We just installed a Toto Carlyle II, so my hands-on experience with Toto begins and ends there. The one thing I was going to mention is that the Drake II uses the newer Double Cyclone flushing system, as opposed to the older G-Max in the original Drake. The improvement that the Double Cyclone makes on the G-Max is the way it washes the entire bowl better, even though it uses 20% less water. I've posted in previous threads here about Toto toilets that Toto reps will quietly acknowledge, as their web site somewhat tacitly does, that Double Cyclone is their best flushing system now.

I'm assuming the Drake II bowl is fairly similar to our Carlyle II. We've only had it in use for a week, and all I can say so far is that I've never seen a better flushing toilet. I was a bit concerned about the 1.28 gallons per flush -- but not after seeing how well this toilet works. (I never had a G-Max Toto toilet, so perhaps all Toto owners feel similarly!) As for a toilet brush, there's been no reason to even think of using one so far, and no double flushing required, either. I obviously can't comment on frequency or difficulty of repairs based on my one week of experience! (grin) But I'll say that in reading many of the past threads here on Toto toilets, I did not come across much about Toto toilets needing repairs. Since you're DIYing, I will note that my contractor, for whom this was apparently a first Toto install, said it was a bit of a pain to put in compared to a standard toilet (in part because there's a base mount which had to get drilled through the tile floor, with the toilet going atop that), but he seemed impressed with the quality. I'm sure his next Toto install -- which will likely be the bathroom we're starting on in two weeks! -- will go a bit faster.

I think you'll find the Drake II a little more expensive than the older Drake, but you'll be able to get it for under your $500 limit; since many of the Toto "II" modes have been on the market for only about two months, they don't show up on all the online sites, and you may need to call some of them to get pricing. (Ira Woods shows it for $234 in white or $269 in beige, plus I think $100 shipping. You might try calling PerformanceToilets.com, which doesn't have the Drake II on their web site yet, but can get it and give you a price over the phone; their base price may be higher than Ira Woods, but they ship by UPS for free, so your total cost may be lower.)

-- Eric

Thanks for the feedback jacobse. I'll take a look at the Drake II and see if it's offered for the 10" rough in.

We replaced the power flush toilet in our guest powder room (did an excellent job flushing, but very noisy) with a Cadet 3 almost 3 years ago. I really like the Cadet 3 - very good flush and cleans the bowl. But, we had to replace the clapper after about 16 months (only about $10). For the money, I'd recommend it.

I actually have both these toilets in my house. Never had a repair issue with either. I think the Drake has clogged once or twice (needed a plunger) but the Cadet has not.

I like the look of the Drake more than the Cadet. But... sorry to say the Drake is often a "two flush" toilet. I don't have that special finish (sani-gloss?) though so maybe that makes a difference.

Well, I ended up purchasing the Toto Drake. Unfortunately apparently Toto is phasing out the Drake 1.6 in favor of the EcoDrake 1.28. The local store that ordered the toilet did not realize this and I did not see the difference on the box until I got home to install it and the store had already closed. Called the store this morning to find out they will not be able to get in the 1.6 gal tank because they are very difficult to find and the supplier is still waiting to fill 80 orders until they receive any.

However, the supplier says that the flapper in the EcoDrake 1.28 has a gray plastic plug (that provides weight) that can be removed to convert back to a 1.6 (or maybe a little more) gallon tank. Has anyone done this? I'm thinking I will go ahead and install the 1.28 and live with it for a while. And if I find the toilet is not performing as desired, I will try removing the gray plug to see if performance improves.

Additionally, it seems as though the Drake without the tank on seems to have a small water spot. Is this normal? I am not a toilet expert so I'm not certain if this will improve once I put the tank on.

stir_fryi: Are the two flushes usually because the bowl does not come clean, or because the waste is not fully evacuated?

I was told by a plumbing guy familiar with these that replacing the 3" flapper on the recently-phased-out 1.6gpf G-Max commodes (like the Drake) with the flapper supplied with their less-expensive toilets that used their "Power Gravity" flush system, the flapper would stay open longer and deliver more water to the G-Max toilet, something about it not having a hole in it so it closes later. The Power Gravity flapper (which the store kept in-stock for immediate sale to walk-ins) was otherwise compatible with the G-Max toilets.

