Article View: misc.consumers.house
Article #6158Re: Water Efficient Toilets
From: Alan Frisbie
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1991 11:11
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1991 11:11
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3490 bytes
I just installed three Ultra-Low Flush toilets and am *very* happy
with them. They are the Kohler 3421-PB "Wellworth Lite"
1.6 gallons/flush models. The equivalent elongated bowl model
is the 3420-EB.
I selected them because Consumer Reports top-rated them in their
July 1990 issue. There is one mistake in the article, however.
A picture is identified as being a Sears 5560. Actually, it
is the Kohler 3421. As you will see, it is about two inches taller
than my old American Standard toilets, with a different shape to
the tank. It can best be described as "wide at the shoulders and
narrow at the hips". The list price quoted in CR is $240, but
I got them at a local discount plumbing store for $108.88 each
(not including seat).
To address an earlier concern about water pressure, there is no
problem with this model. It uses the conventional tank which
is refilled slowly after a flush. The toilets which are pressure
sensitive are the tankless models, probably including most "low-boy"
models.
The Good:
o Saves 3.4 gallons per flush over the original equipment.
o Flushes quietly and for much less time than the old toilets.
o Cost only $8.88 (!) each after a $100.00 rebate from Los Angeles
Department of Water & Power.
o Installed easily.
o Got great satisfaction whacking the base of the old toilet
with a large hammer when the bolts wouldn't loosen. :-)
The Bad:
o Occasionally requires two flushes to completely clear the bowl.
This has happened twice in the last three weeks.
o The "water spot" in the bowl is smaller, so a fecal splatter
is more likely to be above the water line, requiring more
frequent cleaning. I suspect this is true of all ULF toilets.
The Ugly:
o Sometimes a fecal smear is left on the bottom of the bowl
which is then cleared with a later flush.
In summary, I have no complaints and consider them a good investment
in both time and money, even without the rebate (which I didn't know
about until after I purchased them). It is a quick and painless
way to meet our water reduction goals.
I have written a complete description of my experiences in installing
these toilets myself. If there is sufficient interest, I will post
it to the net. The summary is that it is not difficult if you have
purchased all the correct parts and don't mind dirty work.
--- Alan E. Frisbie Frisbie@Flying-Disk.Com (Preferred)
--- Flying Disk Systems, Inc. or ...elroy!flying!frisbie
--- 4759 Round Top Drive or Flying!Frisbie@Elroy.jpl.nasa.gov
--- Los Angeles, CA 90065 or Frisbie%Flying@oxy.edu
--- (213) 256-2575 or ...oxy!flying!frisbie
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X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 10db0a,ee4e9f9d6f569b6 X-Google-Attributes: gid10db0a,public X-Google-Thread: 10df74,ee4e9f9d6f569b6 X-Google-Attributes: gid10df74,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 1991-03-07 06:49:06 PST Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!gmdzi!unido!mcsun!uunet!olivea!sun-barr!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!ncar!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!flying!frisbie From: frisbie@flying-disk.com (Alan Frisbie) Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,ca.environment Subject: Re: Water Efficient Toilets Message-ID: <10486@flying-disk.com> Date: 6 Mar 91 11:11:45 GMT References: <1991Mar5.023756.25100@leland.Stanford.EDU> <JYM.91Mar5112626@remarque.berkeley.edu> Organization: Flying Disk Systems, Inc. Lines: 59