Archive for water saving toilet
Are Water Saving Toilets Stopping Up Sewers?
Posted by: | CommentsWhen the Professor talks water-saving toilets, the focus tends to be on whether or not it has the flushing power to effectively clean the bowl and avoid household clogs. But every now and then there is a reminder that all that waste has to GO somewhere. A toilet flush not only needs to clear the bowl, but also keep waste moving through the sewer system.
Older 3.5 gallon per flush (gpf) toilets used plenty of (you might even say too much) water to move waste through drainlines down to the sewer system, but as 1.6 and even 1.28 gpf toilets become the norm, some reports emerged questioning whether the reduced amount of water was enough to power waste effectively through the pipes underground.
Studies to date have found that the reduced water flow is not to blame. A drainline carry study performed in Australia at locations deemed to be of “above average” difficulty in terms of drainline length and slope (or lack there of) found that water saving toilets caused no blockages. Other studies have demonstrated that poor drainline installation is the main cause of sewer back-ups, including rough joints, debris from construction being left in the pipe, and even lengths of pipe that slope the wrong way.
A new study by the Plumbing Efficiency Research Coalition is scheduled to begin early this year, thanks in part to a generous donation of test apparatus by American Standard Brands. With water shortages critical in many parts of the world, and drought forecast for the entire southern tier of the US in 2012, any study that helps build end-user confidence in high-efficiency plumbing will enable this significant water savings to continue, rather than literally sending technical advances in flushing performance “down the drain.”
Water-Saving Toilets: New Hands-Free Dual Flush Toilet
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There is no question that dual flush toilets are a simple and increasingly popular way to reduce water use at home. Now, thanks to a recent innovation from American Standard, a new line of hands-free, dual flush toilet valves are bringing the same water-saving technology to commercial applications.
How does it work? The new Selectronic dual flush toilet valve releases a light flush, or 1.1 gallons per flush (gpf), when motion is detected for less than 60 seconds. A standard 1.6 gpf volume is used when motion is detected for 60 seconds or longer.
All in all, the Professor is impressed by the ingenuity of this new line of commercial flush valves, which require 20 percent less water than standard toilets. The valves were designed to work perfectly as a retrofit for use with existing plumbing, so it’s easy for commercial facilities to make this water conservation-friendly upgrade. Here’s to an eco-friendly and very high tech future!
Toilet Performance: The Latest and Greatest Hotel Perk
Posted by: | CommentsThe Professor always has toilet performance on the brain, but acknowledges that this concern might not always be at the forefront of the average person’s mind when making a simple decision like, for instance, which hotel to stay at on a trip. Most travelers – and most hotels, for that matter – would prefer to be focused on aspects like location, continental breakfast quality, or Egyptian cotton sheets. However, the Loews and Hyatt hotel chains have both been in the news recently for investing in high performance Champion 4 toilets from American Standard as a service to their guests. The Professor was pleased to be able to speak with Richard Senechal from Loews Hotels and Ron McGill from Hyatt Hotels about their sudden interest in flushability.
When it comes to hotel perks, one usually thinks of something like high quality bedding or premium cable channels. How did your hotels come to be so interested in toilet performance?
Richard Senechal: “For us, clogged toilets became a huge problem about 15 years ago, when building codes began requiring toilets to use 1.6 gallons of water per flush – about half of what they’d been using. These new toilets technically should’ve saved us money on reduced water bills, but we quickly began to see a significant uptick in the number of service calls we received regarding clogged toilets. Until we upgraded our toilets we were receiving as many as 12 calls per day in our three Orlando-area hotels alone, which took up a great deal of staff time.”
Aside from the amount of time your staff had to spend fixing these clogs, did your hotels experience any other problems related to toilet clogs?
Ron McGill: “Oftentimes, we would have a guest cause a toilet overflow, which was quite embarrassing and inconvenient for them. It was even worse when they would flush the toilet and then leave the room without knowing that there was a problem - the overflow could go on for an hour or two sometimes. By that then a lot of damage would have occurred, including leaks down into the rooms below.
How did you come to choose American Standard’s Champion 4 toilet for your plumbing upgrade?
Richard Senechal: “Our Orlando engineering director, Tony Rodrigues, had tested the Champion 4 toilet and told us it was ‘a quantum leap’ over our existing toilets. He eventually convinced the company that it made good business sense to replace the toilets throughout all 18 Loews hotels. Today, about a third of our hotels have the Champion 4.”
And how are the new toilets working out for your guests?
Richard Senechal: “We have seen an 80% drop in service calls at the hotels where we have installed the Champion 4. That translates into a lot of saved man-hours and we couldn’t be happier with the change.”
Ron McGill: “We no longer need to keep toilet plungers on every floor – the new toilets have virtually eliminated clog-related service calls at our hotel. We’re also really pleased with the savings we’re experiencing on our water bills thanks to the Champion 4. The cost of utilities on Long Island is outrageous, so any chance to cut expenses in that area is extremely important.”
Thank you so much for your time, gentlemen. The Professor enjoys nothing more than a good toilet chat with fellow professionals.
Toilet Myth Busting: Water Saving Toilets Carry The Load
Posted by: | CommentsMany plumbing professionals worry about the ability of water saving toilets to sufficiently carry waste to the sewer. While architects typically determine the sizing, pitch and venting requirements for drain lines, Professor Toilet and other toilet scientists focus exclusively on the science of effective flushing.
Coined “Drain Line Carry,” the ASME Standard requires that every toilet – regardless of water volume used in a flush – be able to drive 100 ¾-inch polypro balls down a 3-inch rigid pipe an average of 40 feet. All of American Standard’s water closets meet this standard and many, including Champion 4, Cadet 3, Colony FitRight, Evolution2 and H2Option, exceed that requirement by more than 16 feet. Here’s where we test:
Helping to transport waste through drain lines is what engineers term “supplemental flow,” or additional water generated from faucets, showers, clothes washing, etc., which is obviously more prevalent in residential than commercial applications.
In other words, drain line clogging isn’t likely to be caused by a water saving toilet. Other common causes of drain line clogging are broken or misaligned pipes, buildup of grease or grit within the drain, as well as flushing inappropriate materials.
Special note to commercial building professionals: Installations with extremely long drain lines (e.g., shopping malls or industrial sites), may require evaluation on a site-by-site basis, especially if no supplemental flows are available.