Hacking: It's not just for computers anymore....

Great information lee676! Thanks!

The 10" Drake is the CST744EF.10 with the 1.28 gallon tank, and CST744SF.10 with the 1.6 gallon tank.
I always carry an equal number on 1.28 to 1.6 tanks on hand.
I don't know why most suppliers are so dim about this.

When I found out about the 10" Drake, I brought them in.
They are universal height, with an elongated bowl.
Pretty sweet for a 10" toilet.
Terry Love

Well unfortunately last night I finally took a look at the internals of the EcoDrake tank and I did not see any "gray plastic piece that can be removed from the flapper" as the supplier described.

Am I understanding correctly lee676, that there is a flapper part I can purchase that's meant for a different Toto toilet that would be a direct swap that I could purchase and swap out? If so, do you happen to know the part number or the exact tank that I can specify to request the flapper?

Terry Love, thank you for your insight. I really appreciate all of your detailed information on your website and it was a heavily weighed factor in my decision to go with the Drake. According to the box the bowl came in, ST743S is the tank for the Drake 1.6 and ST743E is the tank for the EcoDrake 1.28. Is the supplier incorrect that Toto is phasing out the ST743S and that it would be really rare to find one? Should I pressure the plumbing store to try to locate the tank I wanted? At the time I purchased the toilet, I only had the CST744SF.10 number from the Toto site and gave that to the plumbing shop. Since the shop orders the tank and bowl separately, it did not match their exact part numbers, but the plumbing store assured me it was the correct one. I have already installed the bowl (while I had some helpers over to assist with some other heavy lifting) and so now I'm stuck with this installed bowl and an uninstalled incorrect tank. What can I do? Can I just swap out flappers? Or is there some other supplier to which I can direct my plumbing store to locate the correct tank? (I'm in Utah if that helps any.) I have never purchased a toilet before and I'm feeling very frustrated after spending so much time researching what I felt was a good purchase and ending up with something I'm concerned will not be a good purchase.

OK pricklypearcactus, you're making me do alot of research now....

Here's the 3" flapper, model# THU175S, used on Toto "G-Max" 1.6gpf toilets, like the original, now-discontinued Drake:

{{gwi:2104801}}

That flapper, from what I've been told, can be replaced by model# THU140S, which was used on their "Power Gravity" 1.6gpf toilets that were their midrange models - G-Max was their high-end. Note the lack of a hole on the side, which keeps it from falling until the water level is lower, thus sending more water to the bowl:

There was a 1.6gpf Double Cyclone in the lineup until recently (on the Neorest, Soiree, and Guinevere) - I can't find what flapper they used.

This is way more than I ever wanted to know about toilet flappers....

Thank you lee676 for all of your research! Following your advice and the assistance of a very helpful person at my local plumbing shop, my 1.28gal EcoDrake tank now has a flapper from a 1.6 gal Drake without the extra float. Basically the black float that can be seen on the 1.28 flapper is held in place by a small white plastic clip on the chain. And since it appeared that the hole size on the Drake flapper was slightly smaller than that on the EcoDrake flapper, we decided to swap that out as well. So far the toilet seems to be flushing correctly. If I knew how to verify the amount of water it was flushing I would.

One further note on the Drake/EcoDrake bowl: the ADA height is a little higher than I expected. I'm 5'6" and my feet don't quite rest flat on the floor while seated. This is fine for me and should work perfectly for my 6'3" significant other, but my shorter guests may not appreciate it.

So far the flushing seems fairly powerful for gravity flush and the bowl cleansing seems to do well. The water swishes down the bowl quite powerfully. I notice that the bowl seems to have a steeper "slope" compared to my older toilets and I suspect this helps the bowl cleanse properly.

Thank you everyone for your help with this problem!

Glad I was able to help - now if someone can tell me if similar "surgery" can be done on a new Double Cyclone Drake II 1.28gpf if need be. I'm about to recommend one of these for purchase/installation. Of course if 1.28gpf is sufficient for a good flush, I'm happy to let it use less water.

The taller ADA height allows for the steeper slope of the bowl, by the way - one reason I like them.