I am replacing one of the toilets in my house and Kohler has a canister flushing system that I am not familier with. Are they ok or should I steer clear of them? Is there any advantage to them or is it a solution looking for a problem.
We have hard water and that can be rough on plumbing fixtures.

Thanks.

I had one in the house I just sold in Washington.
It was quite fantastic. Many years, no trouble. One time it started to “run” a little bit. Opened the tank, cleaned the gasket and life was awesome again. I would have normally replaced the flapper at least twice in the time I had that toilet. One cleaning and that was it.

Highly recommended.

Kohlers newest model has a skirted trapway....avoid that, they are a pain in the ass to install and have a tendency to leak.

Your good to go. The Kohler system works well.

With low water consumption toilets today all manufacturers have moved to something different from what we had 10 years ago. Others use a similar system.

quote:

Originally posted by cgode:
Kohlers newest model has a skirted trapway....avoid that, they are a pain in the ass to install and have a tendency to leak.

Which models. I just installed a Kohler and it installed like a normal toilet. Only PIA is the three bolt system on the tank. That back bolt can be a pain but not to bad with a socket set.

quote:

Originally posted by comet24:

quote:

Originally posted by cgode:
Kohlers newest model has a skirted trapway....avoid that, they are a pain in the ass to install and have a tendency to leak.

Which models. I just installed a Kohler and it installed like a normal toilet. Only PIA is the three bolt system on the tank. That back bolt can be a pain but not to bad with a socket set.

What is a skirted trapway and how can I tell which models have or don’t have it?

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:

What is a skirted trapway and how can I tell which models have or don’t have it?

Link to original video: https://youtu.be/AgokRRGUdls

What is the purpose of that? Just to make a cheaper toilet?

I installed a Kohler toilet in our house 3 years ago and it is the boss. I'm going to install one in the other bathroom soon. I highly recommend them.

Jim

quote:

One time it started to “run” a little bit. Opened the tank, cleaned the gasket and life was awesome again. I would have normally replaced the flapper at least twice in the time I had that toilet. One cleaning and that was it.

I'd love any links or details on this. I've got one that runs sometimes.

Overall we like them, in 3 bathrooms.

I have a GP1059291 yellow seal that is yours if you can put it to use. Last house had these and I had picked up a spare when fixing one with a slow leak. It got brought to the current house without Kholer toilets so it is just collecting dust here.

Email me if you can put it to use now or possibly in the future.

edited to add:
If the OP doesn't claim, Georgeair has first right of refusal.

They are very good. I have several Kohlers that are a few years old. There is a flat o-ring that's what the canister seats on to seal. They go bad every 3-5 years and are really easy to change and about $5. No flapper to hang up. I'm very happy with my Kohlers in every aspect, I went with comfort height and elongated bowl.

The canister sits on the seal. On the O-ring package are pictures. But it's super easy to change. Remember orientation of the canister. You'll have to unhook the chain, then twist the center tube/bolt counter clockwise and pull the canister out, you'll see the o-ring in the base, pull it off and put the new one on and reassemble, wipe off the bottom of the canister while you're at it.

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:
What is the purpose of that? Just to make a cheaper toilet?

It’s an attempt to make the “look” of a toilet appealing to some by having sleek sides without all the porcelain curves. The problem is it’s a PIA to get the toilet to sit properly on that contraption that bolts to the flange and the two screws that inset horizontally aren’t easy to lign up and and give you absolutely no wiggle room.
Pick a traditional toilet that gets placed directly on the floor flange with the bolts in a vertical orientation....Koehler makes great products and I highly recommend them....this newer design isn’t something I would recommend though.

I’m not a plumber...however my part time gig is working with a long time plumber three days a week for play $$ and I’ve been doing it for several years. We have had issues with the new design on multiple occasions, sometimes having to get a whole new toilet again because they weep water and no one wants that. The plumber I work with hates it when homeowners buy their own fixtures because they don’t realize the problems with certain items....plus he doesn’t make a few extra dollars when they do but really it’s the ease and quality he is most concerned with. As far as ease goes with those toilets....it takes me more than an hour to install....a “normal” toilet takes me about 25 minutes from start to finish..and that’s removing an old one first!

I went with a Koehler Santa Rosa comfort height about three years ago, it has what Koehler calls an "aqua piston", it works well and has a powerful flush. I am very pleased with it.

My ex-MIL has one. I've cleaned the thin rubber disc which snaps onto the canister; it was caked up with material from her water softener. I also wiped my finger along the seating surface of the canister (the flush valve seat, it may be called).

If used for large deposits, even if it looks clear, a second flush ain't a bad idea. A trade off with low water consumption plus sedate operation.

I'd put one in my house.

quote:

That back bolt can be a pain but not to bad with a socket set.

One word: Hollow shaft nut drivers.

Thanks for all the information. I will probably go with the Kohler. I would probably not have paid much attention to the Skirted trapway thing untill it was too late but I will definitely stay away from it now.

ffips, I don't have a Kohler yet and I had better not need a replacement gasket when I get it
Hopefully georgeair can use it.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:

quote:

One time it started to “run” a little bit. Opened the tank, cleaned the gasket and life was awesome again. I would have normally replaced the flapper at least twice in the time I had that toilet. One cleaning and that was it.

I'd love any links or details on this. I've got one that runs sometimes.

Overall we like them, in 3 bathrooms.

This video is super detailed, overly so. I didn’t even bother to replace. I just cleaned it and life was good.

I have two or three of them, I like it much better than the older style. Supposed to be able to flush a bucket of golf balls .

Thanks to ffips for the seal! Putting in this weekend.

I thought Toto was the Waste Kang of commodes?