DG624
New Member
Can I keep my old toilet and add a different mechanism to reduce the flow rate? I have seen these in hardware stores. Also is it possible to replace the tank from a newer toilet to an older base?
Low Flow Conversion
- Thread starter DG624
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The flush ability will go down. You would be better to swap the toilet if you are primarily interested in saving water and having a great flush at the same time.
Possible? Might be, but not consistent with normal objectives. Are you asking if that a worthwhile thing to do? No. If you wanted to experiment with less water into the existing base, you could get an adjustable flapper and/or adjust your fill height down.
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Jadnashua
Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
What you are suggesting is what some manufacturers did when the low-flow mandates came out...they almost all worked very poorly. It takes reengineering the toilet for it to flush well with less water. Buy a new one, and note, some are still better at it than others. A good one will beat many of the older ones with sometimes as little as 1/4 of the water.
Standardairconditioner
HVAC'ker
The amount of time it will take to find compatibility for gaskets and bolts and something that actually works without breaking anything, you may as well call a pro and buy the toilet from them too.
I don't know why people are so afraid of pulling out toilets to inspect, or snake out. The only cost is one wax ring, and possible caulk.
If you have a healthy floor and flange, a new toilet will sit over it with ease. That assessment will come once you have the flange in full sight.
It is understandable not all DIY can swap out a toilet at the flange.
You may want to consider a milk jug in the tank trick, definitely DIY friendly.
Gary Swart
In the Trades
As previously noted, in the beginning of the low flow toilet era, many, actually most manufacturers tried exactly what you are suggesting. The result was such poor performance, it took years before they finally realized that a redesign of the toilet itself was necessary. One example was Kohler. They tried dozens of designs and all failed. Toto was a leader in the redesign and that boosted them to become the largest manufacturer of toilets in the world. Today, most manufactures have improved their designs so their success record has improved, but Toto still leads the way with new models that perform well with as little as 0.8 gpf! The jug in the tank won't work. Your old water hog requires anywhere from 3 gallons to as much as 7 gallons to complete the flush.
Jadnashua
Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
For a toilet to work, it needs to get a siphon started. Older toilets tended to use lots of water in the bowl from the tank to get enough height to make it move fast enough to then actually start to siphon out. Newer toilets use a jet of water from the tank to get things moving MUCH faster, and without having to fill the bowl up first. Just dropping the amount of water into the bowl of an old design without a siphon jet just plain doesn't work well. It's not the tank that's the issue, it's the bowl. Most modern toilets still use a bigger tank than needed, since extra height helps with a bit more water pressure just like a water tower does...but, they shut the flush off by using a calibrated flapper valve, leaving a good portion of the water still in the tank. This has advantages other than just adding to the pressure - it means that there's likely a bunch of room-temperature water in there so when you flush and it refills, the cold water from the supply line is warmed up by the water left in the tank. Older toilets tended to empty the whole tank, so the entire thing ended up cold, and this caused the tank to sweat when the humidity was up, sometimes, even a little bit. While that can happen on a modern, low-flow toilet, it happens much less, and only in situations where the incoming water is quite cold, or the toilet gets flushed repeatedly before what's there can warm up to room temperature.
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