T0T0 Drake toilet product review

Users who are viewing this thread

Suceress

Active Member
Messages
319
Reaction score
37
Points
28
Location
LA
Thanks!

That info helped a lot. It's an adjustable flange and we made sure to measure and mark so that the bolts would come through at the right spots. We have the toilet installed. For some reason the bolts that came with it are too long, so we have to trim them a bit to fit the caps.

Btw, is it bad if the wax started coming out through the bolt holes after we put the toilet down? Or does that just mean that it is sealed down tightly?
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,771
Reaction score
1,191
Points
113
Location
New England
That's normal...nothing to worry about.

toto-black.jpg
 

Suceress

Active Member
Messages
319
Reaction score
37
Points
28
Location
LA
Thanks.
Btw, are the bolts that go under the flange up into the toilet to hold the toilet on supposed to go through the floor as well? Or are they supposed to sit between the flange and the floor?

I hope it's installed correctly. So far it's working perfectly.

Also, will the blue cleaning stuff mess up the CEFIONTECT finish? I told my father not to put it in because I was worried it might stain the toilet (at least until I can find out more info on it).
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,771
Reaction score
1,191
Points
113
Location
New England
The bolts fit in slots in the flange, they do not go into the floor (although in a pinch, it sometimes gets done that way).

The junk you put into the toilet tank will ruin the rubber and plastic parts of ANY toilet. Do not use them. As to a cleaner to use on CEFIONTECT, as long as it isn't abrasive, it's probably okay. Terry suggested that Clorox cleaner with Teflon works well.
 

Redwood

Master Plumber
Messages
7,335
Reaction score
13
Points
0
Location
Connecticut
Also, will the blue cleaning stuff mess up the CEFIONTECT finish? I told my father not to put it in because I was worried it might stain the toilet (at least until I can find out more info on it).

The blue glop has ruined many a toilet by plugging up the internal water passages slowing the transfer of water from the tank to the bowl.

I believe almost every toilet manufacturer has a policy of voiding the guarantee on a new toilet if "intank bowl cleaners" are used. Many are just strong amounts of chlorine that will destroy the rubber parts used in a toilet.

There are several bowl cleaning devices such as the "Fluidmaster Flush and Sparkle" that are installed in the tube between the fill valve and the overflow tube. These devices will bypass all rubber parts in the toilet and deposit the bowl cleaning solution directly into the bowl. I do not know the manufacturers stance on these devices but they should be okay as they will bypass all the rubber parts that may be damaged.
 

NoEffort

New Member
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
70.134.226.124
installed drake and it passed the test

Installed the drake (elongated, sanigloss, softseat) last week.
Everyone in the family took it for a "test drive" and it passed with flying colors! Everyone is impressed with it. Amazing, from flush to refill is only about 25 seconds,
on other long refill time toilets, who likes to listen to the toilet running on those nightime runs!

Incredible that so little water can move so much.
Wasn't sure about the softseat, but since installing it and using it, very comfortable and functional.

THANK YOU TERRY for posting this forum, without the knowledge gained from this site, I still would be "plunging" away.

I just ordered another Toto, this time I went with the Ultramax elongated with sanigloss finish.

Hope the Ultramax works out as well as the drake. The ultramax will be going in our bathroom that gets the most use.

If I was in Terry's area, I would of purchased from him along with the installation.
Thanks again!!!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Washogskinz

New Member
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Replaced mid 90's Mansfield with Toto Drake ADA

Our family has been suffering since 1994 with our homes original toilets. After plunging all three of them at the same time one day, I went and found a Cotton White TOTO, still in the original boxes. After an hours drive, I met the guy who had bought 3 of them but this one didn't match their decor and it cost too much to send it back. I bought it as fast as humanly possible and now everybody uses our master bathroom where the TOTO is! As soon as I save up enough money, I'll replace the two off white ones too. It hasn't clogged up yet after a month.:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

AstroProf

New Member
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Plumber concern about bolt?

Greetings,

After reading the descriptions on this forum, I was all set to order a Toto
Drake. However, I talked to a plumber, and he said he had a concern
about that particular model. He said there was a bolt running through
the tank, and he thought adding an extra hole in the tank was just asking
for having more leaks.

So I thought I would ask here, since no one seems to have mentioned this
before. Is there an unnecessary bolt through the Drake tank? Is the Drake
more prone to leaks? Or is this plumber's concern unfounded?

Thank you for a very helpful site, and thanks in advance for any comments
you might have.
 

Mikey

Aspiring Old Fart, EE, computer & networking geek
Messages
3,024
Reaction score
17
Points
38
Location
Hansville, Washington
Sounds like he's trying to sell you a one-piece toilet. As far as I know, all two-piece toilets use bolts of some kind to hold the two pieces (tank and bowl) together. The one-piece toilets are usually more expensive, but do have some advantages (and disadvantages), which I'm sure some of the real plumbers can comment on.
 

Batteries

New Member
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
0
I bought the TOTO, Elongated DrakeT Two Piece Toilet, 1.6 GPF - ADA -
MODEL #: CST744SL
I hope to never buy another toilet, ever, again. Because I dont need to. It really is a no problem toilet. Can you imagine not having to plunge again? The only problem is my excitement about a toilet. My family is tired of hearing me talk about how great this thing is. I hired a local licensed plumber who has about 30 years experience and had it installed.

whoopee
 

Jmforem

New Member
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Which Drake?

OK, I am convinced I need a Drake. But which one? Round bowl or elongated? Standard Drake or "ECO" Drake? CEFIONTECT or not?

