Slow flushing toilet

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Mandmboys

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1st time posting here. I've been looking the last few days and this is a great website.
Our toilet in our basement bathroom is flushing real slow. It will not handle a flush with a #2 in it. After reading some of the posts I dumped a bucket of water in the toilet and that made it flush much more powerfully(does that indicate anything?). There is a sink and shower right next to the toilet and they drain great. The water level in the tank is right under the top of the fill tube. If not fixable I was going to buy a Toto Drake. Just want to make sure it's the toilet and not something else(plumbing,clog,water level).
Toilet is an American Standard. The stamp on the inside says it's from 2008.

Thanks,

Dave
 

WJcandee

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If it worked well when you dumped a bucket of water in it, combined with the fact that the sink and shower drain well, it suggests that the problem is not with a clog or the plumbing of the toilet. The water level in the tank seems about right.

How does it flush when you just hold the toilet handle down until the tank drains fully? It could be that the flapper (or other flush valve thingy) is closing too quickly and could be adjusted.

That said, I'm pretty confident you would love a Drake the way we love our two Drakes... CST744E is the model number for the 1.28 gallon per flush elongated bowl model. CST744S is the model number for the 1.6 gallon per flush elongated model. The 1.28gpf model works basically as well as the 1.6.

Come on back with any questions.
 

Mandmboys

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Thanks for the reply. When we hold the handle down it flushes more "fully" but still is real slow. It takes a good 10-15 seconds just for the flush. The CST744S is what I'm looking at. This current toilet is driving me crazy trying to figure what is going on with it.
 
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WJcandee

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Looks like the online sellers' prices are going up. Now no price advantage over buying it locally from, say, Terry.

I think it's time for a new toilet! :)

Look above at Terry's prices (in the red box). Those are fair prices. Nobody should be paying $400 for an original Drake (in white, at least). Terry's prices are roughly the prices that you should be able to find the toilet at a local plumbing supply house. Open yellow pages. Look up "plumbing supply". Find 5 of them nearby-ish. Regardless of whether their ad says they carry Toto, call each one with the exact model number and color (Cotton White = color #01) you are interested in. (Most can get Toto from their distributor.) Tell them you're ready to buy today(-ish) if the price is right. Some will be nice. Some will be rude. Some will quote some stupidly-high price. Some will quote a good price. At least one will be a supplier you will be happy to deal with.

Everyone who has tried this method comes back and says it worked out well for them. Also, that way you can inspect your toilet in the supply house and if there's any shipping damage, you can just refuse it, rather than having to send it back. You are also paying your local sales tax to benefit your locality and are supporting a local business. I figure if you can do that and get a similar price and good service, you're getting a good deal.

We won't dislike you if you don't do this, but it's worth a try. In any event, let us know how it all works out for you!!

PS Are you looking for the color Bone or the color Sedona Beige? Otherwise, what you said above is a little high...
 
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Mandmboys

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I opened it all up and no cracks or anything wrong with it. I am going to remove old toilet and install this today.
 
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WJcandee

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I am going to remove old toilet and install this today.

Let us know how it turns out. There's a sticky at the top of the toilet thread that gives some pointers. Also, regardless of what the instructions say, we recommend putting the wax seal on the floor and then smushing the toilet down on top of it, rather than trying to stick the wax to the bottom of the toilet and then pushing it down. When you pull off the old toilet, if your flange tops out above the finished floor level, then one wax ring will do it. If the top of the flange is at or below the level of the finished floor, then two wax rings (maximum one with a plastic insert in it, and if you have one, it goes on the top of the ring without one) OR an extra-thick wax ring.

Let us know if you have any questions or issues installing...
 

hj

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One thing to consider is that dumping 5 gallons of water into a toilet designed to flush with 1.6 gallons does NOT prove anything, other than using a lot more water may make it work. There are many possible reasons for a poor flushing toilet, (some of them not cured by installing a new toilet), most of them cannot be diagnosed without being there and doing our own evaluation.
 

Mandmboys

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Hi,
thanks for your responses to my toilet problems. We have had the new Drake in for a little over a week. Everything has been working great. However, just last night after flushing it takes a long time to refill. I flushed a few more times with the cover off and the tube that refills it(overflow tube?) has just a trickle of water coming out of it.

Dave
 

Jadnashua

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First, are you holding the handle down to empty the tank? IF so, stop.

The balance between filling the tank and the bowl is calibrated (the bowl gets refilled mostly from the overflow tube). So, since the thing doesn't need a lot of water in the bowl, as long as it is filling to the proper level, it's fine. The way to check that is to take a bucket and SLOWLY pour water into the bowl. At some point, it will stop, or come to rest, and not fill any higher. If the thing gets filled to that level, leave it alone...it's doing what it's supposed to. They put a restrictor in the hose to get it balanced properly...it's different for each model.
 

Rocky03

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First, are you holding the handle down to empty the tank? IF so, stop.

+1. The newer designed toilets DO NOT empty their tanks in order to flush. I figure that the Drake probably uses about 40% (maybe less?) of the water in the tank per flush - that's of course if you don't hold the handle down to empty the tank. Sometimes I hold the lever down just to watch the flushing force for fun! The flush / flush lever motion is so quick it takes a little bit of time to get use.
 

Reach4

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Hi,
thanks for your responses to my toilet problems. We have had the new Drake in for a little over a week. Everything has been working great. However, just last night after flushing it takes a long time to refill. I flushed a few more times with the cover off and the tube that refills it(overflow tube?) has just a trickle of water coming out of it.
Is "it" the bowl or the tank? The trickle into the overflow refills the bowl.
 
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