How to Convert a Toilet to Dual-Flush | This Old House
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- čas přidán 29. 10. 2014
- This Old House plumbing and heating contractor Richard Trethewey shows how to save water without replacing the toilet. (See below for a shopping list and tools.)
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Shopping List for How to Convert a Toilet to Dual-Flush:
dual-flush valve [amzn.to/2kVcddZ], for converting toilet to dual flush
fill valve [amzn.to/2kS1r89], used to replace existing fill valve
Tools for How to Convert a Toilet to Dual-Flush:
pliers [amzn.to/2mv2XgQ], used to loosen nut on fill valve
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How to Convert a Toilet to Dual-Flush | This Old House
/ thisoldhouse - Jak na to + styl
I didnt need this video, but for some reason I enjoyed watching this and completed the video...
I looked for a video like this all over. Thank you for posting this. I thought I had to buy a brand new tank to make it dual flush. Never knew you could have the flushing part on the same hole the old one was. You are amazing! Thanks for your help.
Nice video, but what i really need is a third button for massive dumps. We're talking visiting both sides of the family Thanksgiving day sized dumps.
😲
thats the kind where water pressure flushes the bowl, not a tank
Omg. And your username is poop.😂😂😂😂😂
👑 💩
You need an old 3.5 gal per flush toilet lmao
03:57 money shot on the rat tail
Great video! After watching it I ordered retrofit kits for $25 each and they work great and took minutes to install. Will save me money on my water bill! Thanks, Richard!
And, this video even helps the issue I JUST had concern about the bowl not filling to its full capacity!!!!! Wow!!!!! I’m so glad I did a search for this topic!!!!!
This show has saved me so much money, not only by showing me how to reduce costs but do it myself.
I love watching this old house it is a great television show
Thanks for this video. It gave me the confidence I needed to attempt this project on my own with no prior experience. The kit cost me $26 at Home Depot (although with a dual flapper instead of the button actuator) and maybe 45 minutes of my time (going slowly to make sure I didn't mess anything up). A professional plumber might have charged me $200-300 for this same repair.
Where do you live, bumpkinville? 200.00? Its not 1970
@@tombryan1 And now it's 2024
Great video and explanation. However, It would have been smarter to just replace the whole tank. Here's why:
1) Cost of dual flush - $40
2) Cost of new fill valve because old one wasn't filling properly - $35
Total: $75 but you still have an old looking toilet that takes up a lot of room with that 3.5 gallon tank.
New toilet with built-in dual flush that only uses 1.6 gallons on a FULL flush and .6 on a half flush (from Home Depot): $130.
So all in all, great video, but I would have gotten a new toilet.
This episode was from 2009, so maybe things have changed since then.
He said the cost of the dual flush value is $25.00.
+Gerald Thomas And it includes the fill valve too
I just installed a Fluidmaster. Cost $25. Had to replace Flapper seat assembly for $9 and new tank gasket $1. The low flush toilets I've seen in new homes are awful. The bowl has very little water. The waste is barely if not submerged. Sometimes you have to hit the flush twice. I have 30+ year old toilets and will never replace them. The dual control does what I need and the bowl has a normal water height. The Fluidmaster can be set to just the exact amount to vacate the bowl and the refill tube has an adjuster so it stops filling the bowl exactly when the tank valve shuts off. Cities should push rebates for these instead of entire change outs. We're filling landfills with porcelain.
I know the original comment's 2 years old, but these complete systems, fill valve included, are $35 on Amazon now.
just what I needed, thank you! water saving is essential, thank you for showing how to do it.
I love this guy he dive Right into these plumbing jobs.
Exactly THE PERFECT VIDEO I was hoping to find as to confirm my idea of doing this wasn’t an incredible insane task!!!!
As I watch this the quote comes to mind:
“One if by land two if by sea” 😃
3.5 gallon flush commodes were considered water savers in their day. Before that commodes were 5 gallon flush.