Any recommendations?
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,771
Reaction score
1,191
Points
113
Location
New England
Unless you are a family of short people, the ADA height is nice. Standard toilets are lower than a chair, and ADA one is still shorter than an average chair, but that extra little bit does make it easier.

SanaGlos is a proprietary glaze that does make the toilet easier to keep clean and provides some anti-bacterial action...it's a nice addition, but not essenial. You can read the details on www.totousa.com site. There are other companies that make similar glazes, and it is very common I'm told in Japan and Germany. Can't verify that personally. I know Duravit has a similar thing.

Commercial toilets are required to be elongated, in the US anyways. For everyone, having a little more room at front makes it easier and cleaner to do your business with less likelyhood of rubbing against the porcelain.
 

Mapetrone

New Member
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
VA
Toto Drake Eco CEFIONTECT Elongated Non-ADA

Upgraded from a 5 gallon 1965 American Standard toilet to the above Eco Drake CEFIONTECT and have no regrets. My wife was a little scared that there would stains and clogs, especially with the 1.28 gal flush, but NO! Works perfectly. It is now the primary toilet in the house. :cool:

I heard from the plumbing specialty shop that Toto is going to stop making the regular Drake and just Eco Drake in the next few months. Just FYI, if you want a little more bowl wash you might want to get a few now. I have yet to find that the bowl wash is a problem in the Eco model.

Oh, the Non-ADA is higher than the old standard 1965 toilet by 2 inches, so for us little people it works great.:p

Thanks for an amesome website. I'll have to tell my friends that get stationed out by Terry to give him some business.

Matt
 

PaulZ

New Member
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Thank you!

I recently had to replace an old toilet that just wasn't performing (solid waste just wasn't making it down). I initially purchased a kohler cimarron but after reading more and more, primarily this site, I took it back (prior to installing it), bought the Toto Drake and installed it.
All I can say is, "thank you." This toliet performs. Upon the first flush, I wasn't so sure it could do the job. But during the real tests, it's doing the job and has yet to clog or fail to get solids down.

Thanks again!!
Paul
 

AstroProf

New Member
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Can't stop leaky drake

Hi,

I posted a while back about the possibility of leaky Drakes. Well, we went
ahead and bought two, and while we like the overall functioning of the devices,
we are having *serious* problems with leaks. Both of them leaked at first;
we called the plumber back and he replaced the washers. The secondary
toilet has not leaked since, but the primary toilet started leaking again.
He tried again to fix it, and it started leaking again. We had the tank replaced
and it was fine for a few days, then started leaking again. The plumber
tried again yesterday, and today it started leaking again. We are at the
point of trying to return this and get a Cimmeron or something, but I thought
I would ask here if anyone has had this trouble or if there is something
we can do about it. We're going to try using our secondary toilet as the
primary for a while, to see if it's *using* it that makes it leak.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

PS Oh, I thought I should add: the leak seems to be coming from the right
bolt (as you face the toilet), and it's consistently from the same spot, throughout
this whole process.

For Installation Instructions
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,771
Reaction score
1,191
Points
113
Location
New England
The important thing in the instructions for you is: take a piece of sandpaper and smooth the area around the bolt hole in the tank. Takes all of about 10-seconds. Then, install the bolts and washers as indicated.
 

Mapetrone

New Member
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
VA
If you are really worried about leaks I would upgrade to a one piece.

It is a bit tricky to read the entire instructions before assembly. The directions are straight forward, I just couldn't find them when I installed the toilet because they were on the bottom of the Tank box. (My wife laughed at me while it was leaking because I didn't read the instructions, so I made her help me take it apart and redo it.) You have to finger tighten the first bolt and then turn 1/2 or 3/4 then slowly tighten the bolt again on top of the bowl. Just read the directions or have the plumber read them.

My dad is a general contractor and I called him when I did not find the directions. He told me just tighten everything together, well that is when it still leaked. So when I was taking everything apart my wife found the directions and we followed them. No problems since.

The downstairs toilet is older 6 gallon flush and it didn't care how you put it together when I replaced the washers. The toto is pretty specific. Just get a one piece and be done with it.

Good Luck,
Matt
 

Titan7

Member
Messages
39
Reaction score
0
Points
6
The Drake is the best. I have (3) with CEFIONTECT in my home. Nothing beats the flush!
 

Gnarfledonk

New Member
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Drake Installation

I just picked up a round Drake CST743 1.6 liter toilet based on the great reviews I found here. I had to go with the round version since the bathroom is a bit too small for the elongated bowl. Installation had just one slight problem: Just in front of the drain outlet there is an area that is slightly too low to fit above the ABS flange. This left the toilet resting on the flange at this point and thus rocking between the forward and rear supports. I checked and my floor is level and flat with the flange installed on top of the existing seamless vinyl.

With the toilet upside-down, I used a piece of wood the same height as the flange to compare to the spacing between the raised area and the plane formed by all the weight-bearing ridges, the outlet edges, and the outer skirt edges. Resting the wood piece on the raised area, it stuck up about 1/16" above all the other points.

So I had to shim the weight-bearing ridges up that high to get a good solid mounting. I used some of the blue plastic plates that are sold as electrical box covers at Lowes and HD. I made a paper pattern of the bottom of the toilet and marked the location of the four weight-bearing ridges. Then I used the pattern to screw the plastic plates down to the floor in the right places. The result is a flawless solid mounting with no rocking at all.

This toilet is terrific! I am really impressed and so is my wife. The most amazing thing is the super fast flush. It takes less than two seconds and EVERYTHING is gone! It is a wonderful improvement over the old 1990's toilet it replaced. That one reached the point it would slowly fill up, swirl around for a while, and then just stop without ever getting enough water in the bowl to flush.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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