What's the shortest elongated bowl toilet? (front to back)

11 years ago

I'm trying to fit one in a small space. The shortest I've found is 26-7/8" deep for this Gerber Viper 1.28gpf, which is also comfort height (which I want) and under $300. Don't know how good it is though. What else is out there that's under 27-1/2" deep? (I know of wall-mounted commodes like those from Toto and Geberit that are much less than that of course, but I'm trying to keep costs down). There's ample space for a wide tank so that dimension isn't crucial.

Thanks

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lee676
Original Author

11 years ago

Well, we decided to go with the aforementioned Gerber Viper compact-elongated WC for our bathroom reno, and since little seems to have been written about it here or elsewhere, wanted to provide my first impressions so others would have a reference point. I would have chosen a Toto Drake II (which we used elsewhere) for this room, but none of the moderately-priced Totos are available in a compact-elongated size - that is, less than 28" from the back wall.

It's an impressive piece of engineering. It has a good, strong flush. It cleans the sides of the bowl well, sending a good amount of water down the sides with a slight swirl motion before quickly lowering the water level to flush quickly from a large flume from the front. A good-size area is normally under water, generally a good thing. A convenient front-mounted flush lever is an easier reach than Toto's side lever or especially the Kohler's Wellworth side lever that needs to be pressed in the back, which is unintuitive. It's reasonably quiet. Uses only 1.28 gallons per flush. The Toto Drake II double-cyclone loo we used in another room isn't that much better (although I like the forceful spray that emanates from just two large holes in the rim vs. the Gerber's conventional setup). Still, given the Gerber's lower price - we picked it up for about $245 locally, it's a good deal. I also like it's height - 16-3/8" above ground, slightly lower than most comfort-height commodes, and perfect for my 5'8" frame. Gerber themselves sells a next-model-up Avalanche compact-elongated loo that's a shade shorter front-to-back and slenderer left to right, but is 17" tall before (included soft-close) seat - a bit too tall for me, although I do like it being one-piece yet still affordable.

Anyway, with all the love thrown Toto's way in these forums, I thought this Gerber warranted an excellent writeup. Significantly better overall than the similarly-priced Kohler Wellworth (w/class 5 flush) or American Standard Cadet 3, and given Toto doesn't offer a compact-elongated model, I'd highly recommend these. Overall, the flush is as good as a standard Toto Drake (not Drake II, which I've also used in several locations). The Drake is perhaps more impervious to clogs, but the Gerber cleans the bowl better, and fits in less space. 12" rough-in only for the compact models, although the standard-depth Vipers also are available in 10" or 14" rough-in.

I'd strongly consider a Gerber Viper of any size if you need a good toilet in the low-$200 range.

This post was edited by lee676 on Mon, Mar 25, 13 at 8:13

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Comments (9)

