TOTO Entrada, CST244EF, CST243EF Review and comments

[Taysan]

I'm in the market for a new, 'comfort height' elongated bowl, 1.3 gallon per flush or better toilet for a cottage I just bought. Water supply is intermittent as the cottage is off-grid, so I currently fire up the generator to run the jet pump with lake-intake water (this will be resolved with a solar system in coming years).

Currently, there is a massive old 3 gallon / 13 liter flush toilet in the cottage. Round bowl, standard height, cushy seat - nothing right about it whatsoever. So out it goes. It's amazing to me nobody has gone down and spent $100 on a basic more efficient toilet in the last 20 years its been there.

Anyhow, clearly I'd like to use less water, so I get more flushes per pump-run, through the night etc. I'd also want an elongated bowl and the 16"+ height.

I have two Kohler Bancroft units in the house now, which were chosen for their style/match sinks etc. They're nice enough, but I think I'd like to try out the TOTO line for the cottage. Only one toilet there, so it has to work!

In my searching, I stumbled across the Entrada model. I can get it locally. Universal height, elongated bowl, E-Max flushing system, 1.28 gallon per flush.... everything I need. It's 1/2 the price of the best I can seem to find for a Drake II in Toronto.

Can't find any mention of it on the forum here, and very little info online. Thoughts?

https://terrylove.com/pdf/cst243ef_spec.pdf

 

[WJcandee]

You don't see much on it because it's a new model.

The street price you quote is a nudge less than the regular Original Drake. Looks like they're positioning this one as the entry-level (better-than-builder-grade) E-Max toilet with included Universal Height and moving the original Drake upscale about $50 by giving it the optional new tank.

This model has a greater than 1000 MAP rating, a 3" flush valve, a good-looking trapway (the real EMax flush), and should perform quite well.

You might also consider the original Drake CST744EL if you want that universal (ADA) height.

 

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[Taysan]

I swung out and picked one up. Like you say, it's hard to argue with the toilet / seat combo for $199. Even walking into the showroom the 'special' price on the floor model was $350 so I'm not sure why they posted it online for $199. But it got me into the shop. Even the people at the counter were a little surprised at the price.

In Canada I haven't found the Drake for anything under $400 or so. I'm happy with this - looking forward to installing it this weekend.

 

[Terry]

I think we're going to need some pictures.
The TOTO pics are okay, but not as nice as the ones the customers take.
Here are some I've added July 16, 2014

A look inside the tank would be nice too.

 

[Taysan]

I think we're going to need pictures of it.
The TOTO pics are okay, but not as nice as the ones the customers take.
A look inside the tank would be nice too.

You bet - will snap some pics when I unpack it next weekend. It's a fairly benign looking toilet from what I saw in the showroom. Not sure how much I'll like the seat. When we bought our Kohler Bancrofts the seats they came with were sharply angled in towards the bowl. Aside from the obvious 'funnel' this creates (and if you need a funnel to hit the bowl, well, it might be time for a bedpan) I've never understood this design aspect to some toilet seats.

The soft close feature will be nice to have.

 

[WJcandee]

PS For our Canadian friends, I see that Wolseley will now carry every single item in the Toto line coast-to-coast in Canada. They apparently have 144 branches and showrooms across the country. I don't know how the prices will be, but at least they will have or be able to order any Toto product. They typically sell to contractors, plumbers, and local plumbing supply places.

 

[Taysan]

Quick picsof tank innards which I'm sure are the main area of interest. Will check the bowl out on the weekend. Doesn't look like any surprises in here. Green E-MAX labelled doohicky and what I presume is a 3" flapper.

Made in Chile. Plastic threaded part to attach the supply to - only mention it because one model I was considering was the Cadet Pro which apparently has metal parts.

 

[WJcandee]

Interesting. Has the new PVC flapper and a Korky fill valve. Nice looking. Chile, huh? Maybe hence the name?

Looking forward to see your other photos as things progress. Good value!!!

 

[bigred123]

Location?

I swung out and picked one up. Like you say, it's hard to argue with the toilet / seat combo for $199. Even walking into the showroom the 'special' price on the floor model was $350 so I'm not sure why they posted it online for $199. But it got me into the shop. Even the people at the counter were a little surprised at the price.

In Canada I haven't found the Drake for anything under $400 or so. I'm happy with this - looking forward to installing it this weekend.

Can you tell me where you bought yours? Dealer in Newmarket wants $259 - $60 on a $200 toilet is a huge difference. I am on the fence between this toilet or the Drake / Drake II. Before I researched this much on toilets I had an American Standard Champion 4 installed and it has worked great, with no issues at all and almost no "stains" left that require the brush. I am concerned with the Toto's that they appear to need more brushing than the Champions. Comments?

