Will Toto keep making the original Drake?

[PM5K]

Im looking to start replacing some toilets in a small commercial office complex. We are running 20 year old Cranes that seem decent but show too much wear and tear.

I think the high end of our budget is 250, which gets you a Drake, but if we dont buy them all at once, are they going to be hard to find? Is Toto going to continue to make the Drake or has the Drake 2 taken its place?

I know there is also the Entrada and the Eco Drake which I think are farily affordable, but I prefer a little more water with the flush.

TIA

 

[Jadnashua]

I wouldn't be surprised if TX started to mandate the 1.28g toilets over the 1.6g ones as time goes by, so even if they're still made, you may not be able to legally buy or install one in TX. As of now, it's illegal to sell, install, or import one greater than 1.6g, which the Drake does fine, but that could change. No inside information on what Toto's business plan calls for on their products, though.

From a cleaning situation the II series stays cleaner. From what I've heard, the primary difference between the 1.6 and 1.28g flushes on a Toto is related to better control on the fill/flush so that less water is actually wasted...the flush is about the same. Can't say that that is true on other brands. If you search, you'll find some people here have both and they notice little to no difference in their performance. the II series makes even better use of that smaller water with the tornado, swirling bowl wash than the wash down version.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[PM5K]

Well the Drake 2 is out of my budget, would you vote for the Eco Drake?

I dont know if they’ll keep making the Eco Drake either since the Drake 2 uses the same amount of water, but I’ve heard similar arguments for the Eco Drake, that the original Drake isnt much better just because it uses more water.

 

[Jadnashua]

The Drake series is pretty robust. Still, no idea how long it will be available.

Maybe Terry has some more insight since he sells lots of them.

 

[Terry]

I don't know how long they will be selling the 744 and 743 configuration, but I see no reason to stop. I've sold thousands of them.
There are two tank options, the E 1.28 and the S 1.60 GPF. Same tank, different timing of the flapper or tower settings. Anytime you feel the need for more water, you can always hold the handle from dropping so soon.

 

[WJcandee]

The Original Drake is still a good seller.

As Terry says, it's the same toilet, and the same tank except for different settings on the fill valve and the flapper. That's it. Those are standard parts that you can replace with commercially-available products, so, if you ever felt the need to do so, you could theoretically buy an E version and transform it to an S version just by putting in a different flapper and tweaking the refill water. Easy-peasy. The fact is that the 1.28 version doesn't function materially-differently than the 1.6 version. Most people don't notice the difference.

If it were I, and I wanted to get a couple of Original Drakes now and a couple more next year or whatever, I think you'd be okay. And once something is discontinued, stock continues to be available throughout the supply chain for a while.

In short, if you want a CST744S or two, get them. If that 1.6 version ends up being discontinued, you probably still will be able to get a CST744E, which looks identical and performs basically the same, and can easily be converted to use 1.6gpf with basically the change of a flapper (under $10). And if all are discontinued, which we haven't heard anything about, they will be in the supply chain for at least a few months.

 

[JerryR]

I had both the 1.28 and 1.6 Drakes at my last house. I could not tell the difference in flush-ability. In fact at one point, I swapped tanks between the 2 and saw no difference.