Frugal Home Improvement Idea: Red Brick vs. High Efficiency Toilet
photo credit: DDFic
The great frugal debate: high efficiency toilet (HET) vs. good old fashioned red brick. I have a toilet from 1975 in our guest bathroom that I want to replace with a new low flow toilet that uses 1.2 gallons per flush, or gpf to be technical. The 1975 American Standard toilet doesn’t leak, make noise, or look out of date. I hate getting rid of something that works, but it just wasn’t made for a home in a state that’s going through a drought. What are my options? Back in the 70’s or 80’s before low flow toilets, you could place a brick or large rock in your toilet tank that decreased water usage (Thanks Passive Grandpa for reminding me). What in the world would this do? The brick displaces the water level in the tank and your toilet uses less water. So, cost of new Kohler toilet $300 versus red brick $1.50? Actually, the red brick is free as I have several from an old project.
Visiting my county website I found rebate information and called to verify a list of approved HET toilets. The county is currently offering a $175 rebate towards a new Kohler HET bringing the total cost to $125. I received a quote for the installation of the new toilet of $300. The only items needed are a new wax seal and some plastic shims if the ground is not level. Total cost for the wax seal and shims are under $10. $300 vs. $10? Looks like I’m going to install this new Kohler myself.
Do you have a red brick in your toilet? How many bricks would it take to use 1.2 gpf for my current 1975 American Standard Toilet? I only have room for one and I’m still using over 2 gpf. So, technically the red brick would not match the water conservation of the new Kohler HET. But, the red brick is free and I would be using less water compared to the original 1975 American Standard.
Brick or HET toilet? Let’s say my current toilet uses 2 gpf and we use it 20 times a day. 40 gallons with brick vs. 24 gallons with Kohler HET. My current water usage rate per gallon is .0054. The HET toilet would save me 480 gallons a month or $2.60. With the Kohler rebate, it would take 4 years to recover the $125 cost of the new HET toilet.
Water drought. We are currently at 60% of normal rain and our water district has sent notice to customers that a new fee schedule may be adopted to encourage water rationing. What does this mean for our water bill? We don’t know. The rates may not go up this year, but they could in 2010. The Roi for the HET toilet could be more like 2-3 years.
The environment. Even if it doesn’t make financial sense to purchase a new HET toilet now, what about the impact on the environment? Using an additional 480 gallons a month can be considered wasteful.
So, what would you do? Red brick or new Kohler HET toilet?
Similar Posts
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
SuburbanDollar Said:
I say go for the HET, if for no other reason than the comfort of sitting on a nice new commode. I have newer toilets that I sunk a full 20oz bottle of water in. Not saving too much per flush but every little bit helps.
Posted on March 6th, 2009
John Said:
I would also go for the HET. I would think your sewer bill might see a decrease if you are using less water per flush.
Posted on March 6th, 2009
Josh Said:
I’d go with the new toilet, too. That old toilet from ‘75 probably uses 5 gallons per flush and it wasn’t designed to work properly with a flush volume anywhere near 1.2 gpf. How much water will you save when the bricks in the tank require you to flush twice to remove the brick in the bowl?
That said, not all low flow toilets work equally well. I have found the maximum performance test report prepared by the California Urban Water Conservation Council to be a helpful resource for choosing toilet models.
Good luck!
Posted on March 6th, 2009
Coupon Dad Said:
How long do you plan on staying in the house? Will you be there longer than the projected 2-3 years for the expense to payout?
If so I agree with the HET toilet, will save you more in the long run and you have the bonus of it being better for the environment.
Plus you never know when the 1975 toilet will “crap out” on you. Yea I know bad pun….
Then the saver in me also says look around for a sale or deal. Can you find the HET at a store that you can get a discount at like Home Depot or Lowes? This would make the ROI period even shorter….
Coupon Dad
Posted on March 6th, 2009
David Said:
Keep your old toilet!
Use a dual flush retrofit kit like SelectAFlush,. it is dual flush conversion kit for most two piece front handle facing toilets. (Like the one in your picture) This product is for the people who want save water and money but keep the old toilet. Why buy a new toilet when you can convert your old toilet for a fraction of the price. The real solution is to install a Dual Flush Conversion Kit, and instantly save water!
