# Forum Home Renovation Plumbing  American Toilet on Australian plumbing

## blackmantis

Hi there folks, 
I'm not much of a plumber, so I come to you guys asking for some advice. 
I wish to get a bigger and better toilet to install/have installed here in my home in Australia. Problem is, the plumbing is a little different as I've heard (Something about us being DIN and America being ANSI). I don't know a single thing about installing toilets or changing plumbing but I figure I better learn how at some point. 
Is it possible to convert the plumbing somehow, or install an American toilet here in Australia? 
Thanks for your time!

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## SilentButDeadly

The only reason that I could see why anyone would want to try to install a US toilet (which isn't compliant with Oz Standards etc and therefore essentially illegal) is if it was self cleaning.......since such a feature is unlikely in any sort of toilet (even a Japanese one), one could only ask what is wrong with a plain old Oz made Caroma branded bog?

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## blackmantis

Personal preference. I'd prefer an elongated toilet or better yet, a "Great John Toilet". Being a big person, I don't quite fit well on normal round-bowl toilets. 
I find it odd that Caroma Australia pretty much makes elongated toilets but doesn't give them out to Australians. Is that something to do with the standards (that a bowl can't be any longer than the current ones?)  
I guess another reason could be that I've already cracked two toilets. One was a public loo, near my old work, and the other was my home bog. It's embarassing, painful, and I want to get one that's built to support large people -> http://www.greatjohn.com/

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## GraemeCook

Good Morning  Blackmantis 
Silent is quite correct:  unless a toilet is certified as being compliant with Aus standards you are not allowed to connect it into the plumbing system. 
But in what way do you think an American toilet might be bigger and better.  To put it delicately, are Aus toilets seats too small for your derrier?  Is the bowl capacity inadequate?  Or what? 
Twenty five years ago when I moved from Boston, USA to Queensland, then Tasmania I did not notice any significant difference in household plumbing, with the sole exception of retractable kitchen faucets.  These are now available in Australia. 
Cheers 
Graeme

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## blackmantis

America has larger toilets -> http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/image...amazon-fit.jpg They have round toilets (as we do), but also longer models called "elongated toilets". 
The bowl and seat length doesn't seem to be quite long enough for me to be comfortable on it. Most of me is going over the front and sides, and it's just uncomfortable. 
One of the items I'd like to be able to get here is a toilet built specially for larger frame people, be it wider or taller (or both) called the Great John -> http://www.greatjohn.com/Product1.html

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## m6sports

ive done a bit of research on this topic found something interesting 
about the way the water drains  
its got to do with 
Quote  
that sink always drains counterclockwise in the Northen hemisphere and the water drains the other way in the southern hemisphere, due to the Coriolis Effect,  
this information can be found on  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_vs._Australia
also in 
 sixth season sixteenth episode of "The Simpsons"  :Doh:

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## watson

Bart could be wrong........gasp horror..there goes 20 years of watching and learning  :Doh: 
Check here: http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadCoriolis.html

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## skot

Have you tried asking the Local Plumbing Suppliers if they can supply an "American Style" pan which complies with the correct pipe size for Aus. 
It may be that Caroma & others may make them, seeing that Australia seems to follow USA trends in many other ways. 
This may explain a little about why we do not have the larger Toilet Pans.   http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/f...019196282.html

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## blackmantis

> Have you tried asking the Local Plumbing Suppliers if they can supply an "American Style" pan which complies with the correct pipe size for Aus. 
> It may be that Caroma & others may make them, seeing that Australia seems to follow USA trends in many other ways. 
> This may explain a little about why we do not have the larger Toilet Pans.   http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/f...019196282.html

  That's a very interesting article. I can understand about the whole "throat" of the pan being small, but I don't think it should limit the size of the actual rim and the seat themselves. It may not affect women, but some men just find the seat is a little too short.

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## Bleedin Thumb

Frankly my dear, I don't give a ....

