TOTO Ultramax II, MS604114CEFG toilet reviews & pictures

[RRsears]

Ultramax II Test--Consumer Reports

I read your opinions on Consumer Reports testing. I do have a concern, though, about the Ultramax II that I'm looking to buy. I saw the video from Toto showing the flushing of the blue liquid. They showed the blue liquid flushed completely. The video produced by Consumer Reports actually showed that the blue liquid did not flush completely on the first flush but had to be flushed a second time to remove the blue liquid. What would cause that to happen? Are you still very confident in the flushing ability in the Double Cyclone flush? Thanks a lot.


Rick

 

[Terry]

I have the Ultramax II in my main bath.

So after reading your post, and watching the CR video, I went upstairs and tried the same thing on mine.

It worked fine.

I have no ideal what Consumer Reports is doing to make their Ultramax II fail a test like that.

Neither mine, nor any that I have installed for customers work like the one on the Consumer Reports Video.

So the big question is, What have they done?

Are they still unhappy with my report to the point that they now need to make stuff up?


Video of performance of the Ultramax II

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Terry]

I would put it just below the CEFIONTECT version of the Drake and Ultramax.

I still like those a bunch.
I have the CEFIONTECT Ultramax downstairs.

 

[RRsears]

Thanks for your quick response. We cannot get the Ultramax with CEFIONTECT in Bone. Which would you recommend, the Ultramax without the CEFIONTECT or the Ultramax II with CEFIONTECT? We are not going to get the Drake because we want a one-piece toilet. Thanks again.

Rick

 

[Terry]

It bepends on your water.
If youir water leaves rings, then the CEFIONTECT II in Bone may be better, or the Carlyle, with comes in Bone and CEFIONTECT.

 

[RRsears]

Thanks a million for your help, Terry. With our horrendously hard water in Arizona, I think the answer is clear--Ultramax II with CEFIONTECT it is! You've been of great assistance to me--Your website ROCKS!!!

Rick

 

[Susanna]

Ultramax ll

Have had my Ultramax ll for several months now and I can't say enough about how well it works and how easy it is to clean! I did a lot of research on your site before spending that kind of money and am so pleased that I didn't get the American Standard Cadet. I absolutely love the Ultramax ll's cyclone flush...it is so quick, and the refill time is fantastic. The cleaning is easy too. I just spray a little cleaner on it, flush and the yuck is gone. I bought a soft brush for cleaning and haven't needed to use it once. The interior bowl configuration does have a shadow at the water line which can make the bowl look dirty when it isn't. And I do wish the seat was a little easier to clean where the bolts meet the bowl. There is opportunity for liquids to get under there. There is a bit of splash back on the front underside of the seat, but it is easy to clean, so that's ok. I have considered getting a Bemis seat instead. Any thoughts?
All in all, I wouldn't trade my Toto for any other toilet!
No need for a plunger yet either! Woohoo! And that was a big consideration with the guys in the house...
Installation would have been easy but my contractor made a "minor" error in measuring the distance from the wall to the drain. Was off a quarter inch and I was being told I would have to get a different toilet. We finally decided to make a niche in the wall to accomodate the difference, but when they got in there the cast iron vent pipe was in the way. So the tiler curved the wall behind the toilet to fit. I am so glad I insisted that there must be a way to make it work! It actually looks really cool, like we planned it that way!

Anyway, thanks Terry and everyone who helped!
Su

 

[Slpknt10l03]

Awesome Toilet!

I love this tiolet! Definently worth the money. This is my first Toto and i think I'm hooked.

 

[fred54]

Consumer Reports blue dye explanation??

I have the Ultramax II in my main bath.

So after reading your post, and watching the CR video, I went upstairs and tried the same thing on mine.

It worked fine.

I have no ideal what Consumer Reports is doing to make their Ultramax II fail a test like that.

Neither mine, nor any that I have installed for customers work like the one on the Consumer Reports Video.

So the big question is, What have they done?

I

Terry, as someone who is actively looking to replace an old toilet, I have been looking into my various Toto options and came across both the Consumer Reports article and your great web site.

It seems really crazy that CR could get such a drastically different result than other people, including you, seem to have experienced.

So I took a careful look at both the Toto video and the CR video of the Ultramax II flush with blue dye. What seemed fairly apparent to me was that the water level in the bowl (prior to the flush) was much lower in the CR video than the Toto video.

In the Toto video, it appears that the water level exactly fills the depression in the bottom of the bowl, and then slightly overflows the depression when they add the blue dye. However, in the CR video, with the dye added, the water does not seem to fill the depression.

Could this be a clue as to why CR got a different result?

I don't know how interested you are in doing more experiments, or if you still have your Ultramax II, but you might like to try scooping out some water from the bowl and then re-trying the dye test. Perhaps that would reproduce CR's result?

In any case, thanks for this really valuable and informative web site!

 

[Terry]

In the Toto video, it appears that the water level exactly fills the depression in the bottom of the bowl, and then slightly overflows the depression when they add the blue dye. However, in the CR video, with the dye added, the water does not seem to fill the depression.

Could this be a clue as to why CR got a different result?

It's more then just that.
When I showed the CR video to Jamie, he immediately came to the same conclusion I did.

