Niagara Flapperless Beats the Crap out of Normal Toilets
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 12. 5.06
Thomas Crapper didn't invent the eponymous bathroom device; He improved it and popularized it. The key invention of the siphonic action, where there is a complete water seal to stop smells and no valve on the outlet to fail (gaskets were leather 200 years ago and nobody wanted to fix them at the bottom of a toilet) came earlier. Crapper came up with the big float valve and cistern that sat above the toilet and metered out the water. People didn't mind when that flapper valve leaked, because water still stayed in the bowl. Unfortunately they still leak, and flapper leakage is the single biggest source of water waste in a home- a small, invisible leak can waste 100,000 litres per year. The Niagara Flapperless gets rid of the flapper altogether; it holds the water in a hinged trough that tilts over and dumps the water all at once into the tank, with no resistance from the flapper mechanism to slow it down. Result: in the miso poop performance test, it passed 750 grams, almost a pound and a half. It will never wear out and leak because there is no rubber seal to deteriorate, which as we know from Richard Feynman, eventually they all do. ::Niagara Flapperless
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I had one of these installed a few years ago. Works great unless someone attempts to do a half flush, then the mechanism can get stuck half way causing water to constantly run. Manually moving the handle up easily stops the flow, but once and awhile someone leaves it running. I had to put a sign on it that said "flush fully". Hopefully the company has fixed this.
I like it but having a reliable half-flush for number 1 would help save even more water.
I installed one of these units 5 years ago and it is excellent. I'm now about to install one in my down stairs bathroom...
i love this toilet i never have to flush it twice, and i know im not wasting water cause this toilet cant leak or flush any more than 1.6 gpf, plus it makes me feel good saveing water when i know that every 15 seconds someone dies from not haveing enough to drink. (fact look it up)
get one
Do not do it. It is a piece of cr@p in my opinion.
My apartment owners put them in and I hate it. They pay for water if that gives you the incintive. The reality is that I pay for my water through my rent. They are only trying to improve their margins through tax credits and lower water bills. The problem is that it won't clear the bowl nine out of ten times. I have to clean it every day!!!! Again --- don't buy it!!!
I am not at all pleased with this toilet. After only about 6 months, the handle cracked and broke. Finding a simple replacement part is all but impossible - Home Depot & Lowes do not carry Niagara (at least in Orlando FL) and Niagara's website leaves much to be desired.
Soon after the valve that fills the inner trough started running constantly - don't believe the hype that these things can't leak. Once again, good luck in finding a replacement part.
On top of that I too have problems clearing the bowl - you have to hold the handle down long enough for the trough to empty completely. Most of the time this isn't that big of a deal, but if I'm in a rush and forget to hold the handle down, I have to wait for the trough to fill so I can flush again.
The notes about having to flush twice are 100% correct. It never flushes everything on the first flush. I came across these in the apartment that I just moved into and it is horrible. Then after the flush is over it hardly puts any water back into the bowl which is why you have to wash the toilet almost everyday (or want to when you see how dirty it is). Once I figured out that you can just hold down the knob to flush everything I am fine now but don't waste your money if this is more expensive than a regular toilet
The water utility company installed the toilet for free about three years ago. Sometimes you would have to flush twice to get everything down. Now the water takes extremely long time (2-3 minutes) to fill the trough. Does anyone know how to solve this problem?
Thanks.
Regarding a slow filling Niagara toilet... where the supply line screws onto the tank there is a small filter up inside the threaded fitting attached to the bottom of the tank. Shut off the water, unscrew the connection, pull out the small filter screen and clean it. Reassemble.
Regarding a poor flush...check the water level in the "bucket", making any adjustments using the screw atop the float. Sometimes the copper tubing coming up from the bottom of the tank has to be bent just slightly upward...if you have no more adjustment in the screw. Adjust the water level up near the top of the "bucket".
Make sure the rim of the toilet is level...front to back and side to side. This can have an effect on flushes. Shim as necessary with toilet shims.
Do I like these toilets? YES! Does mine flush OK? YES!
So far...my toilet has been able to flush all that I have passed it's way in ONE flush. I am a tall and big guy :)
I like the taller height of the bowl and the shape of the bowl is much more comfortable for a large tall man, than the old round bowl.
I just wish I could get a rebate in rural Wisconsin to help with the installation of another toilet.
Buy one of these toilets and follow the installation instructions plus my suggestions and you will be happy with your purchase.
Everyone note: there is more than one version of the Niagara flapperless models. Some are 1.6 GPF, but some are just 1.3 GPF.
Stay away from the 1.3 GPF; some are rated as low as 150 and 250 on the MaP rating. The 1.6 GPF models on the other hand are rated at 600-700. This is probably why some posters state no issues and others need to flush 2 or 3 times.
I have a 1.6 GPF model thats now 1 year old. I agree with toocrazy that a half flush sometimes occurs. But, really, how hard is it to press the lever ALL the way down? As long as the water fill valve doesn't leak, you won't waste water as a toilet with a flapper and an overfill tube would. I too worry about what Joe said, wrt where to get parts when something eventually fails. Good news is Ian's post that his Niagara is five years old and without problems.
Would I buy it again? Probably yes. It looks like H*Depot raised the price from $99 last year to $120 this year (last checked April 2008), but this month (May 2008) removed it from their website altogether.
MaP ratings for all toilets can be found here: http://www.toiletabcs.com/pdf/MaP-Toilet-Test-Results-9th-Edition.pdf
I just bought the 1.28 gallon Niagara under the Glacier Bay name from Home Depot - $128.00. I love the toilet - I bought the elongated ADA height model, not the fancier "cottage" look, but the simpler cleaner looking one. It flushes great, I never have to flush twice, a push of the handle flushes it, and it automatically returns to position for the next flush. It flushes much better than my 40 year old Norris-Thermador, which served well. The instructions left a bit to be desired for a newbie at toilet installation - I hopped online to view a couple of video's on how to replace a toilet, and read some descriptions. I was not familiar with what parts were left behind as part of the old wax seal, which had a flange - and the new wax seal, which did not - and I wasn't sure how to use a toilet shim, and what a toilet shim looked like. Overall, I am very pleased, and this is a condo with one toilet - so it is vital that it be reliable! My only complaint is with Home Depot, that you can not order the toilet online and pick it up in the store - you must pay the $89 delivery fee, or go in the store and order the toilet, and pick it up. And regardless of what Home Depot says, it will not fit in a Ford Mustang unless you take it out of the box!
I have the 1.6 which has been in daily use for nearly 2 years. It works perfectly! It was not available locally so I ordered 2 of them directly from Niagara. The shipping for both was only $ 50.00 bucks. Installation was no more difficult than a standard toilet.
This toilet must be level! Other than installing it level and keeping it that way, it works great. Very pleased with both price and function. Recommend them to everyone.