Posted on March 6th, 2009
Brian Said:
I’m looking at a dual flush toilet. I see they run about $300 and the “light” flush is about .75 gpf . Even more savings.
Posted on March 6th, 2009
Mike @ TheThriftyLife Said:
I don’t really have an opinion on the toilet vs. brick. But I do have a word of wisdom on the brick. Choose something else. Like a plastic bag filled with water – they sell ones the specifically won’t degrade over time in water. You just need to replace the volume of water you want to save, so just make sure to pick something that won’t degrade over time.
The problem with the brick is that its not water proof. So over time the brick will break apart and you will have sediment creep its way through the system. Which isn’t good for the toilet or the system in general.
Posted on March 6th, 2009
Sandy Said:
Dual flush that you install yourself. Absolutely no question there for me. And you can check to see if this qualifies for even more rebates or deductions with the IRS. They’re including lots of “energy efficiency” and green things these days. Maybe you can make the case for the toilet?
Posted on March 6th, 2009
Jesse@PFFirewall Said:
I would definitely go with the HET toilet as it would help the environment and your monthly bill especially if the water usage fee increases in your area. It may take time to pay itself off but it will, and you will be helping the world in the process.
Posted on March 6th, 2009
megscole64 Said:
I’d go with a brick (or whatever else). Every single low flow toilet I’ve ever come in contact with has been a nightmare. My mom had one installed in her house and the store SWORE it had the power of a regular toilet.
Yeah right. It clogs over nothing.
Besides, I just don’t think the cost savings is worth it. But that’s just me.
Posted on March 7th, 2009
Andrea Said:
I have 2 points –
-NEVER use a brick, it can dissolve and interfere with the flushing or clog your pipes.
Also, a regular toilet is not designed to flush paper and solid waste with reduced amounts of water, so the likelihood of clogging or having to flush twice after installing a water displacement device increases. Standard US toilets clear the bowl with siphon technology, so the diameter of the trap way has to be a small as possible (please view siphon vs. washdown technology here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z6pymOet7g&feature=channel_page.) If you are serious about saving water, want a toilet that really works and is affordable, I would highly recommend a Caroma Dual Flush toilet. Caroma toilets offer a patented dual flush technology consisting of a 0.8 Gal flush for liquid waste and a 1.6 Gal flush for solids. Caroma, an Australian company set the standard by giving the world its first successful two button dual flush system in the nineteen eighties and has since perfected the technology. Also, with a full 3.5” trap way, these toilets virtually never clog. All of Caroma’s toilets are on the list of WaterSense labeled HET’s http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pp/find_het.htm and also qualify for several rebate programs currently available throughout the US as well as LEED points. Please go to http://www.caromausa.com for more detailed information or visit http://www.ecotransitions.com/howto.asp to see how we flush a potato with the half flush (0.8 gallons), meant for liquid waste. To learn more about toilets you can also visit my blog http://pottygirl.wordpress.com/.
Best regards, Andrea Paulinelli
Posted on March 15th, 2009
Cindy Said:
Your blog provides a fresh look at the subject. You might want to take a look at my blog and possibly become a regular reader.
Free Samples. Updated with a complete new list of Free Stuff every 24 hours.
http://lm.logicalmedia.com/z/8578/CD2855
Posted on March 19th, 2009
Lindsay Said:
A toilet is definitely something you can do yourself, though pulling up the old wax ring is on the gross side.
I’ve always wondered if, with the brick method, you get enough water flushing down to handle the, er, big jobs. I like the dual-flush toilets that let you pick how much water you need.
Posted on March 22nd, 2009
Dave Sanders Said:
Brick or HET? A true dilema for frugal folks who are also very concerned about water conservation and the environment. We’re in the middle of looking at this right now in a series of posts on toilet efficiency at our blog (www.blog.greenteamre.com). We even built a spreadsheet model for ourselves and others to use to analyze displacement vs. replacement options, water savings and payback. And, as a preview to the next post in our series, we’ll be choosing HET over the brick (or similar method of displacement) because, although frugal, here in water-scarce Colorado, we feel compelled to do our bit to subsidize water conservation.
Posted on April 9th, 2009