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## seriph1

Interesting issue Blackmantis and one I hadn't given much thought to  -  I think you could fit a US made pan and marry it into the Australian system without undue hassle but hey, I am no plumber! I just know that in countries that have no standards like ours.... Malaysia, China etc. they have both types of toilets depending on where you stay. I watch all the high quality US renovation shows and can say that the Yanks have their 5h1t together  :Biggrin:  :Biggrin:  :Biggrin:  :Biggrin:  when it comes to flush volumes etc. and they have some very large folks over there  ...... I have a feeling that with a little research you'd be able to discover what the essential differences are between our two loo's and bring one in with some kind of special dispensation due to your size. Personally, if I faced your issue, I'd just do it  -  the worst thing that can happen is you are forced to change it back .... trying to force that issue is something I'd pay money to see  :Smilie:  
....... just had a look and the big john loo  -  that thing could hide an African Village!

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## Vernonv

> ... high quality US renovation shows ...

  That's a bit of an oxymoron. :Biggrin:

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## blackmantis

Thanks for your replies everyone =) 
I actually talked to a few people at the WELS standards group about American Toilets. Apparently, I'd be quite ok to import one for PERSONAL use so long as it's not being sold. 
Basically, in order to get an American toilet to work on an Australian one, from what I can gather (forgive my lack of plumbers jargon, I'm not a handyman), I think I need to come up with a way of converting an ANSI flange to a DIN flange or something. A way of (narrowing? I think the Australian pipe is smaller isn't it?)

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## bricks

You dont need an ansi/ din flange conversion (we have both here in aus by the way)
You should be able to hook it up using the American pan adaptor to 4 inch pipe (same as our 100mm) 
The problem you may have is that the larger volumes of water may cause suction and trap loss at lower points in your drainage system. 
You may need to overcome this with the addition of some more venting to your system.

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## blackmantis

> You dont need an ansi/ din flange conversion (we have both here in aus by the way)
> You should be able to hook it up using the American pan adaptor to 4 inch pipe (same as our 100mm) 
> The problem you may have is that the larger volumes of water may cause suction and trap loss at lower points in your drainage system. 
> You may need to overcome this with the addition of some more venting to your system.

  Aha! That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I've heard someone else tell me that before and I was hoping someone could elaborate a little. 
Thanks for clearing that up. Would you be able to help me locate an American pan adaptor to 4 inch pipe? Are they available off ebay? 
Just a question, what exactly do you mean by venting to the system? I'm not very familiar with these sorts of terms.

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## skot

Sewers are not a closed system. There will be a vent pipe (mine is at the end of the sewer line ) and it goes up the wall and above the roof so that air can get into the system to allow it to flush. Without a vent pipe the system would act like a fluid filled drink straw with your finger over one end....the fluid doesn't go anywhere due to the vaccum effect. 
You may have to get a plumber to install additional vent points (pipes).

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## wonderplumb

I cant see what the WELS people would have to do with it you would be better off talking to people from SAI Global who actually write the standards. Another thing you will have to do is change the inlet valve to an approved aussie one to guard against back syphonage.
At the end of the day though if it doesnt have the watermark or standards approval it really shouldnt go in.

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## Make it work

I have not read this thread through but the title raised a question. WHY?  
I was in the US in 1996 and all the loos had a very high tide, Do you like dipping your junk in the water when taking a, I mean in sitting mode?

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## blackmantis

> I have not read this thread through but the title raised a question. WHY?  
> I was in the US in 1996 and all the loos had a very high tide, Do you like dipping your junk in the water when taking a, I mean in sitting mode?

  Because I require a larger toilet =( I'm 6"8, tallest in my family and friends and a little wide, and I've not only broken two toilets, (one was a wall-mount in all fairness, and it came right off the wall), but the other was a floor-toilet and such. The seat actually cracked under pressure. Plus, they're just not _long_ enough for me. I've been hanging out to get myself a Maximus toilet/Great John Toilet and since Australia doesn't have toilets for large people, my only bet is to get one from overseas. 
Even if it feels like my junk is taking a dip at times, I really wouldn't care, it's a lot easier than knowing the porcelain below me may crack and cut me open. I know it's sort of a rare case and all but Australia is now apparently one of the most obese nations on the planet so I don't see why they don't introduce larger johns.