They aren't water savers anymore they are huge water guzzlers
3.5 gpf toilets are the best because they use less water than older 5 gpf ones, but they also use enough water to remove all the waste from the bowl and pipes in one flush. Modern toilets (1.6 or 1.28 gpf) need to be flushed generally twice or more, because they don't clean the bowl in one flush, or if they do clean the bowl, the waste stay in the pipes, causing a blockage later. For that reason, modern toilets are water wasters at last.
After watching all the terlit tests on YT for terlits made the last 100 years I can say this: if you've got a terlit that works on 3.5 - 5gpf, dont change a thing, unless you got 6 kids!
I installed this brand in one toilet and the Fluidmaster in another a few years later. The Fluidmaster is much easier to adjust. There's two knobs you use to tune the amount of water just right to do the job. I had to remove the tank and replace the Flapper valve since it wasn't compatible but in the end a great control and I like the up down handle better than the button. I doubt kids can remember which button does what so in the end they hit the large one every time. They may not remember the handle direction either.
Thanks for this useful information, Tim T. How long does the Fluidmaster kit last, and what does it cost to fix when it starts to leak?
The old/simple/wasteful style has a flapper which is trivial to replace, and inexpensive. That's fortunate, because it doesn't last very long.
assets.supply.com/images/productimages/korky-lav2001bp.jpg
With the Fluidmaster kit do flapper replacements mean replacing the entire device?
Beautiful tecnología
Replaced my old toilet for roughly 120$ with a duel flush toilet. It's night and day with water usage and haven't had any issues. Got 2 more I want to replace but may just do this for those.
works great in my shop and on road trips in my RV
It's been a LONG time since I saw anyone sporting a rat tail.
Come down here, you will see them every day.
Good catch! From now on make it easier on everyone and time stamp so we don’t have to search for it.
Looks like it's the wire for the lapel mic.
lol
Thank you!
So what button do I use if I have runny diarrhea? Liquid or solid?
Be on the safe side, push both :D
Seriously, just go for solids.
Don't you use toilet paper in this case?
Just be careful that you don't get a blow back with a follow through.
lmao..
Ted! You gotta hear this!
I think it would have been awesome if he put a spoiler on top and new rims as well. ;)
Hell yeah
I LOVE IT!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!
Recent bowls are designed to flush with more force. So by converting the guts of an old tank, you still have less than optimum force flow down in the bowl. If you are going to use less water coming down from the tank, you really need a bowl that is designed with more flushing force to work properly. A new toilet will be a better investment in the long run.
True you need power when you have a large floater in the toilet
I bought four of these for a duplex. Three malfunctioned and were replaced by the company. Three of the four then malfunctioned so of the seven I used six malfunctioned.
Interesting info.
NEXT by DANCO. $23 and change from Amazon for the dual flush handle version and $25 for the push button model. Both include the fill valve. Plenty of reviews. Might be worth considering at that price.
SAMs club sell a duel flush toilet for $99. Just change the whole toilet. I've got 2 at my house and they work great
Home Depot has low flow toilets for $79. I installed one last week, works great.
Toss that old crapper.
Montana Harvestor old ones last much longer
Haaaa
79 bucks? That will clog on one square of tp
You not going to toilet that will last for $79
@@kalijasin what wears out in a toilet? Unless it cracks I don't see what would make them not last.
This is an amazing conversion kit! The new 1.6 GPF or less toilets suck, and I always clog them, or I have to flush so many times that I end up using more water. I think this is one of the best solutions.
Personally, I just like to install urinals tbough, and keep the old toilets.
Also modern day things like toilets don't last as long as the older day toilets
@@stephensnell1379 Nothing's made to last anymore.
Great device installations. But I do believe I'd of just changed the entire toilet with a proper new one. However I do like it that you kept the full 3 & a half gallons use for the solid waste as the new toilets provide only a gallon & a half & they need be flushed twice when you flush a solid stool & or the solid waste builds up to clog up within the soil pipes. It should also be noted that if so your soil pipes are too steep a drop & especially if they are 4" or bigger diameter the water can flow around the solid waste & the waste will build up to clog up. But with a lesser drop used with a 3" pipe, the water can push & carry the solid waste a lot easier to the septic tank & or sewer... Thanks you for this knowledge & God Bless his people
Also as Richard mentions completely changing an entire toilet🚽 can get expensive
Nothing is cheap
And yes the 3.5 Gallons will clear solid waste easily compared to the new low flow toilets that have to be flushed more than once to get rid of solid body waste
oh god! just replace the toilet already!!! lol
Exactly...between the two kits, you're looking at 50 bucks. Buy a new 1.6 gal flush toilet for $100 and get an elongated bowl so you're not hitting your junk under a dirty rim...
