Niagara Flapperless Toilets are manufactured by Niagara Conservation which was started in 1977 by William Cutler, like many American businesses it had humble beginnings in the garage at his home. In the thirty years since its start in that garage it has grown providing many innovative products that conserve water and energy. Today the Niagara Conservation is headquartered in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey and has many satellite offices across the US an affiliate company in Toronto, Canada. Their products have gone global and they are sold throughout North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia.
The Niagara Flapperless Toilet is a unique design unlike any other toilet made today. At first glance it looks like any other toilet, there is a bowl and a tank, with a handle on the side of the tank to activate the flush. But when you lift the tank lid and see what it’s got under the hood you will see a radical design that changes everything. This “Flapperless” toilet is exactly what the name says it is. There is a unique fill valve that comes up high in the tank over a “Tipping Bucket” the fill valve fills the “Tipping Bucket” to the prescribed level either 1.6 gallons or, 1.28 gallons depending on the model. When you use the Niagara Flapperless Toilet you simply press the handle on the side of the toilet and the “Tipping Bucket” overturns spilling the prescribed amount of water into the tank where it flows through where a flapper would have been in a regular toilet, down into the bowl causing the toilet to flush. The “Tipping Bucket” then rights itself and refills for the next flush.
This unique Flapperless design effectively cures a toilet maintenance problem that wastes vast amounts of water every year. Flappers on toilets are under attack by chemicals in the water from the first moment they are put into service. Water suppliers use Chlorine and Chloramines to sanitize the water keeping it safe to drink. These chemicals attack rubber components in the toilet tank and typically give them a service life in the area of five years. When a flapper degrades it usually starts to leak and the leaking often goes unnoticed because the water flows through the toilet and into the drain quietly. Only people that change out a worn flapper ahead of time, notice the fill valve refilling the tank without being flushed, or dye test their toilets to detect flapper leaks manage not to waste water.
The unique Niagara Flapperless "Tipping Bucket" design eliminates many of the maintenance issues that cause conventional toilets to waste water.
Niagara Flapperless Toilets are offered in 1.6 and 1.28 gallon per flush models. The 1.28 gallon per flush models meet EPA WaterSense Certification Requirements and are eligible for government and water company rebate programs in many areas of the US and Canada. Check in your area for rebate availability and the program requirements. The Niagara Flapperless Toilets come in round and elongated bowl models, and also many models meet ADA height requirements. In addition the “Tipping Bucket” can be reversed to allow the handle to be on either the right or, left side. The tank to the bowl connection is adjustable so each model’s rough in dimension (distance from wall to the center of the bowl outlet) is fully adjustable from 10 to 12 inches. All models have a large 2” diameter trapway that is fully glazed to help prevent sticking and clogging and they have a large 10” wide X 20” long foot print to provide a stable base and cover the footprint of your old toilet without having to redo the floor because of stains under the base of the old toilet. The large tank should also cover the wall that hid behind your old toilets tank as well avoiding the need for wall repairs. One of the neat things about the Flapperless design is that the tank sweating in periods of high humidity is eliminated because the cold incoming water never touches the tank long enough to make it sweat. All Niagara Flapperless Toilet Models come with a Lifetime Warrantee on the vitreous china parts and a 10 Year Warrantee on component parts. The simplicity of this design should make this toilet a reliable performer with the only parts that wear being the fill valve which is made for Niagara Conservation by Fluidmaster and the pivot points of the tipping bucket. Other than those 2 items there is nothing that moves and can wear.
The Niagara Flapperless Toilet performance has generally been good with MaP Report Testing coming in between 400 and 1,000 grams of solids per flush depending on the model. Niagara makes quite a few different models of Flapperless Toilets under their own name and Home Depot’s names where they are sold as Glacier Bay, and Pegasus Flapperless Toilets. When selecting a toilet, checking the MaP Testing on the specific model is a good idea to ensure that you get a flush performance level you can be happy with.
If you have any questions or comments please leave them below and I will answer them.
