Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 12, 2000 09:33am | #1

   *
   Hey Vic,

   We use low flow toilets and cast iron pipes here all the time in older homes. Never had a problem. Is the article you speak of talking about a specific type of toilet? Really curious about that one.

   We cannot, however, use cast iron in new plumbing. We live in an area with an extremely high water table, and cast iron pipes in the ground won't last too long. The cast iron in two story homes, and cast iron used in crawl space applications has held up well.

   James

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 12, 2000 05:38pm | #2

   *Vic, I'm sure that cast iron has nothing to do with it. Its the 4 inch pipe - which may cause the liquid from your flush to "run away" from the solids before they make it to the tank. If you have a tub/shower or other fixture that empties upstream, or near, the toilet stack it will help to flush out any solid material.

2. 
   Vic_from_the_North | Jul 13, 2000 09:36am | #3

   *
   Thanks for the info. What I believe I read had to do with the liquids running away from the solids in the large pipe. Can't remember what toilet the article refered to but I will be using one of those with the self pressurising tank as they are the only ones I have seen work constantly without two flushes.
   Thanks Vic

3. 
   Guest_ | Jul 14, 2000 05:42am | #4

   *
   i think you can still buy a 3 gallon flush toilet for commercial purposes....if so i would buy one. who wants a 1.5 gallon 2 flush model anyway....oh yea i think the govt. is renigging on this law anyway.....just an observation by an ignorant hillbilly......nobody brought anywater with them when they were born....other than there flesh and nobody took any from this world.......if i run 5million gallons of water on the ground it is either evaporated and makes rain or soaked into the ground and pumped out of a well.....we cant "save" water or make any more or less of it.....it can only change forms.......every gallon we flush down the sewer is processed in a sewwer plant and eventually disposed through a discharge pipe or leeching bed into a stream or the ground...who ever came up with this idea that we are running out of water is probably running to the bank with cash but no water. We may pollute our water but no one on this earth can change its form (exept to ice or steam) or destroy it.....Im for 3 gallon flushes....P.s......if you are from a part of the country without a water supply move to louisiana.....we have lots of water and need more tax revenue...............if you are in a desert and want to save water thats fine but there is plenty in other areas.....maybe we should build a pipeline and pipe it like oil lol

1. 
   Guest_ | Jul 14, 2000 07:04am | #6

   *Had a 1.5 gallon flush toilet in an old house with 4" cast iron waste line with no problem. All the other drains were plugged, but the toilet flushed like a champ. As to water - something like 97% is salt water, 2% is locked up in glaciers (at least until global warming hits) and much of the rest is either poluted or in the wrong place (i.e. not where the people are). There were several schemes a few years ago to transport all of our Columbia river water to LA, but now the Salmon supporters, farmers, and hydro power users each want it all. Nevada, California, and Arizona are fighting over the Colorado river and it looks like LA may not be able to fill all the swimming pools in the not too far distant future. The Everglades were going dry because the sugar cane farmers, among others, were rerouting all the water, the result was that the water tables in Southern Florida towns were sinking like a rock allowing salt water intrusion. Many communities in this country are dependent on groundwater which is being overpumped and isn't being replaced. It's possible that in the middle states, the great dust bowl was just a preview of what's to come. Farmers don't like giving up water just for city folks to keep their lawns green. More than a few range wars were fought over water and our next major wars may well be fought over the stuff. Moving the stuff around ain't cheap - you may not have noticed, but energy prices have been on the increase lately and one has to do a bit of pumping to move the McKenzie River to Pasadena. Sure, somebody could lop off a glacier in Antarctica and float the thing up to LA, but you would be paying designer water prices not just for the stuff you get in the plastic bottles at your local 7-11, but for every shower you take (it would probably do wonders for the stock of deoderant companys howerver...) Just paying the environmentalists for the environmental impact reports would be more than small change. Anyway, our current society was built on cheap water and cheap energy and neither is likely to be nearly so cheap in the not too far distant future. Anyway, glad to hear that all these people worrying about water don't really need to worry anymore. Maybe they can worry about where all the good pop corn went instead (remember back in the '70s when you could buy bags of really good popped corn instead of the yeller stuff that is all you can find now - if you can find even that. My motto for popcorn is like for snow - don't eat the yeller stuff...

4. 
   Vic_from_the_North | Jul 14, 2000 07:04am | #5

   *
   I want to replace an old high volume flush toilet with a new low volume unit. If I remember right, there was an article saying low volume toilets and 4" cast iron don't mix. I have about a 8' drop and then about a 30' horizontal run under the house to the septic tank. Any ideas or recomendations? Thanks Vic from the North