Ian Gills and his Cadet 3

I just want everyone to know that Ian Gills has a Cadet 3 with Korky replacement parts.
He is standing by to talk to you about his Korky replacement parts in his Cadet.
He loves his Cadet.
In fact he would love to add that comment to every thread.
Kind of like sitting in church and saying Cadet whenever the preacher talks about heaven.

Thanks Terry. My toilet is becoming an obsession. And thanks to all of you who PM me about your Cadet 3s too!

You know who you are

Ian Gills said:

You know who you are

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https://terrylove.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=14502

Now I have some space, and as a homeowner in more ways than one it would appear, I thought I would post some pictures of my race-tuned Cadet 3.

It all started over 2 years ago when I took a stock 1.6gpf and decided to pimp it up a little.

First, I fitted a Toto softclose lid to smoothen the ride and a new handle. This pic reminds me of why I chose a Cadet 3 in the first place. Note the tight gap I had to work with between the vanity and the bath. Most toilets (tanks) were too wide.




Next a brass-braided pipe and escutcheon. They don't rust like the cheap silver metal ones will if your bathroom gets damp like mine (from long showers). Plus they are a little bling. Yes, I know I should fit a brass nipple and angle stop too.




But of course what really matters is what is under the hood. Out came the stock stuff and in went a Korky Quietfill and a new flapper. These really smooth things up and the Cadet 3 runs really nice with these.



Did someone mention heaven?

I like it. Now, I want a new handle on mine, too. That looks nice. Good job.

Ian,

That is GORGEOUS, and I approve!

My 80 year old father paged me at work on Saturday, ecstatic over the fact that he just got his water bill, and it dropped $50 because of his new Cadet 3 with the "Right Height" bowl that I installed for him back in January. He is amazed that it uses so little water and hasn't once failed; much better than the 3.5 gallon toilet that he had before.

My next door neighbors love their Cadet 3 round bowl model as well. (They have made reference to it in our condo association newsletter, while strongly urging everyone who still have the original Crane Galaxy toilets to check the tanks for cracks).

Of course as you know, I have one too, in my half bath, and am completely satisfied with its performance.

I have seen the replacement flappers made by Korky and know where to go should I need one. In fact a new Lowe's is being built about 4 miles from where I live and should be ready sometime next year!

Back in June, I was in Lowe's in South Burlington looking for some parts for my next project (a flange repair in my cabin), and a salesman was trying to talk a customer into the Kohler Cimarron, when he got to the Cadet 3's, and said that they were very good, I cut in and said that I had one and could vouch for the fact that it WORKS! The man walked out with 3 of them, in "bone". I guess I know of a good part time job for me when I retire from the "factory" in a few years...

You've done well with your Cadet 3!!

achutch (somewhere on the spine of the Green Mountains in VT)

A GT version but not quite track ready...

Thanks achutch. You have really started something here. A good word that you are helping to spread to the world. I have always been inspired by your Cadet 3 stories. You were the first to stand up and be counted.

Redwood: I do not think the Cadet 3 is ready for the big-league sponsorship yet. It's more a sports version, a Cadet 3 GT as I call it.

To go Nascar, I'd need to put something more serious in the tank. Like a Clorox Teflon tab cleaner. But these are no longer readily available, although I am looking.

Ian,

I'm glad you are inspired by my experiences so far with the Cadet 3. Everything I have said is the truth. That goes for the Cadet 3, the Toto Drake, both of which I have in my home and both function to my complete satisfaction, and for my antique "Standard"s which have their place in my summer cabin and are historically correct for the 1930's vintage park ranger's cabin that my place mimics.

More power to you!

achutch

For you Cadet 3 lovers... is it possible to put the 10" rough-in tank (4019.016) onto the round front bowl (3011.016) for a really tight space toilet or does that not work? They aren't sold together as a kit, that I can see. Normally the 10" tank seems to come with the elongated bowl so I think I'd have to buy them separately.

