Best toilet about $200 or under? Prefer 1.6 gal (Can 1.28 gal. be converted to 1.6 gal?)

[Fun2Learn]

Hi everyone. Which toilets do you recommend that are $200 or, preferably, less, for a teens/guest bathroom (so a taller height is not that important). We have decided to replace the 28 year old American Standard toilet that has an unappealing, unremovable stain near the drain hole and a suspected leak (I posted here a few weeks ago about the stain on the ceiling below it!) We will be putting our home on the market this spring, and are on a tight budget, but don't want to skimp too much and end up with clogs, stains, or cleaning problems or regrets for either us or the next owners!

I really prefer 1.6 gal. to 1.28 flushes (just seems logical that the more water the less likely you will have to flush twice or get out the toilet brush, LOL)--I do NOT need to save that much water, as we live in the country and are on our own well (and our water pressure isn't that great, btw) and live in an area with an over-abundance of rainfall (hot and steamy southern Maryland.)

Can most 1.28 gallon models be tweaked to actually flush at 1.6 gallons? It seems like most of the big box stores are mainly carrying the lower, 1.28 gallon models now. But, I read, in a review somewhere, something about being able to turn a screw and convert a 1.28 gal. toilet to a 1.6 ( I think it was on a Glacier Bay one.) Is that pretty true of most 1.28, that you can fiddle with them to convert them to 1.6?

I looked at Consumer Reports and read Terry Loves reviews on toilets on his website (and looked for some reviews in these forums) but am a bit confused by it all! I hope you all can help from your personal experience.

I've listed a few toilets that sound good and are $200 or less on a big box website (some are on sale, so usually would be higher priced.) Which would you recommend, or would you recommend something else not listed here? (and is there any advantage to round vs. elongated? Is elongated preferred if you have the room? Is the flushing usually better with one or the other?) Here is what I found:

Toto Drake CST743S01 $202 for round ($236 for the elongated version) 1.6 gal.
Toto Entrada CST243EF-01 $177 ($197 for the elongated version) 1.28 gal.

American Standard Colony 2 221CA004.020 $95 1.6 gal.
American Standard Reliant 3332128.020 $99 1.28 gal
American Standard Cadet 3 3377128ST.020 $149 1.28
American Standard Cadet 3 270CA001.020 $164 1.6 gal.

Kohler Wellworth K-11464-0 $128
Kohler Cimarron K-15409-0 $168
Kohler Highline Classic K-11499-0 $178
(All the above Kohlers are 1.28--the 1.6's all say out of stock --are they being discontinued?)

Glacier Bay N2428RB/N2428T $88 1.28 gal
GlacieBay Dual Flush N2428RB/N2428T $98 (1.1/1.6 gal)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Gary Swart]

Go with a Toto. Your logic about 1.6 gpf flushing better than 1.28 gps is faulty. There would be no point in trying to convert a 1.28 to 1.6.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

On many toilets, to go from 1.28g to 1.6g, all it takes is replacing the flapper valve with one designed for the higher flush. In reality, though, on a well-designed one, it really doesn't make much difference. FWIW, it still costs you money to pump that water out of the ground, and, if you have a septic system, the less water you feed it, the better. Your water pressure has nothing to do with a gravity flush toilets ability to work...it might take it a slightly longer time to refill, but when flushing, it's all gravity at work, not pressure from the supply line. Same is true for most pressure-assisted ones as long as you have at least their minimum design pressure...most have an internal pressure regulator and don't use the full line pressure.

Personally, the Toto line is a safer bet, not saying that some of the others can't work. Their QA/QC and designs are good, and rarely have an out of the box problem. From what Terry reports, he has the lowest return rates for defects with Toto of any of the brands he sells.

 

[Flapper]

Which would you recommend, or would you recommend something else not listed here?

