Best toilet under $300? (Gerber Viper vs Toto Drake or Gerber Ultra Flush)?

[Steven81NJ]

My downstairs toilet is very old and lost it's flush power. It's a toilet that is going to be used by family and guests or contractors, so need it to be good quality but not fancy.
(Gerber Viper vs Toto Drake or Gerber Ultra Flush)?
Or other solutions? Would love to find a toilet Home Depot would have in stock for an easy process.

 

[WJcandee]

You probably want to make sure that you don't have some kind of drain line issue, because toilets don't typically lose their flush power with age.

However, that said, you might want to consider the Toto Entrada as well. Similar style flush to the Original Drake, in a clean-looking package. I saw where Terry installed a couple in a commercial application recently, so he is confident in its ability to handle that kind of use. Yet it is one of Toto's most-reasonably-priced toilets.

We have two Toto Original Drakes, and think very-highly of them.

I have bought toilets at HD, I have bought toilets from the local plumbing supply, and I have bought toilets online. To me, the easiest is the local plumbing supply, after calling around to five different ones to see which had the best price on my specific Toto, which I told them I would come in and order that day if they had the best price. A couple were nice, a couple were nasty, a couple were high-priced, and a couple were reasonably-priced.

 

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[Terry]

I prefer a TOTO Entrada or a TOTO Drake over the ones you mentioned.
For a home center toilet, you can look at these gravity toilets.
Kohler Highline and Wellworth,
American Standard Cadet.

I haven't sold the Gerber Ultraflush in some time. If you want something pressure assist, then the Kohler Highline pressure assist is a better bowl. Not to be confused with their gravity model of the same name.

 

[Anna Rhinewalt]

I was SO HAPPY to see this post! Today, I need to order my toilets for the remodel of our 40-yr-old home.

Our final selections are either the Toto Drake II or Gerber UltraFlush. I know you're pretty high on the Totos... so my question is -- do you find any advantage to using a pressure assist in an older, rural home with a septic tank that has a LOT of old-growth trees around it?

We heard there may have been some issues with the septic and we intend to have that checked out -- but thought that the pressure assist may aid in "pushing" everything through the lines better.

Thoughts? Thanks!!

 

[Terry]

I
We heard there may have been some issues with the septic and we intend to have that checked out -- but thought that the pressure assist may aid in "pushing" everything through the lines better.

Thoughts? Thanks!!

Once the flush reaches the septic tank, everything just sits there and slowly seeps out. I would go with the Drake II. It's what I have. At least the II series, Vespin II and Ultramax II.
All of the II series perform the same.

 

[Sylvan]

I use Gerber avalanche and if it not available then the viper

When NYC had the " greater NYC toilet change out" I installed strictly Crane toilets over 3,700 and not a single call back



No way would I dare use a pressure assist as I have a stock room full of Sloan Flushmate tanks and parts

 

[Terry]

Welcome to Crane Plumbing
Crane plumbing has merged with American Standard. In light of this, Crane Plumbing products are no longer being offered in the trade channel. We will continue to provide customer care support and product information support for these brands, which can be found on this site. Thank you for your interest and support for Crane Plumbing. Please see information below regarding American Standard.

 

[Terry]

I've installed Gerber toilets for customers, but most want something better. I guess it depends on what your customers can afford. Lucky for me I don't deal with the consumers that are so cost conscious.

 

[Anna Rhinewalt]

Thank y'all so much for the help! Glad to have someone with your experience helping me make this decision.

Drake II it is!

 

[Reach4]

Thank y'all so much for the help! Glad to have someone with your experience helping me make this decision.

Drake II it is!

The experienced will warn about having the toilet shipped in rather than picking up locally. Toilets carried around on a pallet will be less likely to be damaged in transit than those sent separately through a shipper.

Even then, you might want to inspect in the parking lot if it is a long drive back home.

 

[WJcandee]

Let us know how it goes, Anna! We love to hear people's experiences after they've had a chance to use it for a few days. We're confident that you will be very happy.