New toilet S-trap too close to wall: get another, or modify plumbing?

[JimboJones]

I bought a Kohler Wellworth toilet today. When I got home and unboxed it, I noticed the set-out distance from the back of the S-trap would end up very close to my wall. My inlet pipe and shutoff valve are aligned just a little ways away from center behind my old toilet. On that old toilet, the the back of the S-trap is set off from the wall a pretty good distance, so there's plenty of clearance for the shutoff valve. I took measurements, and it looks like the new Kohler's S-trap will touch the shutoff knob. My rough-in is about 12", and the new toilet matches that, but this long S-trap is bizarre.

This was going to be a DIY install, but now I dunno. I'm wondering, can the inlet pipe be easily modified to turn into a series of elbows, or an S-curve, so that the shutoff valve can be farther off to the side of the toilet? Would welding be involved here? Or should I just return this toilet and buy another one with more clearance between the S-trap and the wall? I drew some top-down diagrams:

 

[Reach4]

Let's see a photo of where the supply pipe comes out of the wall.

It may be easy.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[JimboJones]

Here you go. The distance from the wall to the end of the shutoff knob is just over 3" (including the metal flange). This is the old toilet in the photo. The new Kohler's trap would sit maybe 2.75" from the wall at its closest point. The shutoff valve knob might fit as is, in the open position, but when closed (horizontal, after a quarter turn) it'll probably hit the new trap. And besides, if I install the new toilet, later on it'll be a pain to take off this valve and replace it if I ever have to.

 

[Reach4]

See https://terrylove.com/forums/index....ve-is-blocking-new-toilet-installation.75038/

That valve is a compression valve. Expect to need a sleeve puller to remove the sleeve/ferrule. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Bluefin-PTCSP050-1-2-Heavy-Duty-Compression-Sleeve-Puller

A plumber could fix you right up pretty quickly.

 

[Terry]

The American Standard Cadet 3 has 4" behind the bowl on a 12" rough. They make it so that it can be installed with a standard 12" tank or a 10" tank.
270CA101.020

The Kohler Wellworth has 2-3/4" behind the bowl at 12"

If you check the spec sheets to the model numbers you can make sure there will be enough space back there for you.

 

[JimboJones]

See https://terrylove.com/forums/index....ve-is-blocking-new-toilet-installation.75038/

That valve is a compression valve. Expect to need a sleeve puller to remove the sleeve/ferrule.

Re: shutoff valve: yup, I replaced that shutoff valve myself a year ago, and used a ferrule puller to pull out the old ring. Just thinking ahead if I have to do it again in a decade.

So you guys like the Dahl angled shutoffs? (I ended up finding a bunch of related threads only after posting mine.)

If you check the spec sheets to the model numbers you can make sure there will be enough space back there for you.

Totally forgot about spec sheets, thanks. The specs on the retailer's product page and the box for this toilet didn't mention the distance from the wall, but the spec sheet PDF does. Do you like the Cadet 3 over the Wellworth in general?

 

[Terry]

Performance between the Kohler and the Cadet 3 models is pretty even.

 

[Jeff H Young]

throw a compression 90 on there if its that big a deal that the anglestop be easy to change.