The Toto Drake II Model # CST454CEFG Toilet formerly known as the Gwyneth is probably the best deal in the Toto Toilet line today. It is a two-piece toilet that is ADA height, has Toto’s Sanagloss Finish, The Drake II has a 3” flush valve and a 2 1/8” computer designed fully glazed trapway. Toto’s New Double Cyclone Flush, and is WaterSense Certified using only 1.28 gallons of water per flush (4.8 Lpf), while having a MaP Report Rating of 800 Grams of Solids per Flush.
Toto is the world’s largest plumbing manufacturer with plants located all around the world including a new state of the art plant in Morrow, Georgia. They offer consistent high quality products no matter where in the world they are produced, and some of the best engineered plumbing products in the world. They are the only manufacturer I know of where a two piece toilet could have a bowl manufactured in China and a tank manufactured in the US come together with a perfect match in fit, function and appearance. Toto Quality Control is the same high standard wherever the components are made.
In this day and age where so many of the products we buy even from US based companies are imported from south of the border and from China, it is refreshing to see a Japanese based company build a state of the art manufacturing facility here in the US. Many of the Toto Drake II toilets are made at the Morrow, Georgia facility.
We are entering a new era of water conservation with the introduction of WaterSense Certified Toilets and as usual Toto has done their homework on the Drake II. One of the problems that many of the WaterSense toilets will be having is with bowl wash and keeping the bowl clean. The Toto Sanagloss Finish is a super slick finish that easily rinses clean and with Toto’s Double Cyclone Flush plenty of water is directed around the bowl to provide the needed bowl rinse. This is going to be a problem for some manufacturers the pursued higher MaP Report Test scores as many will find that they devote too much of the water flow to the flushing ability and not enough to keep the bowl clean. Toto has struck the perfect balance between flushing ability and bowl wash giving you a toilet that is highly unlikely to ever clog yet can wash the bowl clean with only 1.28 gallons of water per flush.
One of the perks of buying a WaterSense Certified Toilet is that in order to gain the certification the toilet has to flush with the following amounts of water, 1.28 Gpf/4.8 Lpf for single flush toilets, and 1.28 Gpf/4.8 Lpf combined average for dual flush toilets. They must also meet a minimum performance standard of being able to flush 350 Grams of Solids per Flush. Another Perk is that in many areas of the US and Canada rebates are available for purchasers who are replacing an older toilet that uses more water, check with your local, state, and provincial governments, as well as your water provider to find out if there are rebates available where you live and the conditions of the rebate. Toto offers efficiency without sacrificing performance and has more High Efficiency Toilet choices than any other manufacturer.
Although the Toto Drake II Model # CST454CEFG has a MSRP of $510 shopping around may yield prices in the $325 – $350 range. Be careful purchasing on-line as many of the vendors may list the model but when you end up in checkout somehow a different model is in the cart. Make sure that you are indeed ordering & receiving Model # CST454CEFG.
A word of caution to all purchasers of this toilet, it is a documented fact that many Toto owners take a peculiar delight in showing visitors to their home how well Toto toilets flush. “PSSST Wanna see my Toto toilet flush?” Do not worry if you find this happening to you. It is quite normal!