Glacier Bay

 

[Fun2Learn]

Thanks to everyone who replied. Flapper- were you recommending the Glacier Bay dual flush or single (or does it matter.) Is it because I am selling the house and am on a budget? So I take it that Glacier Bay is a sufficiently good toilet that you wouldn't upgrade to even a Kohler or American Standard?Good to know! Though I just realized that they have the flush valve on top of the tank, which I don't think I like! We usually have a basket on there to store stuff on there---in a very small bathroom, even the top of the tank is valuable real estate!!! So if I were to cross off the Glacier Bays due to the top of the tank valve, and the Toto Drakes due to budget, which of the less expensive ones would ya'll recommend?
Thanks!

 

[Flapper]

Thanks to everyone who replied. Flapper- were you recommending the Glacier Bay dual flush or single (or does it matter.) Is it because I am selling the house and am on a budget? So I take it that Glacier Bay is a sufficiently good toilet that you wouldn't upgrade to even a Kohler or American Standard?Good to know! Though I just realized that they have the flush valve on top of the tank, which I don't think I like! We usually have a basket on there to store stuff on there---in a very small bathroom, even the top of the tank is valuable real estate!!! So if I were to cross off the Glacier Bays due to the top of the tank valve, and the Toto Drakes due to budget, which of the less expensive ones would ya'll recommend?
Thanks!

The dual-flush Glacier Bay has the buttons on the top; the single-flush has the lever. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Glacier-...ound-Toilet-in-White-N2428RB-N2428T/202634188 I picked that because it's cheap, but it has a good rating. I've never actually had that toilet, though, so I don't have a review of my own. But that's what I would get.

 

[Flapper]

You can modify the Glacier Bay toilet to consume more water; it looks like it uses a standard flapper so to use 1.28 gallons, it has a low water level. So you can increase the water level to use more water. Because of the low water level, the flush valve overflow tube and fill valve are short; you can adjust the water level until you reach the top of the overflow tube; to go further you'll need to replace the flush valve and maybe the fill valve, so you can go up to the very maximum of the tank.

See the short overflow tube? That puts a limit on the water level, and you'd need to replace the flush valve with a new one so you have a longer overflow tube, so you can set the water level to the maximum of the tank. Or you could just extend the overflow tube with some tubing but that's not professional. You may need to replace the fill valve too.

 

[WJcandee]

just seems logical that the more water the less likely you will have to flush twice or get out the toilet brush

This is wrong. Get the Entrada elongated. It is far and away the Best Buy of the bunch. Great flush. Great workmanship. If you like the looks of the Drake better, that's the number 2 value alternative. A very good buy for a toilet that will last and satisfy for a long time. We have two. Love 'em.

You don't need the extra water. They all use a 1.28 bowl anyway. The extra water is really just wasted and really doesn't serve a purpose.

And when people look at your home to buy it, remember -- the two places they focus on the most are the bathroom and the kitchen. Put a quality Toto in there for an affordable price, and you have just classed up the joint.

 

[Larry S]

I bought the elongated Toto entrada from Home Depot for under $200 (might have been over including the toilet seat as that was sold separately. It is a high/ADA level toilet. I've had it for several months now and it works great.

No issues at all with the 1.28 gallon flush. I was worried about that but it works as well as my 1.6 gallon Toto ultramax. In fact the 1.28 gallon Entrada works so well I'm thinking of replacing a noisy Flushmate power flush toilet and replacing it with an Entrada just to get a reasonably quiet toilet and because I'd prefer a higher seat toilet. The Flushmate was bought many years back when other low flush toilets were not doing the job but now the much quieter Entrada seems to work just as well without all the noise and with less water.

The round front version of the Entrada.

 

[Jadnashua]

It can be somewhat amazing, and revealing, to see how a well-designed modern low-flow toilet works compared to many of the old dogs out there. Not every manufacturer has the magic figured out. It's neat how much they can do with so little water.

 

[Dj2]

Guys, it's easy to recommend fancy toilets when you are not paying the bills - you are ignoring the price ceiling...under $200 really means that under $100 would be better. It's for a house on the market.
My advice: Glacier Bay. Other toilets in the same price range: Mansfield (USA made) and Lowe's own brand. Costco has a toilet for $85, but I'm not sure about its reputation.

 

[Flapper]

But maybe it's worth it to get a prestigious toilet that would increase the value of the house and pay for itself, like wjcandee said. hmm