williamsem
11 years ago
Well, I know there aree space maker options, I can't remember how long they are but I seem to recall they were maybe 2-3 inches shorter. Will try to link one if I can refined them.
msbrandywinevalley
11 years ago
I'm in the throes of remodeling three bathrooms, including one very small powder room, and I'm also in search of a short (back-to-front) toilet. I think I've narrowed my choices to two: the Kohler Santa Rosa Compact Elongated Toilet (K-3323) and the Toto Eco Promenade (CST423EFG). The Toto has a round bowl, but it's only 26 1/8". They're both a bit more than the $300 you're wanting to spend.
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Dkfinor - don't know what is the measurement difference; I suppose on each manufacturer's toilets it's going to be different, so I'd advise you to go to the websites of the toilets you are interested in, and check the specs. Having said that, I will attest that the men/boys in your family will prefer the elongated. To be blunt, and sorry about that, their "parts" won't touch the front when they sit in an elongated the way they would in a round seat. Also, my DH claims it's easier to "aim", but I dunno about that - seems the aim is off-again-on-again regardless of toilet shape, but that maybe is just him LOL! Although you didn't ask, we like our Toto toilets with the "GMax flushing system". They replaced very noisy low-flow circa-1990 toilets, and it's a huge improvement. Noise-wise, our old toilets were so loud that we had a "don't-flush-during-the-night" rule in our house. With our Toto's, we can now flush during the night and not wake up the whole house. I know that's More Information than you asked for, but I guess I am happy with these Toto's, and wanted to mention it.
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> lee - curious about your Gerber model. We are looking at the viper, not only because it is compact but also for the 1" clearance behind it. Our rough-in is only 11-1/2" and the current toilet fits snug against the wall - actually the lid does not go on right. I did read some bad reviews on the viper, but there seem to be those for any toilet. We are also looking at the Cadet 3 for the back wall clearance ( few toilets have that 1"), but the one we want (skirted) extends 30". What's there to say? Like all 1.28 gallon per flush toilets i've seen, I'd prefer more water coverage in the bowl, but at least the Viper sends slightly swirled jets of water down the sides and back of the bowl and a larger flume down the front, so it stays clean and thus far hasn't clogged. Viper is Gerber's midrange line; they also have a higher-end Avalanche model (21-014) that's supposed to flush slightly better. It's slightly shallower front to back, has a slightly larger water spot, is one-piece (no gap between bowl and tank), and includes a soft-close seat that's worth at least $40. I didn't buy it because it was still more expensive, the seat is perhaps a bit too high (5/8" taller than the Viper), and I find the front-mounted flush lever on the Viper more convenient to use than the side-mount lever on the Avalanche that's precariously close to the open rim. I did use a Gerber Avalanche elsewhere in the house, but it's a full-depth, non-compact version that uses 1.6 gallons rather than 1.28 and unsurprisingly is reputed to work better. The compact version is 1.28g only. The 1.6g Avalanche is terrific, splashing water all over the wall before flushing everything down.
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williamsem
11 years ago
Kohler Rialto at 25 1/4! More than $300, but in case anyone comes to this thread via search might be useful. Ok, now returning to my own search already in progress...
lee676
Original Author
11 years ago
The Kohler Rialto is a small/round-bowl commode - they're always a few inches shorter by nature, but that's not what I was looking for. Can't find that Santa Rosa model, but I looked at them - the K-3810 "comfort height" version is 28-1/4" from the wall and uses their "class 5" flushing which I don't find cleans the bowl well, and a K-3323 lower-height model that' 28-3/8" from the wall but uses their "Ingenium" flush which I like (not the most clog-resistant out there, but cleans the bowl very well). I'd like the Gerber Avalanche one-piece compact-elongated (26-3/4" from wall) which is the shortest elongated 12" rough-in toilet I've found and has an excellent rep, but I found this particular model to be too high for comfort (17" without seat) - my heels barely reach the ground, so I went with the 16-3/8"h Viper (their mid-range model) instead that's only 1/8" longer and is a less attractive 2-piece, and not much less expensive given the Avalanche includes a seat but the Viper doesn't. Other Avalanche models a more-ideal (for my height) 16-1/2" tall.

10" rough-ins often save space - there's an American Standard Colony Rightfit that's a mere 26-1/2" from the wall - the shortest elongated-bowl toilet I've found that isn't a wall-mount - though that's their low-end toilet and have no idea how well it works - haven't seen many comments online. Some of their Cadet 3 10" R/I models are quite short too.
axxis_rose
11 years ago
I just installed the American Standard compact elongated one-piece toilet. I'm not sure of the dimensions but it's comfort height and works really, really, well. Photo below.
Mags438
10 years ago
Thanks for the review. I'll definitely look at it.
atschuetz
8 years ago
I am also in need of a compact elongated toilet that is affordable ($300 or less ideally), and it seems like the Gerber Viper that was mentioned in this post is worth checking out.

The problem I'm having is that I want a pedestal sink that goes right across from it in my very small powder room (they face each other) and the best I was able to find was the Barclay Washington 550 pedestal sink. It's only 16.5" deep, which is perfect for the space I have.

Now then, does anyone know if the Barclay "white" matches well with the Gerber "white"?
onenose
8 years ago
I want to get this small toilet for our tiny bathroom:
Galba 25 inch toilet.

What's the shortest elongated bowl toilet? (front to back)

lee676
Original Author

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williamsem

msbrandywinevalley

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lee676
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axxis_rose

Mags438

atschuetz

onenose

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What's the shortest elongated bowl toilet? (front to back)

lee676Original Author

Comments (9)

williamsem

msbrandywinevalley

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williamsem

lee676Original Author

axxis_rose

Mags438

atschuetz

onenose

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lee676
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lee676
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