The way I can get a new one and only one who is this a lot of things to do that again and again and it was good to hear that you're not a good day at 🏫 and I don't want to go back to the gym today is the first time I see you soon and I will be in my life is a great day today and it was a good day at 🏫 and I don't want to go back to the gym today and tomorrow is the first one was the first time I was in my life and my family and friends and 👪 to the gym and then we can do it all the best of luck for tomorrow night and it was a good night my 😍 and miss you too 👶 and I'm not going to the gym now I have no idea what to tell you what you mean by that I have no idea what to do it again in my life and my family is in the morning so I can do that to happen to be a little bit more of the African American I don't know if I can get a new one and only one who is this a good day today so I can do that to happen to be a little bit more than a week and
@QuantumRift, he’s not paying for labor but if he was he’d be over the price of a modern 1.28 GPF toilet. See, www.homedepot.com/p/Glacier-Bay-2-Piece-1-28-GPF-High-Efficiency-Single-Flush-Round-Toilet-in-White-N2428RB-N2428T/202634188
Shadow Stephen that costs too much that's why in the video the toilet remained as it is
@@QuantumRift
Or dunking your beanbag in the stupidly high water level
Can this unit be used with a side tank handle also?
I remember when low flow toilets first came out it was pretty shitty but then companies improved them with canisters and 360 degree aqua pistons that only uses 1.28 gpf and has more power than 3.5 toilets
Wow.. I have that exact same toilet..
Converting MY OTHER TWO standard flush toilets!!!!
Did you succeed?
Ugh I slicked up my hand bad trying to replace a fill valve. The Treads were cross threaded and I thought I could snap it off bad idea gave myself a nice cut.. Rushing a project never pays.
the solution can be easier, just dump a couple of used but water filled Coke PET bottles into the cistern. Saves you water every flush.
Richard if the toilet trap get clogged how do i unclogged the trap of toilet?
Sold buying one now
Another idiot duped.
Some people are complaining about the zip tie deteriorating over time, and thus causing a malfunction and wasting lots of water. I wonder why a plastic zip tie can deteriorate within just 6 months as someone claims at the home depot web site. Anyone knows or is aware of this issue?
The combined cost of the duel-flush and fill valve isn't a whole lot less than a new toilet as most water districts offer a rebate on a change out. As well, if your flush valve is old there's a good chance your going to crack it when attaching the duel flush valve, more costs!
Get your words correct the Flapper IS the flush valve
Well, they do make the flush levers for dual-flush systems now...
Up for liquids, down for solids
When you do a full flush the bowl will still keep filling and use more water till tank is full. .?
Yes, he literally said that...
Interesting. Cool tail
I wonder why he didn't show us the meter reading for the week after installation
it was probably way worse than before, because the kids had a new button to play with ;)
are u serious?
Just watched this episode on tv and after the segment Rich says they went using about 25 gallons so half of the previous amount.
@@Mixwell1983 i was just about t ask how much hey saved lol
I want to change my toilet from handle to button Would it be easier to replace just the tank that is already push button I have learned alot watching these videos Please help Thanks
u can add a medium piece of rock in tank and hold flush little longer for solid waste flush
I got that in all my toilets
I just installed a new fill valve... Goddamnit
I know this is an old video. Given what he’s spending on water, it’s probably better to buy a low-flow toilet. The Aussies have the best ones in my opinion, the Caroma comes to mind (I have 2). Some models are ultra-low flush and can swallow a baseball… in fact, I think 5 baseballs. Also, the trick is setting the ‘liquids’ part of the flush to a very small amount. So what if there’s paper left behind… it dilutes it enough to do the job. Happy water saving!
How much water did it save? I want to know.
No follow up video with the water meter reading after system installation?