Thanks.

I have no idea Eudmin but that is the kind of thinking we need! Buy them both and experiment! For the common good.

You could then name your creation, perhaps after yourself.

Step forward, the Cadet 3 Eudmin!

But doesn't the rough-in indicate the position of the horn on the bottom of the bowl?

Yep, it does refer to the bottom of the bowl, but it seems that these Cadet 3 toilets have 3 different tanks with the tank gasket and bolts at 3 different spots which allows you to set the the entire thing either 10, 12, or 14 inches from the wall.

So give up the part numbers for the replacements you put in. You've got an elongated bowl, it appears. Which Toto lid did you put on it and how did you know which would fit? Looks like there's a slow-close American Standard lid as well for round fronts 5330.010 is the part number.

How did the Quietfill improve the flush?

Yep, it does refer to the bottom of the bowl, but it seems that these Cadet 3 toilets have 3 different tanks with the tank gasket and bolts at 3 different spots which allows you to set the the entire thing either 10, 12, or 14 inches from the wall.

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You're good Eudmin. I think you will need to research this for us and come back with an answer.
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I have a round bowl and I just put an ordinary Toto softclose lid for round bowls on it. A straight fit. The Toto softclose is a love it or hate it lid. I love it because it closes softly. My wife hates it because it looks too plasticy. And some people find it a funny thing to sit on. The hole in the seat is quite small with steep gradients on the sides (which incidentally I like because you get less waste under the seat if someone misfires).

The main advantages with the Quietfill over the Fluidmaster stock fill valve are twofold.

They are both reliable units but:

1) The Quietfill does fill quieter. I like that.

2) The float is enclosed in a case. It could not get obstructed as easily as one on a fluidmaster (say by a flapper that went crazy one day or a badly adjusted flapper chain).

Some say the Quietfill does not close off as harshly so you get less water hammer but I did not notice any difference (I do not get water hammer anywhere in the house anyway).

And another (weak) advantage might be that the fill tube is more robust on the Quietfill.

I hope this helps!

The valve does not improve the flush but it smoothens the fill. The flush is unsurpassed on these things anyway.

Now the Korky flapper, that makes a big difference to the reliability of the flush...

Did some more research, and I actually did find a part number for the combo of round front bowl and 10" tank. The A/S part number is 2384.010. There are a couple of supply places where you can get a spec sheet that shows the tank I mentioned with the bowl I mentioned. Looks like I couldn't claim originality of the combo. 8)

It will always be the Cadet 3 Eudmin in my book.

The question now, is will you be buying one, fitting it and posting pics?

I'd love to be able to direct very short people that live in small houses asking advice on this forum for a very small toilet to go buy a Eudmin!

Will this be endowed with a four foot supply line per your other post?

If it was not for the space issue, and because you can obviously afford it, then the Drake would be a no-brainer.

But to save a few quid and with your space issue, the Cadet 3 Eudmin does appear tempting, I agree especially if you are fitting it yourself.

No worries with your flange. Mine is getting like that, and while this will be your last toilet on that, it should work fine. The wax ring will take up any slack. Although you will need to do something with those two other bolts.

Instead of using a long supply line, having looked at your set up I would solder an extra piece of copper down the wall; then solder a bronze 90 on to the pipe at the bottom with threads on the other side; then screw a short brass nipple into that (with teflon); and, then screw on to the nipple a new ball valve angle stop (with teflon). To all of which you would attach an ordinary 1 foot supply line. And I would secure the pipe to the wall using copper bell hangers. It would look neater and you would thank me later.

I am struggling to get over the shower head faucet and bucket sink but with what you have you could easily plumb a vanity in there if you are willing to extend those copper pipes down the wall by soldering them.

As an aside, I am a little worried that all of this strange plumbing in your picture looks so recent. A little extra effort and a few more bucks earlier on would have brought much better results.