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## rrobor

Now I think you all have missed the most crucial point. Is the toilet not going to get confused when the water swirls the wrong way. Is it not designed for a clockwise swirl and finds its anticlockwise. You never know what will happen here.

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## elkangorito

I live in Thailand. The majority of toilets here are the "American Standard" brand. In some ways, I like them. In other ways, I don't like them. Allow me to explain; 
1] there appears to be hardly any "splash" with these yank toilets. The water level is higher.
2] invariably, I have to flush more than once to get rid of the grogans.
3] the amount of water used is about 15 litres per flush.  
My suggestion to you is to buy an Australian *stainless steel* toilet instead of buying a yank toilet. It will withstand your weight etc & will not need any strange adaptions to suit Australian Standards.
With regard to your "comfort", this site is a sister/brother site to the Woodworking site. You could pose a question to woodworkers to design a wooden seat to suit the size of your posterior. It would need to bolt on to the standard Australian toilet without any modifications to the toilet.
Not only would it be comfortable, it would be environmentally friendly (wood, not plastic) & could be quite marketable if engineered to suit stainless steel toilets. 
I hope you "poo in peace".

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## seriph1

> Now I think you all have missed the most crucial point. Is the toilet not going to get confused when the water swirls the wrong way. Is it not designed for a clockwise swirl and finds its anticlockwise. You never know what will happen here.

  http://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.asp

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## Bros

> I live in Thailand. The majority of toilets here are the "American Standard" brand.

  I would have thought the standard was a squat toilet which was common when I was in Malaysia 10 yrs ago. Squat toilets are supposed to the the best toilet for you but I would have a bit of trouble getting off one now.

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## rrobor

Steve I dont think you quite understand, I was most concerned if this thing doesnt flush correctly will you get your deposit back ?.  Rob    *Editor's Note:* A nomination for this weeks Funny Post Award

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## seriph1

Don't make me have to explain myself a t-u-r-d time (probably get myself kicked for this abuse of English)   :Biggrin:

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## rrobor

Noel if I win, drop an Email for my address to send my prize, What is it ! a toffee apple or a pack of rusty nails?. I also extend special thanks to Seriph1 as the best straight man that joke could ever have had. I would also like to thank --- And but for ---- I could never have done this. through my sobs I remain yours Rob. Truth be known if I did win something I would have to do something silly with it and post the picture, Im too old for that. Rob

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## elkangorito

> I would have thought the standard was a squat toilet which was common when I was in Malaysia 10 yrs ago. Squat toilets are supposed to the the best toilet for you but I would have a bit of trouble getting off one now.

  Those awful squat toilets may be the best for your bowels but as far as hygiene is concerned, they are crap...literally! Almost none of them have a flush system...it has to be flushed using a hand bowl. Consequently, filthy bits can be strewn around the toilet area. Also, you almost have to fully undress to use them (in SE Asia) because toilet paper is not used here. One uses water (by hand bowl & fingers) to clean one's freckle. 
The best thing about a SE Asian dunny is the fact that toilet paper is not used. Instead, a "bum gun" (vegetable sprayer) is used. Much more hygenic & saves water usage at the sewerage treatment plant. I'll never use that disgusting toilet paper again.   

> Noel if I win, drop an Email for my address to send my prize, What is it ! a toffee apple or a pack of rusty nails?. I also extend special thanks to Seriph1 as the best straight man that joke could ever have had. I would also like to thank --- And but for ---- I could never have done this. through my sobs I remain yours Rob. Truth be known if I did win something I would have to do something silly with it and post the picture, Im too old for that. Rob

    The prize for the funniest post on this thread is a Chokito Bar or a Pollywaffle.  :Biggrin:

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