This toilet gives me not end of problems. The most common problem is bucket not returning, and allowing the water to continue running for hours, or until I discover the bucket has not returned. Now, I just have had a pin that the bucket swivels on, break. Where do I find parts and how do I get the bucket out to repair it? Charles
Hi Charles,
You can contact Niagara Conservation
Parts & Warranty Information
Toll Free in the US 1-800-831-8383 Ext. 180
Outside the US 973-829-0800 Ext. 180
Let us know how they respond to your complaint.
We like to offer complete information in our reviews and a good portion of the information can come from comments.
Thanks for your Comments,
Redwood
I have same problems with this kind of toilet. Water are continuing pouring in because the bucket did not returned to original position.
I hope the company should do something about this.
I started using the Niagara because city of Corona, CA recommended to save water.
Wishing the company have a Kit to convert this tank from 1 Stage to 2 Stage for flushing.
This way we can save even save more water, specially in CA.
Tai
Hi tai nguyen,
Have you tried contacting Niagara Conservation
Parts & Warranty Information
Toll Free in the US 1-800-831-8383 Ext. 180
Outside the US 973-829-0800 Ext. 180
To see what they can do for your problem with the bucket not returning?
I would suggest that you do that.
Niagara Conservation just recently introduced the Stealth Toilet which flushes with only .8 Gallons of water per flush.
This is the lowest consumption toilet yet!
Glacier Bay 1.28 gpf, model 331-725, elongated. We’ve had it and an identical unit for over a year. Problem is with periodic(every 5 minutes) water flow to refill tank. No leakage into bowl. Water level stable for about 4 minutes then slowly lowers during next minute(approx. 1/4 “), then refills. Another blog hinted at a problem with the toilet drain that may be wicking out water.
Has anyone experienced this problem with their Glacier Bay and found the fix?
Other than the poorly designed seats, both our toilets have been working o.k.
Hi Navy Dad,
I believe your toilet is not one of the Flapperless Niagara Toilets.
Have a look at this link to see how to stop a running toilet.
will this toilet work well in a basement bathroom?
Hi Mark,
Any toilet will work well in a basement bathroom as long as it is a good flushing toilet which this is.
Problems in basement bathrooms with toilets usually indicate a line blockage problem not a toilet problem.
Thanks for commenting,
Redwood
We are having an issue with the toilet trough taking a long time to fill. Its fine when it is just my husband and I, but when we have guests over the toilet can only be used every 5-10 minutes to give it enough time to fill the bucket. Is there any way to increase the flow of the water into the bucket?
Hi Erica,
Are there any other fixtures having a problem with low flow?
Is the angle stop valve under the bottom left corner of the toilet tank full turned on?
If you shut off the angle stop valve then disconnect the supply line to the toilet then turn it on putting the water into a bucket is the flow good?
If the flow is good with the supply disconnected…
You may be able to take the fill valve apart up inside the tank and flush out debris blocking the fill valve.
Or, contact Niagara Conservation
Parts & Warranty Information
Toll Free in the US 1-800-831-8383 Ext. 180
Outside the US 973-829-0800 Ext. 180
For replacement parts you have a 10 year guarantee.
Thanks for posting your comment,
Redwood
I am trying to find pricing on this type of toilet. Do you know where I can find it? Also I really want to find reviews on their stealth toilet. I get ads for that in the mail. I just want to know if anybody is having any luck with only .8 gal. per flush. Any info?
Hi Don,
While the 1.6 and 1.28 Niagara toilets are at the depot I haven’t seen the Stealth 0.8 GPF toilet yet.
As soon as I see it we’ll have a review…
Also Don at 411 plumb we try to stay out of the pricing and were to get the best deal information…
Trying to keep it along the lines of msrp and ballparks…
Thanks for commenting,
Redwood
Hi,
My friend recently moved into an apartment with one of these, and water will not stay in the bowl after flushing. Or even pouring slowly into the bowl (as you do with other toilets), it will all drain out. Is this a common problem? Is their an easy fix?
Thanks for any help.
Todd
Hi Todd,
My first guess is that there is a crack in between the bowl and the drain of the toilet allowing the water to drain out of the bowl. It happens sometime in shipping toilets.
