Can I put an EcoDrake tank on top of Drake Bowl?

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newowner

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Tonight my husband thinks he cracked the tank of our Drake (1.6 gpf, standard height, elongated sanigloss bowl). The tank has been feeling a bit wobbly when I flush it. So he tightened the bolts attaching the tank to the bowl and now it leaks. He can't actually see a crack but he sees condensation on the side of the tank. Is the EcoDrake tank compatible with the Drake bowl?
 
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WJcandee

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Yeah. The EcoDrake (1.28gpf) tank is model number ST743E, and it will fit on your C744 bowl. If the toilet is relatively-new, you most likely already have the Eco bowl (C744E), because that's the bowl Toto now uses for both the 1.6 and the 1.28 version of the original Drake. If you have the older 1.6 bowl (C744S), you might see a difference in performance with the 1.28 tank, primarily because the 1.6 bowl starts with a little more water in it and the refill percentage on the fill valve might give you a little less than a full bowl to start with, but you might not. And all of that can be tweaked with our help if you need it.

Before you go buying a new tank, you might as well just pull the old tank and reinstall it. Maybe try new washers and/or tank-to-bowl mounting hardware, and follow our instructions for mounting that tank. I.e. position the tank over the bowl. Holding the tank level, slowly tighten the bolts, alternating one side then the other after just a few twists, and watch the three points of contact get closer to each other. You may need to loosen and start tightening again if one seems like it is going to touch well before the others. Tighten until the points of contact are almost but not quite touching, like you could slide 2 or 3 sheets of paper in between them. That's good enough, and the doughnut gasket that the tank sits on should be well enough compressed to keep the tank from wobbling. Don't ever tighten once any point of contact on the tank is touching the point of contact on the bowl, because if you tighten once the china touches, you will likely crack something; porcelain doesn't compress when pressed against porcelain. The best tank-to-bowl set of hardware has two bolts, and on each bolt there will be two rubber washers, two nuts, and two metal washers. The first rubber washer goes under the head of the bolt inside the tank, and the metal washer and nut go OUTSIDE the tank on the bottom to hold the whole thing in place. The metal washer does NOT go inside the tank, despite what 1000 handymen will tell you. It just doesn't. Then, when you put the tank on the bowl, you use the rubber washer, metal washer, and nut, all under the bowl, to pull the tank down towards the bowl.

If you think you have a little leak around the bolt head and rubber washer in the tank, we recommend lightly sanding the bottom of the tank around each bolt hole with some very fine sandpaper, to smooth out any little imperfections in the floor of the tank so the washer makes a good seal against the porcelain and prevents leaks.

Hope this helps. Come back with any questions.
 

Wallijonn

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The tank has been feeling a bit wobbly when I flush it. So he tightened the bolts attaching the tank to the bowl and now it leaks.

You may want to buy a new spud gasket (in case it has deformed) and install it, or just unbolt it, maybe put a smidgen of plumber's silicone grease on the old spud gasket. One of my Drakes was a bear, giving me a slight leak and I gave up after bolting and unbolting it three times. I went to Ace Hardware and bought the Korky tank to bowl gasket kit, #481BP. It's red instead of black, is firmer and a little taller. I just had to make sure that I didn't crack the porcelain trying to get the tank to touch at the assigned three points because it being taller it will not compress as far as the stock black spud gasket. Safest bet is to get the black one, again. Part number is probably 9BU024E.$4.00: http://www.faucetdepot.com/prod/Toto-9BU024E-Tank-to-Bowl-Gasket-172052.asp

https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/spud-washer-size.14138/
https://terrylove.com/forums/index....o-c744e-toilet-help-please.59179/#post-439286

ecodrake_tankbottom.jpg

The black gasket is the spud gasket.

drake_install_large_nut.jpg

Maybe the valve nut needs tightening, as Jamie is doing. ?
See https://terrylove.com/forums/index....o-c744e-toilet-help-please.59179/#post-439286
 
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Gary Swart

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When tightening the tank bolts, use a business card as a gauge and tighten the tank down as previously described, but just to when the three point touch the card.
 

newowner

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Update: My husband re-installed the tank and it still leaked so his verdict was a hairline crack. I determined that I have the older 1.6gpf bowl so I purchased a new 1.6 gpf tank (ST743S). He installed it and all is fine. Thank you, wjcandee, Wallijonn, and Gary Swart for such helpful replies. That is why I love this board so much. All of you are so nice to take the time to explain and to answer questions that probably seem so boring and simple to you. Thanks again!
 

WJcandee

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That is why I love this board so much. All of you are so nice to take the time to explain and to answer questions that probably seem so boring and simple to you. Thanks again!

It's our pleasure. It's a lot of fun when we can share something that we have learned. Especially when we can make the day a little easier for nice people like yourselves.
 
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