K-1954 Kohler Touchless Flushing Retrofit

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Terry

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Kohler has a retrofit to add touchless flushing to toilets. We sometimes get asked about how to add this, and here's the kit.
K-1954





k-1954_product_2.jpg



k-1954_product_4.jpg


Conversion for many cannister Kohler tanks.

k-1954_product_6.jpg


Seems like a cool idea. You can either keep the original flush lever, or simply remove it and go completly touchless.
 

SteveW

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Just learned about this on a big box site. Kohler has an installation video. Thing that caught my eye on the video was the rotary action for the actuator and the fact that it seems to keep the flapper fully off the valve seat for 5 seconds. This would seem to me to defeat low-flow flushing since it won't allow the flapper to rapidly go back down and seat.

Am I missing something?
 

Terry

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Just learned about this on a big box site. Kohler has an installation video. Thing that caught my eye on the video was the rotary action for the actuator and the fact that it seems to keep the flapper fully off the valve seat for 5 seconds. This would seem to me to defeat low-flow flushing since it won't allow the flapper to rapidly go back down and seat.

Am I missing something?

Jamie and I installed one to see how it works on a newer bowl.
It does hold the flapper up too long. I asked about it, and they know it too. They made the timing such that it would work with the old pre 90's toilets. For many of the 1.6 and 1.28 it holds the flapper up, and it can't drop until the tank has emptied.

I would be nice if they had variable timing on it.
 

WJcandee

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I am actually pretty outraged by this. There doesn't appear to be a single word in their materials indicating that this will destroy the water-saving aspect of your toilet. Really, Kohler? Guess all that verbiage about your commitment to the environment is just BS. Good to know.

PS Their response to Terry makes no sense whatsoever. The market for this thing is going to be composed of people who pay attention to their toilets. The vast preponderance of these folks will have remodeled their home or built a new home since the 1.6gpf regulations have come into effect. To design a new modern product for those who don't even notice their toilet is idiotic and doesn't pass the smell test. Does this mess with the water-measuring of their canister flush models, which are exclusively on low-flows? If not, then they made a product to work on Kohler products and not properly on others. Now THAT would make sense.
 
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SteveW

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I wonder if I could train my cat to use it. He will only drink while the water is running into out a freshly-flushed bowl!

One of the user reviews on one of the big box websites mentioned having trained their dog to put his muzzle up on the tank over the sensor and making the toilet flush, as a party trick.
 

Jackie1

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Ok, this looks pretty cool, and I saw it at my local home depo. I'm trying to understand why this won't work with a ballcock setup? This is what I have, and in the pic shown above, it looks very similiar to the flapper style. Why can I get this to work with my ballcock setup? My toliet is a Jacuzzi 1.6gal

Is there a way I could get it to work by tinkering around?

k-1954_product_6.jpg
 

WJcandee

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Ok, this looks pretty cool, and I saw it at my local home depo. I'm trying to understand why this won't work with a ballcock setup? This is what I have, and in the pic shown above, it looks very similiar to the flapper style. Why can I get this to work with my ballcock setup? My toliet is a Jacuzzi 1.6gal

Is there a way I could get it to work by tinkering around?

k-1954_product_6.jpg

The issue is that the ballcock's ball and rod occupy space in which you would hang the Kohler device. So the device would interfere with the functioning of the ball cock. There is no reason for any modern toilet have a traditional ball cock. You should be able to just pull that thing out and replace it with a Korky 528MP max performance fill valve or a Fluidmaster 400A, end the Kohler thing should fit and work just fine. Well at least fit just fine. I'm not clear that the thing doesn't as a matter of course hold the flapper open way too long on most toilets.
 

Master Plumber Mark

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Terry, what is it worth to install one of these things...?
and you claim they are already haveing issues with them??

I wonder why would anyone in their right mind
would want to have one in the first place.. like you cant
even take a dump without the technology to flush a common
toilet.?



this looks like a disaster just waiting to happen on so many levels..
and there will probably
be a ton of call back problems, floods, and other issues with them
Kohler has designed a tank that
cannot be retrofitted with a normal handle ... that also does not seem wise


I guess if you install one of those
toilets in your guest bathroom, you will probably have to leave instructions
to show your guests how to flush the damn thing......



I could also see where condensation on the batteries could be an issue after
a long while unless the case is totally moisture sealed.... .....


so I guess we probably ought to keep a set of dura-cell batteries in our trucks
because I doubt most people will be willing to dive into the tank and change
the batteries........


I cant wait till they come out with a robotic arm to wipe my ass for me....
 

Master Plumber Mark

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just because that is how I feel about it... simple sometimes
works better....this is not like a new mouse trap that the world
really needs anytime soon......

Bidets are not an extremely popular
item amongnst the common middle class people.... and on average
most wealthy people that have them very rarely use them... but its status
and they are very popular in europe...

some new inventions were better left on the drawing board and I
think this toilet will end up being one of them...
 
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hj

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My wife isn't really enthusiastic about it because it flushes when she wipes the tank lid or puts something on it. (but that can be a problem with touchless faucets also). My daughter, who does like it, told her to wipe the lid while it was flushing. IF your tank has a "rim" under the lid, like my Eljers, the you have to use some ingenuity to mount the unit, since it is designed for a tank with a straight back.
 

Jackie1

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Terry, what is it worth to install one of these things...?
and you claim they are already haveing issues with them??


I guess if you install one of those
toilets in your guest bathroom, you will probably have to leave instructions
to show your guests how to flush the damn thing......

There is a little sticker on the top to tell you. I thought the same thing at first:

touchless.jpg
 

Jackie1

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I think instill might be able to get it to work. If I mount not so close to the end? I was able to move the end ball to the front more, or maybe I could mount the unit on the front side. Could this be possible? I like finding way to make things work.

image.jpg
 

Terry

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Why would you not pick up a Fluidmaster fill valve or Korky and replace that old ballcock?
You will want a clean installation on that. Can you make that old $3.50 ballcock work? Maybe.
 

hj

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If the unit does not obstruct the float ball or rod, it will work. But the tank in the picture dose not look like it has enough room so a Fluidmaster, or similar, fill valve may be needed.
 

Jackie1

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Why would you not pick up a Fluidmaster fill valve or Korky and replace that old ballcock?
You will want a clean installation on that. Can you make that old $3.50 ballcock work? Maybe.

Because I'm a tinkerer and enjoy seeing if/why something can/can't work. From all the photos and instructions I've read, I didn't see why it wouldn't work.

If the unit does not obstruct the float ball or rod, it will work. But the tank in the picture dose not look like it has enough room so a Fluidmaster, or similar, fill valve may be needed.

I just intalled the unit. I less than 5 min, no joke. It works with my Jacuzzi toliet ball cock setup. Fits good and snug, (the module is adjustable and you put it up as close to the lid as possible) and the when the ball rises to the top it's just shy of touching the touchless module. Perfect fit.

I was planning on replacing the ballcock anyway since it's always been loud as hell, like an airport. I actually bought the fluidmaster fill valve and the korky (which the box says it's extra quiet) to play around, thinking I'd need them, but haven't installed any of them yet. But it DOES fit with the ball cock.

Now, and recommendation over the fluidmaster or Korky? Is one really quieter than the other? Also, the one thing I love about this toliet is it fills up super quick. Will the new fill valves fill as quick?

image.jpg
 
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WJcandee

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I think you will find that the Korky is quieter than the Fluidmaster. As to how fast it fills, it's hard to know how fast your ballcock passes the water.
 
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