Can you fill the resivoir with things to displace the water so you use less water?
Interesting idea. Sure I guess so.
After watching all the terlit tests on YT for terlits made the last 100 years I can say this: if you've got a terlit that works on 3.5 - 5gpf, dont change a thing, unless you got 6 kids!
If its yellow let it mellow
if it's brown flush it down!!
iShootBandits leaving urine sit in a toilet bowl all day is not hygienic at all and extremely unsanitary so that's why it should be flushed away every time a toilet gets used,it will also make a bathroom become very smelly and disgusting⚠️
Urine will still smell with passing time so it's always good to flush it away each time
Maybe I'm just lucky but when I evacuate soilds into my 1.6 gallon per flush toilet I have never had any issues with my toilet not flushing it all down. I am not saying don't by the kit if you want to but my 3 low water consumption toilets work great for me and cost around 90 dollars each. So for $300 dollars investment in changing out my old toilets I now save atleast $15 dollars a month on my water bill. I also personally prefer the look of the new toilets in my bathrooms compared to the older style but to each their own.
I want just change the valve
you cant adjust fill valve thats in the toilet now ??
New drinking game
Every time he’s talks about this Button for liquids and this button solids
Take a shot
This almost makes me wants to become a plumber
half gallon milk jug works too it's called water displacement
he said the toilet is designed to flush properly only with 3.6 gallons, so with your idea, the poop would stay sticking out
Was that toilet having the low water level problem before the dual level install? That wasn't made clear.
Had no problem. Since installing dual flush the time water fills the tank is less. The fill valve uses that same time to fill the bowl. Since the time was cut. The bowl doesn't get filled up properly, which requires the new fill valve that can allow it to continue filling the bowl after tank is done filling.
These are cool but the liquid button should be the bigger button and solid should be small so it's harder to use
depends what you do most often
I would just put in a new toilet and be done with it. And put in a hand-i-cap toilet is higher off ground. The seat hole is bigger so you can do solid and liquid waste at the same time.
That's expensive
We have this in all the toilet in the UK now and for us our water doesn’t spin at all
That's because UK toilets don't use siphons
Now he has to explain to his wife and kids what button to press. Its funny the button you press the most is the smallest. They should color code them yellow and brown.
lol 😆
Who the F flushes his toilet 14 times a day? Maybe that's why your bill is so high
@M Detlef they should probably just start pissing outside and only using the toilet for shits if they are using it that much.
@M Detlef if its yellow let it mellow! ; )
@Peter Knot, anyone with an over active bladder or more than one person in the household.
5 people in our house that includes 4 females. THAT’S how we flush more than 14 times a day....
Peter Knot it's important to relieve yourself many times each day otherwise bad things will happen to the body
3.5 gallons is 13.24 liters. In Europe a normal toilet flushes 4-6 liters depending on how the mechanism is adjusted in the toilet tank. Seems you got a lot of fresh water to waiste there...
No water gets wasted in a toilet
So now its going to over fill the bowl on the solids flush.
50 gallons of water a day!!! This family really eats their fiber
Rat tail...what year is this?
Do you think his wife knows where he goes at night? He must be all the rage at the "pickle park".
What would a plumber charge to install a new toilet vs installing that low flow device? Personally I would just buy a new toilet.
Toilet installs are $150-$200. Probably a bit less time to install the device. But you'll still have to pay for the service visit minimum.
That won't work for all toilets that flush level in the bowl is keeping the water below the trap level. Look up how a toilet actually flushes to see what I'm talking about. So if you put more water in the bowl that is supposed to be there that water is just going to spill through the trap, possibly even flushing the toilet again and leaving it dry or almost dry. also if there is something still in the trap you may get it partially lodged at the top of the trap and preventing any future flushing. Have you ever took a wet piece of toilet paper and throw it against the ceiling like at high School it sticks. you would have to find a balance between the two which would create a slow flush which may not get completely flushed.plus the expense of putting these kits in your toilet versus the actual amount of water you may or may not save, the troubles of trying to get it set just right you're better off just replacing a toilet with a modern one. You can install a brand new toilet yourself for only a few hundred dollars-including all the new hardware and brackets and things you might need.