At the moment a Toto might be too glamorous for this bathroom even if you did get it to fit.

Cadet 3s are less image conscious. They just get on with the job. American standard really.

I'm actually loving the creative plumbing for the sink in that room!

I can't wait to show it to my husband. He's wanting to "do something" with the laundry tub in my laundry room and that'd look pretty danged awesome. He'd have to use a large bucket though since he tends to want to wash some mighty big stuff in it...dog included. LOL

Maybe one of those old fashioned galvanized wash tubs? That'd be wide enough and deep enough to fit engine parts into it and still leave room to spare!

Wait wait, what am I thinking???!! I want a nice white vanity cupboard to match the rest of the laundry room cupboards!

Scratch that and please don't mention to him that I ever so much as thought of it, k?

SB

Sorry I did not mean to cause offense with the bucket sink. Is it a Toto by any chance?

The weird plumbing is fairly recent, you're right. We bought the place from some artists, complete with walls painted with chalkboard paint, a cupboard made from a salvaged crisper door from an old fridge, a mailbox which is a model of the house in miniature, and a ceiling made of red corrugated plastic. At least they left all of the cans of different colored paint for us. There were 28 different colors in the house when I counted.

Maybe I'll hire some local graffiti artists to come decorate the Drake if I get it in and that will make it match the rest of the bathroom. I think a nice air-brushed praying saint on the wall behind it with some rays of light coming from the Drake tank would be tasteful.

Seriously, it bothers me that I'm making the place more "generic" even though it's getting more functional at the same time. I took out most of the corrugated red plastic and now took out the elevated tank toilet. Some of those features and the "weirdness" were what initially attracted us to this place, so I don't know if I'm doing the right thing or not.

Actually, maybe I'll tie the whole room together by carefully stenciling a Toto logo on the bucket sink. If I do that, I'll post pics for sure.

It sounds like you have ordered a Toto toilet.

What will you do with the space issue?

I went to a local high-quality fixture store just to look today. I know it's not theoretically possible to get the Drake into my small space, but I just want to try it out.

They had boxes with Drakes just sitting there and they also had Cadet 3 bowls with the 12" tank, but no 10" tanks. I talked to them a little about it, we talked about my small space, I convinced them that I'm pretty careful and they sold me a Drake with the deal that they'll look it over carefully if I have to bring it back and get a Cadet 3 with the 10" tank. If it doesn't look brand new they'll charge me a 25% restocking, which I think is fair. I'm gonna dremel off those extra bolts, clean the heck out of my dirty flange and floor, lay down some clean rags, and try setting the Drake bowl on the bolts. If it fits I'll try setting the Drake tank on the bowl. If it almost sorta fits I'll think about it for a while. Maybe I'll take those bolts out of that old cast iron flange, cut notches 1/4in in front of where they are now and put them in again and see what the situation is now. Or drill into the concrete floor and screw some toilet bolts right into to the floor instead of the flange with the assumption that the outside of the Drake funnel is a bunch smaller than the inside of my 4" cast iron drain so I can sort of set it in the front of the flange rather than right in the middle.

Anyway, now that I have it home I can make much more detailed measurements than the spec drawings. I'm an experimentalist by training, ask lots of questions, do lots of reading, try things out, if they don't work try something else. It's a luxury that real plumbers don't have cause they're getting paid to do a job and don't have time to screw around. They'd put in a 10" rough-in toilet and move on to the next job. No one knows what I might do. I just might have the wall behind the toilet out in a few hours so I can screw smaller studs into the foundation wall to make a niche for the toilet. Or I might have unscrewed the Guinevere from upstairs (which has a 10" uni-fit on an 11" rough-in), lugged the beast downstairs, Tapconned it into the floor in the basement, and put the Drake upstairs where I'm more confident it will fit. Dunno.

Or maybe I'll see the thing in there and decide that I should just order the Cadet 3 with the 10" tank and have a much easier time getting a second toilet in the place.