Sacrilege! Thinking of replacing our Toto Drake with a pressure assist.

[Linda.]

I can tell from reading other posts that this is going to be a very unpopular idea on here. So I want to see if you all can point me in a better direction. Our problem is that we have a Toto Drake (CST743S) that was installed in 2008, and we have had problems with it clogging from the beginning - I think partly because the pipe from the bathroom to the main sewer line is a relatively low angle over about 25 feet. And... we've got a family member that's been dealing with some 'difficult' medical issues for the past few years, and during that time the Drake has been clogging and needing to be plunged nearly every time he uses it. Needless to say, he's over it. And he's not too keen on getting another Toto. He doesn't care if the new toilet is loud. He just wants to not have to plunge it. Ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Reach4]

I like the humor.

In case there is an easy solution, such as something stuck in the path that could be washed out, try this. Dump as much water as you can handle from as high as you dare as fast as you dare.

You could use a 5 gallon bucket, or even a garbage can. The hope is that the fast water moves the blockage along.

Suggest that the user do a courtesy flush before starting the paperwork.

I presume the blockage is not visible, but the water does not go down quickly.

Don't dump chemicals down the toilet. The drain fly larva can work to your benefit, so don't be killing them as long as they stay in their place.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

A pressure assist might be able to shred things. Once the waste gets more than a few feet down the line, it slows down to about the same as a gravity flush toilet's velocity.

Is the waste not getting out of the bowl, or clogging afterwards?

The best bowl for large, hard stools caused by medical issues is probably a Caroma and it's gravity flush. It's just that a typical actual outlet of a toilet is slightly over 2" in diameter. The Caromas are designed with a 3" line so the long, hard stools have an easier time making it into the drain line.

 

[Terry]

Kohler makes the best pressure assist with Flushmate.
K-3493
For medical issues, going pressure assist or with a Caroma is a good idea. If you have a flat sewer line, the pressure assist does a good job too.
Though I have a friend with one in his office that is having issues downline with paper. Their bath had been remodeled and the rough location for the toilet had been moved across the room. I would love to see what they did to cause an issue with it. Normally the pressure assist never has a problem with that.

 

[Linda.]

Thanks so much for your help everyone.

It seems like Caroma would probably be a good choice for us given our issues (jadnashua - nothing seems to even leave the bowl before it backs up, so I'm thinking the more recent issue might be the narrow trapway). But, boy, the Caromas have got some bad reviews online. I'm pretty hesitant after reading so many reviews about having to clean skid marks after every use and needing multiple flushes to get everything down.

Terry, what do you think of the Kohler Wellworth K-3531-0? It comes in a standard height, where the Highline you recommend seems to only come in their "comfort height," which is oh so uncomfortable for me. There are also a couple of Zurn options, like the dual-flush Z5572. Any opinion on those?

But I will try the 5-gallon bucket of water from a height trick first to see if that makes a difference. Thanks for the idea Reach4. And yeah, definitely no chemicals - we live a 1/2 mile from the ocean, so there are all sorts of critters downstream that I wouldn't want to poison.

Thanks again!

 

[Jadnashua]

FWIW, skid marks can be an indication of not enough roughage in the diet. Today's toilets don't do as well at cleaning the bowl verses those that may have used as much as 7x more water in a flush...one of their disadvantages. A quick swish with a brush is a lot easier than plunging one that clogs up, though.

 

[WJcandee]

Avoid the Zurn dual-flush. If it still uses the WTI pressure-assist, you're not likely to be happy. There was a member here whose responsibility it was to replace the pressure assist cartridge in them in a 500-ish room hotel that had installed them. They were constantly-failing, and he was losing his mind.

 

[Mikey]

...nothing seems to even leave the bowl before it backs up...

Boy, there's a clue... I'd pull the toilet and see if the installer left a wrench in the pipe or something, or if there's something caught in the trapway. Good thread at https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/my-new-ultramax-clogged.39341 discussing close-to-toilet blockages.

 

[Terry]

There is a recall of Flushmate II 501-B units manufactured from September 3, 1996 to December 7, 2013

 

[Mikey]

That would be a great thing for a constipated consumer to have.

 

[WJcandee]

The recall that Terry cited resulted from incidents like this (nobody was hurt, despite the title):

The second video, near the end, says that the homeowner "replaced the tank", showing a gravity tank (i.e. one without a Flushmate). If he didn't replace the bowl, too (i.e. replace the whole toilet), the toilet would not flush. Totally different design.