Toto Drake toilet product review

[Reader Review]

Terry,
We have two and a half baths in a 17 YO house and were constantly having to look for the plunger. I even had to instruct my family how to shut off the supply lines on the old toilets within 10 seconds of a problem. They all got pretty good at it. I did some internet searches and came across your sight. We wanted the best toilet made.
We bought the Toto Drake in ADA style last fall to try it and see if your readers accounts were true. They were. We since purchased two more Toto Drakes and I don't even know where the plunger is now since we have not used it even once since.
We noticed how quiet these are and how fast the tank refills. We also like the "variable flush" where a quick push of the handle empties liquid waste and holding the handle longer empties solid waste.

Thanks for the web site.

K. Womack

Toto Drake Installation instructions

Drake flushing 800 Grams

 

[Reader Review]

Thanks for hosting such an informative website! When our one and only toilet broke a couple of days ago, my first reflex was to run to Home Depot and buy whatever was available. However, my wife suggested I do a little web research to ensure we got a toilet that was the best for our budget. Your information led us to select the Toto Drake, and we are very satisfied. Thanks so much for helping us make an informed decision.

I'd just like to offer another suggestion from my wife: it would be helpful for readers of your website if you could make recordings of the flush and fill sounds of different toilets that could be played as streaming audio. Since noise is a big factor in determining satisfaction with a toilet, being able to hear in advance what one is in for could help consumers make an even better decision.

Thanks again,

Scott & Pam

Looking inside the Toto Drake tank.
Lowes and other hardware stores carry the flapper and repair part for the fiill valve.
Repairs when needed are quick and easy. Toto uses a 3" flush valve to quickly move the water through.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reader Review]

What a sweet toilet for a 1.6 GPF! Thanks for all the great info!
Dr. George H

 

[Reader Review]

Toto Drake toilet

The one toilet I got from you would have been somewhere around 2 years ago.
(It’s absolutely wonderful ! I think these should replace ~1,000,000 toilets in the Puget Sound area

Craig

 

[ddeslaur]

Drake flush question

Installed my new Drake yesterday with no problems. Thanks for the great site and recomendation by the way! This is our first Toto and I'm not sure what to expect of the flush. I have not put it to "use" as of yet but am underwhelmed by the flushing action. Water supply is wide open and is 50 psi, trapway is not blocked either. I know this is hard to parlay in writing but what should I expect of the flush? Should I just wait and see how it is in action?

Thanks for any advice,
Doug

 

[Terry]

You should use it first for a week, and then you will have a better idea.

The Drake does not splash, most of the water action takes place below the water surface.
Put you hand down in the bowl, and you will feel the force of the flush.

How Green Are Low-Flow Toilets?

CST744SL with SW2034 Washlet.

 

[ddeslaur]

Thanks for the quick response Terry...I thought I may have been premature...but after install was looking for a big show...lots of noise(whooshing for lack of better term) and splashing. I will see how it works in action and try the hand in the water, doesn't seem to apalling as it is new.


Thanks again,
Doug

 

[jadnashua]

Engineering works...no high noise levels or splashes...

 

[Reader Review]

Sat, 10 Jun 2006

I love this toilet. I got very tired of the stuff going round and round and wondering if it would go down. And now it just burps a little and it's all gone, whoosh. Hardly any sound, very quiet and it refills very quickly. One quick flush rather than two or three. 1.6 instead of 3.5 gallons. I tell the wife, it works so good, I can't wait till I go again just to watch it disappear.
Your report was excellent, thank you for the information that made my decision.
Roger Dowling
Sayreville, NJ

 

[Reader Review]

Sat, 13 May 2006

Based upon your recommendation, as well as looking at the "MaP Testing of Popular Toilet Models" report. I purchase a Toto Drake to replace my old Mansfield 3 1/2 gallon dinosaur, that should have been sold with a plunger, because you had to hold down the handle when flushing it and use all the water in the tank or it would clog.

I couldn't be happier with the new toilet. It's everything you said it was. It flushes great, is very quiet, and refills quickly. I love the styling of it as well. An unusual thing I have not seen on other toilets is the tank lid is flush with the tank and does not hang over it - giving it a very nice, modern, clean look. In addition, the porcelain on the bowl turns up towards the front of the tank, giving the toilet a one-piece look and making it easier to keep clean. The only negative thing I could say about the toilet is that it could have a little better bowl wash, but I will take flushing power over bowl wash any day. I have a toilet that needs replacing upstairs soon, and I would not hesitate to purchase this model again.

