Flushing issues with rear discharge power flush toilets

[Marie Shively]

We live in a condo with cement floors so they built the bathrooms with Kohler rear discharge power flush toilets, model # M-101526-F4 with a Sloan Flushmate system. The plumber says there is a T that connects the common plumbing wasteline between the two bathrooms. The toilets are directly back to back on the common wall.

The issue we are having is that when someone uses the bathroom and has a bowel movement, the flushing action moves some of the waste into the other toilet and we end up having to flush both toilets. This happens almost every time. We had a plumber in yesterday and he checked to see if there was any type of obstruction in the line and there wasn't.

He has said the only thing he thinks we could do is to build out the wall about 6 inches on each side to accommodate a Y fitting instead of the T fitting. The bathrooms are really small and adding 6 inches to the depth of the toilet area would drop the space between the wall and the toilet down to about 22 inches.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Reach4]

He has said the only thing he thinks we could do is to build out the wall about 6 inches on each side to accommodate a Y fitting instead of the T fitting. The bathrooms are really small and adding 6 inches to the depth of the toilet area would drop the space between the wall and the toilet down to about 22 inches.

I am not a plumber. I suspect he might have meant that the wall would have to be built out to some lesser amount. 22 inches does seem excessive.

What I suggest is that you post a sketch of what you think is in the wall, and on the wall, now, and see what solution is suggested.

Also, how far does the bowl currently extend from the wall, and is it round or elongated?

Is the solution, if successful on the initial build, probably going to be duplicated several times?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Marie Shively]

I am not a plumber. I suspect he might have meant that the wall would have to be built out to some lesser amount. 22 inches does seem excessive.

What I suggest is that you post a sketch of what you think is in the wall, and on the wall, now, and see what solution is suggested.

Also, how far does the bowl currently extend from the wall, and is it round or elongated?

Is the solution, if successful on the initial build, probably going to be duplicated several times?

I think I might have confused you. The 22 inches would be from the wall across from the toilet to the front edge of the toilet. Unfortunately this is an old condo and they claim we are the only ones with an issue.

 

[Reach4]

I think I might have confused you.

Un-confuse us.

Are you saying 6+6+6=18, or what? It is better to say what you have than what you don't have.

Also, have you asked other occupants, or is the board actually saying that you and your neighbor are the only two who have complained?

 

[Marie Shively]

I've done a drawing showing the current measurements. The 27.5 clearance would go down to about 21.5.

 

[Terry]

Or you could try the Gerber Maxwell floor mounted, rear discharge that is a gravity model.

 

[Marie Shively]

The condo is in a condotel (rented out as hotel when we aren't using it). We are going to ask the association why these were installed and determine if it is a requirement. Thanks for your input.

 

[Reach4]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/gerber-gh/579a4f24818af64912fbbb79/20-022.pdf is that Gerber 1.28 gpf version.

It has dimensions.

 

[Jadnashua]

Back-to-back toilet installations never should have been installed with a T. That offers no resistance from one toilet to the other. The installation instructions on most toilets (at least that I've seen) specifically say to use a Y connection to avoid that specific problem. To get a Y, without offsetting the toilets some so that the arms can be within the existing wall space, would mean the toilets would need to be further apart.

 

[WJcandee]

I think I might have confused you. The 22 inches would be from the wall across from the toilet to the front edge of the toilet. Unfortunately this is an old condo and they claim we are the only ones with an issue.

Yeah, if all the units have the Flushmate mounted on a T, you're not the only one with a problem. My educated wild guess, if these are indeed old condos, is that the units were initially built with 3-or-5-gallon gravity-flush rear-discharge toilets connecting to a T, and the previous owner in the unit replaced them with the 1.6 gallon-per-flush Flushmate-equipped Kohlers. Or, it initially had been equipped with poor-performing low-flow rear-discharge toilets which the previous owner replaced with the Flushmate-equipped Kohlers to get more oomph -- right into the other toilet. Probably cheaper and easier to replace with good gravity toilets like the ones that Terry recommends than to do a bunch of plumbing -- even if the gravity ones also should be installed to a Y. You still might get a little siphoning or flickering of the water across the way, but you shouldn't end up with actual waste (yecch) propagating into the other toilet.