Advice on puchasing a new close coupled toilet

[TanDiy]

Hi, looking to change our cloakroom low level wc for a new close coupled unit and would appreciate any advice on the following.

(1) There seem to be a lot of posts about leaking toilets and having to seal around joints. We have read various information, some suggesting that all toilets are the same (just get a b&Q toilet to go for £70) and others saying that you need to spend a lot more money to get a better quality unit. If I spent say £200+ on a toilet can I expect this to be of good enough quality to ensure no leaks and a flushing mechanism that continues to work beyond a couple of months?

(2) We are changing this because it is not very good at flushing away all the waste. Close coupled units seem to use a lot less water and the flush is not so violent so do they flush ok?

Thank you very much indeed

 

[kirkgas]

i would buy a bog in a box from B&Q and a decent pan connector from a plumbers merchants, ie multikwik, i never buy the cheaper pan connectors as you do get problems with them, i have had a problem with a pan leaking very very occasionally and swapped it at the merchants, but not to the extent of spending £200 on a "better set" re the problem with your existing set up, if it is simply not flushing well, you either have a problem with the syphon inside the cistern or a blockage in the pipe from the syphon into the pan, which will result in a very poor flush into the pan, if the pipe between the pan and cistern is blocked (by toothpaste tube lids, and covers from disposable razors )which have been left on top of the cistern then fell in the space at the back to be sucked down into the connection at the pan then it is easy to fix

 

[tryitandsee]

I have put in many replacement 'B&Q loo's in a box' with no problem.
Having said that however, two installed had leaks which was impossible to tell when installing. The pan when cast in two parts, is 'slippered' together and when fired in kiln, crack. Small hairline cracks caused water to come out when flushing. That took hours to work out what was wrong and find, together with two trips back and forth to B&Q. Had I been fitting them for a living, no amount of explaining to customer that it was not my fault and that I would have to charge for installing it twice..............say no more.

So FWIW, make sure you open up the box in store and inspect every bit of it, making sure no one else has taken bits from the box. Put you hand into the U bend and feel the quality of the unseen glaze, some are so bad the unseen glaze cuts your hand, no amount of cleaning later, will stop the build up of crud/limescale.

 

[TicklyT]

Modern WCs are designed to use less water than older ones, typically 6 litres instead of the old 9 litre / 2 gallon cisterns. This (and high fibre diets) sometimes mean multiple flushes to clear the pan.

Poor installation, sometimes with the soil pipe running uphill contributes to poor flushing - the flush may clear the pan, but the contents just run back down the soil pipe into the pan again after the flush.

Correct alignment between pan and soil pipe is important - any strain on the pan connector can lead to leaks.

Sometimes the doughnut washer that fits between pan and cistern is not of the best quality, and can leak, as can fixing bolts that pass through the bottom of the cistern. Careful assembly, and occasionally using alternative sealing washers and sealants cures most of those problems.