Rick

 

[Reader Review]

Mon, 29 May 2006

Outstanding website! Very helpful and informative.

I followed your advice and bought a Toto Drake (elongated) unit. I am very happy with it. A couple of negatives; No hold-down bolts included. No wax doughnut included; No seat included; None of this was on the boxes. Fortunately, I do a lot of work on the house although I?m not a plumber and I had this stuff ?in stock?. For DIYs, it might mean another trip to the hardware store. It is louder than I expected although not nearly as loud as the contractor special that came with the house. I?m just curious whether the Ultramax would have been a better choice.

I purchased the Drake for about US$ *** including what turned out to be a nice seat ($**). The Ultramax would have been only $35 more and it included a seat. I chose the two-piece Drake partly because it would be easier to lug up the stairs and drop over the hole. I think my next one will be the Ultramax.

Overall, very happy. I?ll be recommending it to my neighbors (Tract subdivision with the same crappy toilets in all (no pun intended J ) ). They will be needing new ones soon.

Thanks again for the great resource.

Jeff

Toilets don't come with other parts like wax, closet bolts, supply tubes or seats.
Just as cameras don't come with film and memory cards either.
Terry

 

[Cass]

Jeff, Just FYI.

Generaly speaking boxes do not state what is not in them, just what is in them. The sales person should have told you what additional parts were needed to install it and recomended a seat.

 

[Reader Review]

Mon, 10 Jul 2006

Just replaced two Eljer toilets with the Toto Drake. The Eljer would constantly clog, once resulting in having to remove the toilet to clear and a couple of times I had to use a shop vac to clear. The Drakes work great with little water use. Should have done this years ago. Thanks for your reviews and customer comments. They steered me in the right direction.
M. Walters

 

[Reader Review]

Tue, 18 Jul 2006

Drake CST743S
Thanks so much for the toilet! It works like a charm...it's all I can do stop flushing all day. Guess I better get a life.

Monica

 

[achutch]

I have had my Drake for 9 months, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. Mine is the ADA model, which I prefer because of its extra height. After trying several toilets in my main bathroom, 1.6, 3.5, & 5.0, the Drake does the job far better than any of the others did, and consequently, I no longer think of the 1.6 toilet as an abomination!! I highly recommend the Drake with its G-Max technology to anybody!

Matt

 

[Reader Review]

7/21/2006

The Toto Drake was installed 11/2005 even though the plumber thought it might be hard to get repair parts. Not one clog in 8 months. The American Standard 3.5 gal it replaced would need the plunger at least once a week. We are replacing the other 2 toilets with Toto drakes next week. The plumber is still trying to talk us into the new American Standard toilets, but 8 months trouble free made the choice of Toto the right one for us.
Thanks for the helpful reviews.
Brian in Ohio

 

[Reader Review]

Wed, 26 Jul 2006

I had a Gerber low flow toilet installed and it was constantly plugged and overflowing.
(I did not pick the Gerber - the plumber did)
Thanks to your web site, I learned the Toto Drake is the way to go. It is like a
miracle! I had the Gerber only about three weeks
and then my daughter installed the Drake for me. I cannot thank you enough.
C. Gibbons Grants Pass Or

 

[Mikey]

Installed my mail-order Toto Drake last night and am happy to say it went in well and works as advertised. Elongated, ATA height, Bemis seat all work together to provide a very comfortable ride. Instructions need some editing -- somebody at Toto should sit down with a new toilet and the enclosed instructions and do what he can to make them match up, but an experienced DIYer can make things work.

Only hitch in the installation was one Tapcon that twisted off going into the slab -- I hate those things. With 7 other holes in the flange, it's not a big deal.

 

[Mike50]

Looks like a sports car, doesnt it? lol

Cant beat the Aquia in all areas imo.

 

[sanaka]

I feel I should add my kudos for the Toto Drake and this forum.

This forum is where my toilet research ended and I ordered Toto Drakes for my new house. It's not finished, toilets are not installed yet, but I've bought or installed five other ones for other folks' renovations. They are indeed awesome.

The house I'm renovating now had a fancy Kohler low rider one piece thing that probably goes for around $1200. The flush was pathetic. It would take like 35 seconds for the water to slowly rise in the bowl, gently swirl the excrement around and gradually, ever so slowly, swallow it down, as though it were an existential drama performance. I just want it BamDone, and that what the Drake does.

It was quite gratifying to send that $1200 toilet to the landfill and put in a Toto

Peace,
Sanaka

Toto Softclose seat