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diodon349

Pressure assisted toilets ??

diodon349
11 years ago

Are pressure assisted toilets worth the price or is is just something else to go wrong ???

Comments (6)

  • alan_s_thefirst
    11 years ago

    The main reason you need 'pressure assist' is the tiny diameter of the neck of most North American toilets. For some reason, the ones made in NZ/Australia are much larger, and virtually NEVER clog. They also use a 4" drain, which helps, but these toilets will still work fine. (Used to live in Australia)

    That being said, I bought two new American Standard Cadet 3s on sale before I knew I could get Caroma, and they work pretty well. They don't clog (not so far) and they seem almost 'vacuum assisted' - they flush with a lot of force.

    The other thing I'd do is use a Fernco waxless seal - the wax seals can blow out if you plunge vigorously, and you can't use them with underfloor heat. I think the waxless is just a better way to go, but you can't use them with an offset flange. If you have one, that could be part of the problem as well. http://www.fernco.com/plumbing/wax-free-toilet-seal

    Here is a link that might be useful: Caroma USA

  • Elmer J Fudd
    11 years ago

    I'm skeptical when someone suggests there's a superior product from a distant place that few know about outside its country of origin. No company with a decent product ignores a large market like the US. If it hasn't been successful enough here to be known, there are likely good reasons why. Great products sell themselves.

    Once when a bathroom remodel project involved moving a toilet, I asked the plumber if it might be a good opportunity to upsize the sewage pipe from 3 to 4 inches. He said not a good idea, in his experience 4 inch lines from toilets clogged more often than 3 inch lines. I don't remember what he said the reason was, I only remember he felt strongly about it.

    No toilet should clog frequently. When one does, it's often because of poor design or too much material in the bowl (user error for not flushing several times when in use). There are lots of crappy toilets installed and yet lots of good ones available to buy, replacement should fix the problem.

  • Terry Love
    11 years ago

    Typically the Gravity Caroma bowls have large trapways.
    The 305 bowl from Caroma is 3"
    The 270 bowl has a larger trapway, but folds a bit at the top of the bend.
    Regards, these a large trapways.
    It's a product we sell and install. There are customers that may even need that large size.
    The typical North American bowl is using a siphon jet, not a washdown as the Caroma has. For most, the siphon jet is working just fine.

    Pressure assist would be in the form of the Flushmate, made in Michigan. Those are siphon jet, with compressed air pushing the water through the trapway.

    This post was edited by terry_love on Sat, Feb 9, 13 at 15:10

  • lee676
    11 years ago

    Main reason I don't care for pressure assist is because most of them wake up the neighborhood when you flush them. Some of the better ones are quieter, but gravity flush makes less noise and is less expensive, and the best ones work fine.

  • southerncanuck
    11 years ago

    Not knowing the reason you ask about a pressure assist toilet I am going to assume you are not getting the flush power you would like, there are many reasons for this and after going through the time and expense to change the unit you may not improve the situation at all. Let us know.

    Alan_s

    Here we can only use the foam type ring as a temporary fix until a newly installed toilet can be inspected by our building department believe it or not.

    Snidley

    4" drains are now code here for new builds, the building inspector skirted the question when asked? I do know that 4" lines will back up more often than 3" as there is less water in height in the bottom of the line than a 3" due to the greater diameter. Makes sense. I have also had the 4" line actually freeze in artic temps because the water is seeing more surface area as it travels down to the sewer before it meets the frost line. I throw the 1/4" drop per foot in the sewer,when laying a 4" drain. I believe the greater the drop possible the greater the velocity.

    I am interested in this thread as I have had constant plugging problems with the eco friendly toilet we have. I personally want a toilet that will wake up the neighbours who are 400 feet away. I will start a new thread for my dilemma.

  • weedmeister
    11 years ago

    What you stated about a larger pipe blocking up more frequently was talked about here. The issue as you stated is that there is less water height in the pipe to push the solids along. They stop in place and, well, solidify in place. The next flush may move them on, maybe not.

    But this is also a problem with using a low flow toilet on 'standard' toilet drain line designed for a 5gln flush. The water surge from a 1.6gl flush is much smaller and more prone to stoppage.