Water level in toilet bowl

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Ian jones

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Sorry if this has already been covered somewhere but if it has I can't find it.

I am looking to replace a toilet in my house do to it constantly clogging. I am looking into the Champion 4 or the Drake II. Was leaning towards the Champion until reading this forum now leaning towards the Drake II. But my main question is how is the water level in these toilets after a flush? The old one I have now is high enough that the "bombs" land in the lake. My concern is that we just built a new mother in law house on our property and the standard toilet that came in the house has a very low water level (barley fills the drain area in the bottom) and the bombs do not land in the lake. This causes unsightly skid marks that require a brush after every use. I realize this would not be a problem with everyone as harder stool would not stick to the bowl and just roll into the water. However for us it is an issue. I would like a toilet bowl that has a decent size lake to hit!!

Any help would be appreciated
 

Terry

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All newer bowls since 1992 have had less water in the bowl.
Some newer bowls like the TOTO Drake II, the Cadet 3, Champion and the Kohler Wellworth have improved the slickness of the bowl finish.
I like the II series from TOTO and have sold plenty of them. The others I have mentioned are likely to be better than what you have been using though.
 
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Please make some effort to search around the forums here, there are plenty of answers and solutions for this, so we don't have to keep repeating answers that are easily found.

This thread will help:
https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/toilet-wont-stay-unclogged.62601/

Older toilets will have higher "lakes".

Really older toilets (pre-1960) will have large tanks and can use 4 gallons per flush. Enough to wash away poo skid marks and suck away clogs. As the water runs thru the trapway and down the flange, the sheer volume of water creates a vacuum to suck. New eco-toilets seem to be optimized for gravity, thus conserving water.

You may want to determine why your present toilet is "constantly clogging", once a toilet is removed, it will reveal if the trap has any build-up, flange as well.
 

Gary Swart

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Not know what brand/model/age of your old toilet is, it's a bit hard to say for sure why it clogs, but if it was an early low flow toilet, that could be the problem. Many manufacturers in the early low flow days were trying to make their old designs work with less water. They failed. Today's low flow toilets work far better because of the design changes that were finally made. I would recommend the Drake II, but certainly check the flange for wax that may be partly constricting the flush. When you install the new toilet, unless the flange is recessed into the floor, use a wax ring that does NOT have a plastic funnel. If the flange is recessed, then you may want to use a thicker ring. Sometimes at regular thickness wax ring plus the one with the funnel. If you do that, put the funnel on top of the regular ring. Water spots in toilets vary from model to model regardless of manufacturer.
 

Ian jones

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I did search the forum first and found nothing mentioning new toilets with higher decent water levels. I realize the newer toilets do not have as high a level as the older ones. I simply did not want to end up with one that is ridiculously low like the one that was installed in the new home I just built for my mother. I would be willing to bet there is no more then 3-4 cups of water in there after a flush. The lake is 4" or less in diameter. After reading the forums here I am going to pour some water in hers and see if it will hold more and if it does I will replace the flush valve with an adjustable one. If not I am going to replace the whole thing with whatever I decide on in my house. I have already tried everything I can think of to get my toilet to work properly. I have removed it had the mail line cleaned by a plumber. I replaced every replaceable part on the toiled snaked the toiled from both ends and tried the acid. It flushes perfectly fine with water only but anything more then a few squares of TP and a turd and you run the risk of manning the plunger. The plunger always clears it in a few strokes and then it works fine until you try to flush a non-liquid again. It has a very tight bend you can see from the outside in it and I assume that's the problem. It also has a very rough surface in the drain area.
 

Reach4

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Try holding the lever down during the flush. Also consider working around the problem with a "courtesy flush" before the paperwork.
 

Ian jones

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Courtesy flush does help but I still just want to replace it. Plan on doing it this weekend. I just want to hit the handle and walk away knowing everything is going to be ok. I don't think that's to much to ask. LOL Think I will see if I can find a Drake 2 in town somewhere if not maybe the cadet or i'll order the drake 2 and do it when it comes in.
 
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If not I am going to replace the whole thing with whatever I decide on in my house.
It's not uncommon for a new renovation install where a homeowner specifies a vintage toilet on purpose. Some enjoy the high porcelain quality with the warm retro colors, in your case you may enjoy their performance.

Ebay and Google will reveal stores and dealers that specialize in vintage toilets. The existance of these businesses show there is a demand. You usually have the option to buy just the porcelains (bowl, tank, cover), or completely refitted with modern fill valve and flapper. Vintage toilets do use modern parts (ie., Korky, Fluidmaster).

The sound of a "used" toilet usually disgusts people, but if dirty porcelain teacups can be cleaned, so can a porcelain toilet. A "used" toilet hasn't been repainted like a car, the toilet simply got washed.

A circa-1950 Eljer will give you 4 gpf and a lake diameter of at least 10-12 inches. Hardly anything sticks to the bowl because so much water is running down it on flush.

And I love my Eljer.
 
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Jadnashua

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The Toto 1.28g flush versions verses the 1.6g ones got some of the savings by more careful calibration of the refill valve's tank/bowl balance. The II-series uses what they call cyclone flush...two outlets around the top of the bowl that causes the water to swirl around the bowl from the top verses holes all around and dribble down in streams. This causes it to wash the sides of the bowl better, and it can do that with less water since it's dealing in sheets verses streams of water once it gets started. TO most people, they do not notice a difference except that the II versions seem to get better bowl wash.
 
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