Just got a new American standard toilet and it uses 1.6 per flush. Cost me 250 but it looks better than that thing and is half as complicated.
Just replace the toilet.
There’s an easier way to achieve the same end: don’t flush except after a #2. If looking at yellow water is troublesome, put the lid down...
That is disgusting to do a toilet is to be flushed after each and every use
That works unless you have a dog that keeps sneaking into the bathroom for a drink despite ample water dispensers given..... that dog likes the bow... nasty. Must be from times with their prior owners. Some habits are hard to break from a dog from the shelter. Glad its my inlaws dog and not mine.
My dog likes our kiddie pool set up for my bees to drink from with a bee float (so they don't pester my neighbors at their pool for a drink instead and end up drowning... nobody like a pool full of dead bees) Originally that kiddie pool was for our dog to play in and cool down on hot summer days, but its now an animal watering hole. No toilet drinker in our place.
i live alone and urinate in bucket during night and pour in sink in morning. During the day i urinate in sink..always do a quickie clean of sink after. It is more sanitary too..don't get that mist splatter
from pee stream hitting toilet water.
www.quora.com/Why-would-a-person-pee-in-a-bucket-if-the-bathroom-is-15-feet-away
Toilets are even more sanitary than ehat you mentioned,what you mentioned is disgusting,a Sink is only for hsnd and teeth cleaning,a Toilet is made for pee and poo,stop your filthy habit and use your toilet
They should have got one with the handle instead, the push button is awful mate. You can get these with the handle see.
I used this for 2-3 years and the idea is great, but it does not flush properly #1 or #2...plus the gadget is very plasticky
Another way...secure something heavy to the valve so that holding the lever causes it to flush while letting go stops the flushing action, less time for liquids, more for solids. Cost: $0.
Or piss in the shower, water usage: 0 gallons
You are disgusting and what you said is gross and very unhygenic
Why didnt the guy also mention water displacement in the tank? There are water fill bags you can purchase to place in the tank. Or you can also save your money and diy it with either water bottles filled with sand or put a brick or 2 in the tank.
Marketing!!
For $50 more from the parts he bought the homeowner could have just bought a new efficiency toilet for $100. When I bought my house a year ago that was the first thing I did for $95 eachx2. I was excited to. buy them but my wife just thought it was a waste of money lol.
Buyer beware: This method and part did not work for a 1.28gpf (gallons per flush) toilet with a 3" flush canister (the tube in the middle). Danko's instructions say it in the manual, but it's not clear in their "universal" replacement claims. This video should call that out clearer.
Man I got myself a nice semi new dual flush toilet for $60 on offer up.
Righty Loosey, Lefty Tighty. . hahaha
Woooah there... get a fluidmaster
ScantPear809896 I agree fluidmaster is the best
Why do I feel like I learn the right information in the comment section
Considering a toilet with dual flush is like.. 100$, maybe 115 with fittings/waxring/silicone, this isn't really saving you all that much money. Also, the amount of water you save flushing after every 3rd or 4th pee break is insane. Good practice to get into, even in a family situation. It's sterile, and doesn't start stinking until a few days later. Can turn your 300 gallons a week into 60.
Now they are over $200. The duel flush is still $26.
He might as well have got a new bowl. Even a new toilet as they basically swapped most components in the toilet
Probably cost just as much for the hardware and time to change it....than it would be to buy a new eco flush or dual flush toilet.
I like reading the comments, lol
Richard is not afraid to get his hands dirty !
Time you buy these two parts . Just might ad well buy new water saver toilet and be done with it
Whole system is < $21 on Amazon.
if it's $1,000 a year, you should just buy a new water efficient toilet. Replace showerheads and faucets especially if they do more than 2.5gpm, new ones do about 1.8gpm.
How to save money in 2 easy steps:
1. If it's yellow, let it mellow
2. If it's brown, flush it down
what if the ''solids'' are yellow.
just buy a 90 dollar high efferent toilet and be done with it. Those parts are about 60-75 bucks
Found a new gadget to buy- only reason for the video. Get on with it and get a new toilet
it's like he has well water look how brown it is