Toto Drake 1.28 GPF vs. Toto Drake 1.6 GPF

Users who are viewing this thread

Rhapsody33

New Member
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Baltimore
I am going to order a Toto Drake elongated toilet. Is there a difference in the performance of the 1.28 GPF vs the 1.6 GPF? They are the same price. I know the 1.28 GPF is more water efficient. I have a Toto 1.6 GPF toilet and love it. Should I switch to the 1.28 GPF for water efficiency or should I stick with the 1.6 GPF?
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,770
Reaction score
1,190
Points
113
Location
New England
THere are easy ways to make the 1.28 use more water, so I'd try it and see. From what I read, most people can't tell the difference. Essentially, if you remove the float on the flapper valve, it will use about the 1.6g.
 

CarlH

Member
Messages
179
Reaction score
1
Points
16
Location
Northern VA
Hasn't this question come up here a number of times?

Here's my 2 cents worth. I have a 1.6 round drake and a 1.28 elongated for a couple of years. I have not had any troubles with the 1.28. I have not had to hold the handle extra time in order to clear the bowl. Have I noticed a difference between the 1.6 and the 1.28. Yes, the refill time on the 1.28 is shorter. Heck, it usually finishes refilling before I am done washing my hands.

Now I am curious since it has been mentioned that you could convert the 1.28 to a 1.6 if there was a problem with the 1.28 flush not being sufficient. Has anybody actually felt the need to do this after installing the 1.28? I haven't been on here in a while and maybe and I missed something, but would somebody chime in that has actually felt the need to do the conversion?
 

Mikey

Aspiring Old Fart, EE, computer & networking geek
Messages
3,024
Reaction score
17
Points
38
Location
Hansville, Washington
Having a 1.6gpf Drake CST744S, can it be converted to a 1.28gpf easily, or must the entire toilet be replaced?
 

WJcandee

Wise One
Messages
3,181
Reaction score
170
Points
63
Location
New York, NY
Having a 1.6gpf Drake CST744S, can it be converted to a 1.28gpf easily, or must the entire toilet be replaced?

Well, that's actually an interesting question. The answer is it depends upon what bowl came with it. A couple of years ago, Toto stopped manufacturing the original Drake 1.6gpf bowls (i.e. designed to flush on 1.6 and equipped to hold a certain amount of water in the bowl on refill). The model number of the bowl that came with the 1.6 original elongated Drake was C744S, for example. Now, all Toto Original Drakes come with bowls that are designed to work well on 1.28gpf. Model C744E, for example. The only difference now if you order a CST744E instead of a CST744S is the tank that comes with the now-standard Eco (E) bowl. ST743E for the 1.28, and ST743S for the 1.6. One does a cycle of 1.6 gallons each time you flush, 1.28 for the other. But regardless of how much water is used in the cycle, it goes through the same Eco bowl.

If you have the E bowl, arguably all you would have to do with the S tank is install either the E flapper or a Korky adjustable 3" flapper, and dial it down so it closes sooner. To really get it perfect, you could get a Korky 528MP fill valve, and adjust the refill by dialing it down as well. However, you have no real point of reference, unless you want to measure the water depth in the tank of a properly-adjusted 1.28gpf Drake. One other option would be to buy the Toto TSU99A.X (which is a 528MP with a little gizmo that lets you precisely adjust the refill percentage). You would use that as the reference point, and adjust the flapper so that it drained just enough water so that the time alloted to refill would fill the bowl just to the point that it filled to its natural settling point.

I'm guessing, but not sure, that if you have an S bowl, it probably takes a little more water to refill. And given that the S toilets run at 40 percent refill ratio, which is basically the max you are going to get from any fill valve, to fill the bowl properly you have to run the refill long enough at that max rate that you're probably going to burn 1.6gpf. You might be able to back off the refill time a smidge by cutting the amount of water used in the flush with a Korky adjustable flapper, but it's going to affect performance because one thing you want to start with is a bowl filled to its natural settle level, and the Korky is designed to use a certain amount of water in the flush. Will that reduction in performance be meaningful on most cycles? Probably not, but whether that is an issue for you is really up to how you use it...

Hope this helps.
 

JerryR

Active Member
Messages
584
Reaction score
41
Points
28
Location
Florida
I am going to order a Toto Drake elongated toilet. Is there a difference in the performance of the 1.28 GPF vs the 1.6 GPF? They are the same price. I know the 1.28 GPF is more water efficient. I have a Toto 1.6 GPF toilet and love it. Should I switch to the 1.28 GPF for water efficiency or should I stick with the 1.6 GPF?

I've got one of each at my second home. I actually switched tanks between the two and found I could not tell any difference.

One is a 10" rough-in and the other is a 12" rough in. The 12" rough flushes slightly more aggressively. I switched tanks to put the 1.6 gal tank on the 10" rough and it didn't make any noticeable difference on either toilet.

I'm in the market for another toilet in another home and I'm going to go with a 1.28 Drake.

JR
 

Wallijonn

Member
Messages
335
Reaction score
15
Points
18
Location
Arizona
Should I switch to the 1.28 GPF for water efficiency or should I stick with the 1.6 GPF?

To me the more important question is whether or not it is ADA height. I have both and find that I prefer the ADA height since it gives a sleeker look and the tank top is level with my vanity cabinet. If the toilet is going in the master bedroom, get the ADA height. If it is going in the hallway toilet room, which children use, get the standard height toilet.

1.28gpf vs. 1.6gpf doesn't make too much of a difference, although the 1.28gpf lever doesn't flush as nicely as the 1.6gpf flush lever (when you flush it for 1 second). It may be due to simple variance, pure luck. I just like flushing the 1.6gpf more.
 

Billycolorado

New Member
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
97219
Hi,

I need to install a new toilet and it needs to be a round model due size constraints in the bathroom. I also want a height to rim to be at least 16". I have skidmark issues now with the small spot size on a St. Thomas Creations toilet, so spot size is also a concern for me. I also have clogging problems with the St. Thomas, so I'm leaning towards the Toto Drake models.

The spot size for the Drake II round 1.28 gpf seems pretty small at 6.75 x 8.625 in, but the seat height is great (16.125")

The spot size for the Drake I round 1.6 gpf is much better at 10.25 x 8.25, but the rim height is unacceptably lower on the Drake I (14.625")

By changing the flapper on the Drake II, can I get a spot size similar to that of the Drake I?
 

Reach4

Well-Known Member
Messages
38,797
Reaction score
4,412
Points
113
Location
IL
By changing the flapper on the Drake II, can I get a spot size similar to that of the Drake I?
No. The spot size is built into the porcelain. There is a "weir" that establishes the maximum height of the water in a bowl.
 

Billycolorado

New Member
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
97219
Ok, thanks. Maybe I should look at the Toto Entrada instead? Seems like it is short, has a good rim height and it has a bigger spot size than the Drake II.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks