilet to my 1962 Wellworth, and I was shocked at how much thicker the '62 was. Does anyone know what year Kohler cheapened their manufacturing, and if any of the late 60's and 70's Wellworths have the thick clay? The 70's generation is my favorite generation of Wellworth - for its super long 5+ gallon flush.
 

WJcandee

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Don't let it bother you, Dave. Some of the pros take a purely-pragmatic view and occasionally bark at the numerous "enthusiasts" on the site. These cranky old meanies will nevertheless give kind and good advice on the subjects they are interested in. And some of the same guys take pride in their ability to do stuff like identify a faucet make and model from a handle or a spout, which is the same kind of "trainspotting" interest as wondering about the timeline of production changes at a major manufacturer, so it isn't rational and shouldn't concern you.
 

hj

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For your information, Kohler does NOT advertise when they change production methods, so NO ONE, other than MAYBE an old engineer at Kohler would be able to answer your question. Given the way pottery is made, the differences may just be from one batch to another.
 

GoKohlerGo

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I'm gonna say it was right around when they switched to the 1967-1974 version of Wellworth. The porcelain isn't too thin on my Kohler toilets.
 

WJcandee

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Dave, as a new member, you should know it isn't necessary or helpful to respond about the tone of people's posts here. You may think that a member is cranky one day, and then you will find that they are amazingly nice and helpful on another. Let it go, and you'll be happier, and we will all more or less get along.
 

Terry

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When I broke into plumbing, they insulted you to see if you could take it. They didn't want to waste time training you, if you were going to quit on them. Reading the above posts, I thought hj was just pointing out the obvious in a matter a fact way. It was a question with no good way to answer it.
However with that being said, there will be water shortages in certain parts of the country, and watching water swirl around isn't big on my list.
I will say that from a cost saving measure, many companies have tried to find ways to reduce costs. Sometimes that means less clay in the process.
From my standpoint, it's not a big deal. I worry about quality of workmanship and how it works. I prefer a lot of the new stuff over the old.
 

Wallijonn

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If you have a 5gpf toilet from 1962 then I assume that you have been living in that house since the '60s.

I would wager that Kohler changed over to thinner pottery when they went to 3gpf toilets and again when they went to 1.6gpf toilets. Or perhaps when they found that installing a brick into the tank to save water didn't work. Or perhaps when toilets were being made for warmer states, the thinking being that perhaps thicker clay would help more in colder climates.

How did you acquire this '70s Wellworth? Shipped or picked up at a local toilet distributor? Habitat For Humanity?
 
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