 

[bigred123]

For those that are looking, I believe the difference is whether a seat is included or not. The toilet sells at $199 in Canada without the seat.

 

[pickett]

Hi gentlemen/ladies, just registered on this site today. A question for Taysan specifically and anyone else who might have input: Aren't you concerned about the non insulated tank on the Toto Entrada? It gets pretty muggy, both here in Toronto and probably at your cottage too, during the summer months. Won't sweating be a problem OR will the low flow flush alleviate that concern?

 

[Terry]

It gets pretty muggy, both here in Toronto and probably at your cottage too, during the summer months. Won't sweating be a problem OR will the low flow flush alleviate that concern?

Since you are only flushing a small portion from the tank, it shouldn't be an issue.
If you flush multiple times quickly and drain the tank down, then maybe so with very cold incoming water and a muggy location.
Sweating can occur in any toilet if the flapper seal is leaking, causing new incoming cold to keep entering the tank.

 

[SamC]

I'm just curious. I see from the picture that the overflow in the tank is rather short, indicating that the water level won't be nearly as high as it could be, judging by the height of the tank. Some of the early low-volume flushers had extra tall tanks with a high water level to gain the head pressure necessary for a good flush. Obviously Toto has worked out the design to provide a good flush without the additional head pressure. So the questions would be: why not a shorter tank? tradition? comfort? Alternatively, if you kept the same tank but took advantage of the extra height and associated head pressure, would it be possible to alter the design for a good flush with less water?

 

[Wallijonn]

I wish Taysan would have updated this thread with a full review, saying what he liked or didn't like. I'd appreciate more pictures, too.

 

[Taysan]

I wish Taysan would have updated this thread with a full review, saying what he liked or didn't like. I'd appreciate more pictures, too.

Sorry everyone!

Works great. Flushes well, went together very easily and seems well made. I'm using it up at the cottage so it's not getting much use, but we did have 7 people up there for 5 days (4 adults, 3 kids) and never encountered a problem.

I'm not a professional - this is my 4th toilet in the last 15 years, so I'm not sure what I can tell you that would be of much interest. My primary objective was a very low water consumption unit (we're off grid, so pressurized water comes at the cost of running a generator) that was comfort-height and elongated. The soft-close seat is great and all that for the $200 price seemed like an impossible deal given the TOTO reputation.

Its my only TOTO so I have no idea if it shares features/design/engineering with other models.

 

[WJcandee]

You did get a great deal because at least here in the US, it's selling at the online sites for almost exactly the same price as the Original Eco-Drake, which is about $30 more than you paid for the toilet PLUS the seat. Terry actually sells it in Seattle for a little bit less than you can get it online! Which is why a toilet plus professional installation from Terry is an extraordinary deal.

 

[Taysan]

Just a few more notes

I installed the Entrada in our small 1 bath cottage and have had as many as 7 people here with children who use prodigious quantities of tissue. Not a single clog yet.

Also, even in the hot humid summer days with no HVAC systems I haven't seen a drop of condensation on the tank.

Love the soft close seat, although you have to make sure it's closing as if you just give it a gentle start it sometimes slaps back against the tank making a racket at 2am in a small close quarters cottage.

It survived the winter with the use of plumbing antifreeze. Had to use quite a bit and plunged it down to ensure it was at full concentration in the trap. I was concerned about it freezing and even with the undiluted antifreeze it slushed up but no problems and we used it over Christmas once we warmed up the place.

The efficient flush is especially welcomed as we're off grid. This past weekend I added two 50 gallon pressure tanks to our system so we get much more drawdown between runs of the generator for the water pump. We can now squeeze a couple showers, washing dishes and necessary toilet flushes between pumps. Pretty much a full days water for the three of us.

We keep a couple plastic jugs of water on hand to manually fill the toilet tank if we run low on pressure.

Happy to answer any questions I can including where I got it in Toronto if that's OK to post or PM me and I'll fill you in.

 

[Terry]

Here are some pictures

 

[WJcandee]

Interesting new flapper...

 

[Sunjwd]

Long time lurker, just signed up.
Based on the recommendations here and elsewhere I bought 4 Toto Entradas for a recent renovation.
They work well so far.
One question (did not find this topic in a search): do people notice that the flush handle (aka trap release) is "wobbly"?
I took it apart and see that the design - where the bronze coloured wire piece fits into the plastic piece that fits into the
cast metal handle - is inherently wobbly. Has anyone hacked it to be more solid feeling?
I was wondering if anyone has filled the fitting with say epoxy or something.
The wobbly flush handle is out of place on a fairly pricey and nice toilet.