Redwood
I purchased a Niagara Flapperless 1.28 Toilet from Home Depot and it works fine,however the tank fills to the top and the float is adjusted to it’s limit, plus the adjustment screw was stripped. I went back to Home Depot and they gave me a new float/valve control [I have to return the old one] and after installing it, I had the same problem with the tank filling to it’s limit and not being able to adjust it lower to the recommended limit line. I tried calling the phone number [800-631-2011] in the the booklet that came with the toilet and all you get is press this or that number and if you want to talk to a technician press 6, after that they ask you if your done and never get to talk to a technician. They may have a warranty, but don’t try talking to someone for your out of luck and I hope I never have to adjust the water level for I’m out of luck—-sorry.
Hi Fred,
Try these numbers and let me know if you have any luck.
Contact Niagara Conservation
Parts & Warranty Information
Toll Free in the US 1-800-831-8383 Ext. 180
Outside the US 973-829-0800 Ext. 180
Redwood
I had sent them an e-mail with my complaint and received a reply back wanting my phone number, which I gave them and they called today and told me to bend the copper pipe that the float assembly is attached to, I did as told and then readjusted the float level and all works fine. The toilet seems to work fine, but they do need to fix the problem or put a note in there instructions. The information you provided me would have worked and I thank you for that. Fred
Hi Fred,
Thanks for getting back with this information. It sounds like the tube was either bent wrong or, someone used it for a handle picking up the tank at the factory, and the adjustment screw didn’t have enough to cover the incorrectly bent tube. I’m glad you were able to get a hold of them okay and get the toilet working right.
Redwood
The problem I have with my Niagara Flapperless is the contimuous flowing of the water. Please let me know what I need to adjust or replace. Thanks!
Hi Ferdie,
It depends on the problem you are having.
If the bucket failing to return to the upright position to fill or, is the bucket overflowing?
Redwood
I am having the same problem with my Glacier Bay toilet, the bucket returns just fine…but it just keeps filling over the fillline . I have tried adjusting every thing…it just runs all the time…I actually have to shut the water off when I leave for work. my plumber is useless…he said it’s the way they are made…what a crock…he just doesn’t know how to fix it either. I am using more water now than beore I switched to it….otherwise it’s a nice fixture. When I asked them at Home depot they said to call a plumber to see what part I needed….it’s a brand new toilet, why would it need a part? Any suggestions? Thanks! Marie
Hi Marie,
There is a screw on the fill valve that should adjust the water level in the tray when it is filled.
If the water fills to the line then slowly continues to fill overflowing the tray the fill valve is bad and needs to be replaced.
My guess is either your plumber knew very little about this toilet and didn’t understand how the parts worked or, he recognized it as a toilet where getting the parts was going to take more time than he wanted to spend.
There should have been an instruction manual that came with the toilet with part numbers listed and where to call to replace them. Also I have listed the contact info for Niagara Conservation several times in the comments above.
Let me know how you make out,
Redwood
Marie, I had the same problem and just got off the phone with them and they had me bend the copper pipe slighty, so that the float goes into the water more, that fixed the problem. Hope this helps.
Hi Marie,
As long as the fill valve shuts off when you lift the float all the way up by hand Fred’s suggestion should fix your problem.
If the valve doesn’t shut off when you lift the float then you need to replace the valve.
Let us know how you make out with the problem,
Redwood
My Niagara flapperless 1.28 GPF toilet will not flush. Water enters the bowl but there is not pressure taking the water and waste out. The other toilets in my home flushes just fine. It may take 5-6 flushes before all the waste empties the bowl. What can the issue be?
Thanks,
Fannie
Hi Fannie,
There are a couple of possible causes for this to occur. Is the water tray filling to the proper level? If there is not enough water the toilet will have a weak flush and not clear the bowl properly.
The toilet may have an obstruction or, partial clog in the trapway that slows the flow of water out of the bowl causing a weak flush. You could have a plumber auger the toilet with a closet auger or, get a General or, Ridgid brand 3′ closet auger with a drop head and do it yourself. Those closet augers will cost about $40 but they do work compared to cheaper ones that at completely useless.
One way you can test is to put about 1 1/2 gallons of water in a bucket and pour the water into the toilet bowl as fast as you can. If the toilet flushes when you use the bucket the problem is the amount of water going to the bowl and the speed at which it gets there. If the toilet does not flush using the bucket then the trapway is obstructed. Has this toilet always been flushing badly or, is this a recent occurrence? Sometimes a bad installation can cause flushing problems too.