Somebody had plugged the bowl.

They plugged the bowl up, and then ran their test.
When you plug a bowl, the water doesn't siphon out.
So how do you make a "bowl test" fail? You stuff it with rubber sponges,
and then make a video of it.

However, they did mention two other toilet models in their test nine times.
One Gerber toilet got five mentions, and the Kohler they listed four times.
The Gerber had a round bowl, an elongated bowl and an ADA bowl, and the same tank.
The Kohler was the same toilet, with the choice of a big box, two boxes, or two boxes with a different label.

I have the Ultramax II in my main bath.
Works great!
I sell lot's of the Ultramax II, many of those are referring their friends and neighbors.
Anytime CR needs tips on toilets, they can give me a call.

And I promise I won't write reports on car batteries.

Consumer Reports wants to flush "Consumer Toilet Report" site

 

[SteveW]

I can't speak to why the CR test is so different from others' experience, but would just add my real-life experience. I have 2 Ultramax II's, and 1 Soiree. Both have Double Cyclone technology and both work well. I think the Ultramax II works a little better, since it really seems to kind of "suck" the waste out of the bowl rather than "push" it out. It is truly amazing to see just how rapidly, and how completely, it does so. Suffice it to say that my family and I have given these toilets a very good workout and they really do perform nearly flawlessly.

The other discrepancy is that the one-piece Ultramax IIs, like I have, have a MaP score of 500, which is acceptable but lower than the two-piece models, and lower than many other Toto toilets. Despite this, I really think the real-world experience I've had with them would suggest a much higher score than was seen in the lab.

 

[SteveW]

I love this tiolet! Definently worth the money. This is my first Toto and i think I'm hooked.

What's up with the base of the toilet? Looks like a couple inches of caulk? Or is it sitting on sort sort of elevated base?

 

[lazypineapple]

Just bought 2 MS604114CEFG , UltraMax II.
Installed the 1st one,(remodeling),
Very nice unit. , clean flushing, and quick,
this Throne, does a complete flush in 20 sec, from the time you push the handle til the water shuts off.
very pleased ,

 

[Terry]

I've been selling a lot of these lately.
Most are repeat or referred sales.
Washington Towers in downtown Bellevue is on location that is just popping right now.



We're pulling a lot of Sterling toilets to make way for them.

This one on Queen Anne

 

[Reader Review]

MS604164CEFG Ultramax II

Utltramax II installed by owner and working great! The base of the old toilet was a little different in shape than the Ultramax but you can't tell. I'm ready to do your installs for $175.00. In fact I'll do them for $150 and send you $25.00. But I don't think I can carry the toilets over one shoulder.
Thanks,
Alan P
Friday Harbor

 

[Menghsiu]

Leaking in the tank!

Dear Terry,

I just remodeled the bathroom and installed a Ultramax II. It was fine for the first 3 weeks, but now there's this dripping sound and then the tank will refill after about 30 minutes. For a while I couldn't see where the leak was coming from, then this one time when I heard the tank was being filled, I opened up the tank and see that underneath the green cap (where Cyclone was written) I can see water dripping from it. I unclip the green cap and there were three small jet streams shooting to three different directions. Now instead of dripping sound, it has turned into a hissing sound! I just turned the water feeding the tank off as not to waste water until I have to use it... Does this sound like a serious problem? Is this a easy fix that I can do? I don't know anything about plumbing...

 

[Terry]

Turn off the water to the tank.
If the tank level goes down, the flapper is leaking.

If the tank level is steady, then the fill valve may need cleaning or replacement.

Water dripping from the top of the fill valve is the anti-siphon action of the valve and is most likely normal.

 

[Menghsiu]

I think I might have found the problem. When I first looked at the tank I saw this brown floating wings stuff right above the flapper and thought it was part of the tank's guts (some where in the forum I thought I saw someone mentioned the floating wing stuff was to help the flapper from closing too soon?!). Since the tank won't hold water I had to keep opening it up to check, and then finally the brown floating stuff sort of had a small rip, and one part of the wing was caught under the flapper. When I took it out (it wasn't attached to anything) I realized it was just cardboard, and I think the plumber didn't take it out when they installed the toilet. Strange. What kind of inexperienced plumber were they? I hope that that was the problem, and the tank hadn't leak since.

Cardboard left in the tank. I've heard that a few times now.
Next time I will remember to suggest that too. Who would have that of that?
Terry

 

[Reader Review]

MS604114CEFG Ultramax II

Hi Terry,

Thanks for installing toilets at my house on August 19. I'm very pleased with the product, installation and service

Nel L
Shoreline WA

 

[Birdman]

Follow up on Gwyneth / Ultramax

I am in the process of building a house, and about a year ago, when I thought I was going to be ready to order toilets, it seemed that the Toto Gwynneth (sp?) with sanigloss was the way to go for a good flush one piece high end toilet.
It is now about a year later and after lots of delays, I really am almost ready to order toilets. Has the landscape changed? I recall reading something about some problems with the Toto Ultramax but I confess I have lost sight of the names and what may be new out there.
Any thoughts? (I am in Canada, so not sure if the product line names are different here).
TIA (thanx in advance)