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Toilet broke in half; what should I buy

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I have a Crane Radcliffe toilet that came with the 1991-built house, so it's probably original to the house. I've lived there 12 years, never touched the toilet except flapper replacement once.
yesterday, as I sat on it, I heard a crack and I felt like it went down a few millimetres; the porcelain "flange" broke into like 5 pieces, and the bowl has an inverted V crack that goes 3/4 into the bowl's height on the left hand side. Any ideas what could have caused that?

Also, what would be a good replacement toilet? I prefer simple models that can use $20 seats and spare parts readily available anywhere. And it has to work. Everytime.

A friend of mine says he loves his Gerber Viper, but I read mixed reviews on the Net. A plumbing supply store near my place was really pushing the American Standard, I don't know which model, but they look like the ones at the big box stores. Is that a good toilet? Any other suggestions? Thanks.

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Comments (6)

weedmeister
7 years ago
Without looking, it might be that is wasn't sitting firmly on the floor. Do you have tile? You may also have an issue with the flange and the pipe.
Bruce in Northern Virginia
7 years ago
The Toto Drake toilet (about $200 for standard white) has an excellent reputation, and you can special order them from Home Depot for home or in-store delivery. If there are any issues (broken in shipment, etc.) the store will take the return and get you another one.

Bruce
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kudzu9
7 years ago
I vote for one of the Totos as well. It's what I put in when I replaced my annoying and unreliable Gerber toilets. Haven't had a problem with the Totos in 10 years
stoveguyy
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
uneven floor. That's it.
w0lley32
Original Author
7 years ago
The Toto Drake was my first pick, but I can't find the Toto in Canada for less than $488, which is more than I wish to pay for a standard 2-piece toilet. A plumbing liquidation store near my place had a locally made product called Neptune which is rated at 1000 gm MaP, so I will give that a try.

As for why it cracked, Weedmeister was spot on: the pipe and flange stood 3/4" above the floor, so the toilet was literally sitting on the flange. Floor is tile and all tiles are even.

Thanks everybody!
always1stepbehind
7 years ago
I had our old toilet replaced with a Kohler Cimarron 3 yrs ago. Have not had to plunge it even once. I don't even keep a plunger in the bathroom anymore. With the old toilet I had to keep a plunger in the bathroom and we plunged at least once a week because the water would come up...had a couple overflows...I would plunge in between just as a precaution in case the kids were home by themselves. But with this new toilet, not one problem so far. Flushes perfect and take everything down with one flush.

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