I hope this helps you,
Redwood
I bought this about a month ago. I actually bought two. The one upstairs is fine. The one on the first floor’s tipping bucket is not filling with water at all. No water is coming out of the fluidmaster part at all. What should I do?
Hi John,
I would say that something somewhere is stopping the water flow. We need to find out where that is.
Probably the easiest thing to do is shut off the water supply to the toilet, put a container under the angle stop valve, and disconnect the supply line where it connects to the toilet at the bottom of the left hand side of the toilet tank.
Then turn the water back on while directing the supply line into the container and turning it back on to see if water comes out. That will give you an idea if which direction to proceed.
If you have installed a Watts FloodSafe supply line on this toilet there is a good chance that the FloodSafe valve has falsely tripped and shut the water off. They are well known for that problem among some other more serious problems. To reset the FloodSafe valve shut off the angle stop valve, loosen the connection where the FloodSafe supply line connects to the stop valve allowing the pressure to leak out, retighten the connection then slowly turn on the angle stop valve and flow will be restored. I would recommend replacing this supply line as I have seen a few where the connection failed between the connector on the angle stop valve and the FloodSafe Valve causing heavy water damage to the home. The nuisance of false trips is the least of this products problems.
Redwood
I had 2 Niagara Flapperless toilets installed in Oct 2009. They work fine except that one has a water level that’s too low after flushing.
The other toilet has a normal water level after flushing.
The troubleshooting guide says to “check refill resevoir inside bottom of tank to ensure drain hole is open”? Of course the drain hole is open because it’s been working since October.
Overall, I’m pleased with these toilets for several resons: they were very reasonably priced; water refills in bucket quickly after flush; and there are less internal tank “guts” to tinker with or worry about. Internal guts are easy to disassemble.
Advice would be appreciated.
Hi,
Please clarify for me which it is or, whether it is both.
The water level is too low in the tray inside the tank or, in the toilet bowl itself.
Thanks,
Redwood
The water level is too low in the bowl. After flushing there is only about 2 or 3 cups of water in bottom of bowl.
The bucket (inside tank) fills up fine.
This model is 1.28 GPF Round Front Bowl. Only modification is that I replaced stock plastic seats with sturdier ones.
I think problem may be that all the refill water is going into the bucket after I flush. Some of the watter should be allowed to fall down.
Maybe bending/moving copper tube to allow some water run off. I’ll look again tonight
Check that the water level in the tray is filling to the proper level and adjust as needed either with the screw or, by bending the tube if the screw does not allow enough adjustment.
Also slowly pour water into the bowl and see if that increases the amount of water in the bowl. The level of water in the bowl is controlled by a water over the dam effect in the trapway design of the toilet. Although sometimes an internal defect in the toilet can sometimes cause a low water level in the bowl. See if manually adding water increases the level and that can exclude a bowl problem.
Both of these can have a bearing on the amount of water in the bowl.
Redwood
Manually adding water to bottom bowl does substantially increase water level. The water level in tray is a bit high. It’s slightly above the
1.28 threshold line. Maybe this is causing to powerful of a flush? Tonight I’ll bend down the copper tube so that water level in filling tray is lower.
Last night I was able to get more water in bowl by moving water filling tube to side of tray. Some of the water spills down this way. But this is not the designed way.
I would suggest giving Niagara Conservation a call and ask for their recommendations.
The bowl refilling manually to the correct level says the bowl is good and the problem is replenishment.
Niagara Conservation Parts and Warranty Info:
Toll Free in the US: 800-831-8383 ext: 180
Outside the US: 973-829-0800 ext:180
Other users have found then to be very helpful.
Redwood, I did call that number. The Rep told me that there is nothing wrong with my toilet. These efficiency toilets are suppose to have low water in bottom of bowl.
But he could not or would not explain why my other toilet ( I have 2 identical models) has a normal amount of water in bottom of bowl. It is equallly efficient, too. It just expells less water per flush.
I guess they are saying it is within tolerance for their standards.
Well as long as it’s flushing good and you are satisfied with the level of performance we’re good.
Redwood
OK. these toilets are actually an upgrade to the 1973 models (37 yrs old) that were in the condo. I’m happy so far. Thanks for your help.
