# Dual-Flush Toilet Conversion



## WES999 (Dec 30, 2010)

The other day I installed a dual flush conversion in my old 3.5 gl/fl  toilet.
The toilet was acting a bit wonky, the flap valve would not always close and the fill valve filled slowly.

HD had a dual-flush conversion made by: http://www.gomjsi.com/

I purchased the hydro right and the hydro clean, this replaces all the guts, the fill valve and the flapper.

The hydroright was not really made to fit my style tank, as mine did not have a free standing overflow tube, but I was able to add a piece of PVC pipe to mount the hydroright to without much trouble.

It did take a bit of fine tuning to get it all working well, as there are 3 adjustments, #1 water level, #2 water level and bowl fill volume.

The toilet originally used 3.50 gl/fl now a #1 flush is 1 gl/fl and a #2 flush is 2.50 gl/fl.

I estimate this should reduce water use by more than half. :cheese: 

Not a bad savings for just under $30.


----------



## jebatty (Dec 30, 2010)

Very good -- 3 yrs ago we bought a dual flush for in excess of $200. Don't regret it.  Both of our flushes are pressurized and nothing ever fails to get flushed down. We have a septic system and limiting use of water is good. Kudos to you.


----------



## semipro (Dec 30, 2010)

We tried the same conversion with mixed results.  I believe the concept is sound but we had a few problems.

1) I never was able to get the dual flush valve to seat well in the bottom of the toilet tank.  It would loosen with time and start to leak, defeating the water savings benefit.  

2) Our 20 year old toilets were simply not designed to flush well with lower flush volumes.  Also, the waste tube on our old toilet was not glazed which lead to detritus sticking to the sides and clogging.  I only discovered this after removing the old toilet.  

We broke down and bought a new American Standard EcoFusion dual flush toilet and have been extremely please with its performance.  It features a fully glazed waste tube and we've not yet found a situation where the lowest flush level didn't do the job.  Its also very quiet.


----------



## Highbeam (Dec 30, 2010)

I did a bathroom remodel and purchased from the Home Depot a dual flush toilet. They are not an expensive lulxury. The dang thing was in the middle of the range of prices, actually a bit closer to the cheap ones. In fact, the new toilets are so cheap that I would question the value of retrofitting the toilet vs. replacement. Nothing like a new throne and they are very easy to install after you learn how and get over the fear of that wax ring. 

The dual flush models have a puch button flush mechanism on the top of the tank which prevents women from stacking carppy nick nacks on the tank lid. This is a plus if you've ever dumped one of these nick nacks in the toilet and had to fish it out. 

Neighbors and friends are impressed with the device and the performance has been excellent on our non-pressure assist model. It flushes hard enough that you had better lean forward off the seat before flushing. Might get sucked down.


----------



## semipro (Dec 30, 2010)

Highbeam said:
			
		

> ... they are very easy to install after you learn how and get over the fear of that wax ring.



I installed ours using Fluidmaster's  wax-free bowl gasket and it seems to work real well.  

Our unit also has the flush buttons on top.  We may have the same unit.


----------



## midwestcoast (Jan 3, 2011)

I put a dual-flush kit on a fairly new 1.6 gpf  Elger toilet about 2 years ago to save a bit of water & just see how it did. I believe it's a Conserv-A-Flush kit & was about $30 online.  The quality seems fairly good, install was fairly easy and it has worked perfectly since then.  My only complaints are: 1. The instructions were obviously written by someone who speaks some english, but not enough. They were good for a laugh, but otherwise useless. 2. the tank to bowl seal was one of those parts made to fit any model, but likely fits none very well. I was able to re-use my original seal.
This is installed in our main floor 1/2 bath that is almost always used for "liquid-only" flushes by us & guests so savings are significant. Upstairs we generally just let the yellow mellow so it wouldn't help much.
Both flush levels are adjustable. I have the half flush set to minimum & it still flushes well. I'm saving about 3/4 gal per 1/2flush and verly little on a full flush (to prevent clogs).
I think the kits are a good match for both 1.6 gpf and older 3.5gpf toilets with tank & bowl in good condition and FLOW WELL. If you have an older toilet that barely flushes as-is it likely won't operate on a 1/2 flush and reducing the full flush too much will cause clogs. There may also be more clogs in older homes with large diameter drain pipes (designed fo higher volumes) according to my plumber-father, but so far no probs on my 4" (3.5" ID?) steel drain.


----------



## GaryGary (Jan 8, 2011)

Hi,
Costco is selling the WaterRidge dual flush toilets for $60.

We replaced all four of our old toilets with the WaterRiddge dual flushes over the past couple years -- they work great.
Basically don't use the high flush at all as the low flush works fine for everything.
The WaterRidge appears to me to be well made, and we've not had any problems with them.

http://www.builditsolarblog.com/2010/11/dual-flush-toilet-project-update.html

Gary


----------



## rowerwet (Jan 8, 2011)

I put one of these on my  ancient toilet, it replaces the handle with two push buttons one for a half flush and one for a full flush, seems to work great after 6 months


----------



## WES999 (Jan 9, 2011)

So far after 1 week it is working well. The toilet now flushes better then before the upgrade. One  flush does the job,no clogs so far. :lol:  

I figure I should be saving about 4000 gl/year.


----------