I’m glad to hear you are happy with them.
Please keep us in mind and let us know how they pass the test of time.
Replacing 1973 models should provide a noticeable drop on your water usage.
Thanks,
Redwood
I am having a problem with no water going into the tank. I have had problems with slow flushing as well when tank has water. It takes 2-3 times to flush. I did however goof and put a toilet bowl tablet in the tank (bucket) before noticing the warning not to. I have turned the water valve off but even with it on there is no water coming out. This is the only toilet I have in the house and its beginning to be an inconvenience!
Hi Caroline,
The water not filling the bucket could be several things. I would shut the stop valve off and disconnect the supply line from the toilet connection then while pointing it in a small bucket turn it back on to see if you have a good supply of water to the toilet. That will tell you which direction to start looking.
If you have a Watts FloodSafe toilet supply line it may be the problem. They are designed to shut off if there is an excess flow caused by a broken supply line but are prone to false trips.
The slow flushing could be several things. Your mention of the toilet bowl tablet makes me ask if you recovered it from the tank or, if it has gone down inside the internal water passages of the toilet bowl?
Redwood
tablet was in bucket not the bottom of tank and has been recovered for the most part, would like to remove bucket to thoroghly clean, any instructions? with water turned supply turned off for a while until i could get home to start trying to figure out the problem, the water came back on when turned and fills into bucket okay. Back in business!
Hi there.
The bucket is failing to return to the upright position. Is there a way to fix this to ensure that the bucket returns to the upright position?
Hi Matthew,
The “Bucket” is attached at the sides of the toilet with a pivot on one side and a pivot and handle on the other.
It is weighted so that it should tip back on its own, I would look for anything that could be interfering with its movement or, binding at the pivot points. You may need to apply lubrication to those points. That failing you can call Niagara if you need any parts or, additional advice.
Niagara Conservation Parts and Warranty Info:
Toll Free in the US: 800-831-8383 ext: 180
Outside the US: 973-829-0800 ext:180
Redwood
Dear Redwood,
We installed about 150 of their earlier version of this toilet–a 1.6 gpf model–in a residential complex, and they seem to be doing OK. Haven’t heard any complaints (though after reading the above I’m checking with our Building Manager to make sure on this).
I’ve got another 90 I want to upgrade to ultra-low flow, and Home Depot is selling this model, and with the 100.00 rebate running in our area, and an in-house plumber, we can practically install them for free.
Is there any other toilets I should be looking at, in this price range and performance level?
Thanks,
Glenn
Hi Glenn,
There are quite a few toilets that meet the WaterSense certification requirements and are eligible for rebates.
I would say that for the price and it’s reliable design it is probably hard to beat. In your case standardization makes a lot of sense. I would recommend that you contact Niagara Conservation and see about getting a small replacement parts inventory to work with. When you consider the numbers that have visited this page and the number of complaints the number is less than 1/2 percent that are leaving comments with problems. Pretty good in my book!
They should be able to give you some stocking recommendations for having 240 of them installed in your buildings.
Redwood
Thanks Redwood, that makes sense. I’ll see what they recommend in terms of replacement parts. I checked with our maintenance guy, who has only handi-man self-taught sort of skills, and he said they’ve been fine and very easy maintenance, with no specific problems to report. I also discovered we’d installed another 160 of them elsewhere, and the guy there said he had to do some initial simple adjustments (bending the copper pipe thing to adjust it so that it was filling up all the way) on some of them, but since then no complaints or problems. Neither of these people are plumbers so anyone with a good mechanical sense should not have a problem. I also checked one out myself and I don’t see how you could break the handle unless you kicked it or something. This is the earlier 1.6 gal model I’m talking about, but I trust this new 1.28 model is pretty similar, right? (We’re planning to pilot a few just in case).
- Glenn
Hi Glenn,
Yes the 1.28 HET toilet is the same flapperless design.
It certainly sounds like your experience has justified my gut feeling about these toilets being reliable.
That is a phenomenal number to have installed without problems.
BTW They have a new model out now that flushes with only 0.8 gallons per flush. They are starting to scare me!
I’m aiming to see one of these soon.
Redwood