InspectAPedia®   -   Search InspectApedia

Flushometer valve operated toilet (C) Daniel FriedmanFlushometer Valve Toilets & Urinals
Tankless or "no-cistern" Toilets & Urinals
Waterless urinal installation & maintenance

Flushometer toilets & urinals & waterless urinals:

This article describes flushometer type valve operated toilets and urinals and also waterless urinal operation that use no flush valve and no water. The flushometer valve, operated by building water pressure, eliminates the requirement for a cistern or flush tank to operate the toilet or urinal.

Our page top photo illustrates a flushmate type valve-operated toilet installed in the Cafe Rouge restaurant bar in London England. All of the flush valve components and piping are hidden behind the tiled bathroom wall, showing only a lever type flush handle. Without access into the wall we can't say quite how this toilet operates nor if it uses a cistern (I think it does).

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?

Flushometer Toilets, Urinals & Waterless Urinals

Tankless flush-o-meter valve toilets, in widespread use in North America since the 1920's, and unlike tank reservoir toilets, do not include a reservoir tank of water.

At below left is a traditional lever-operated Sloan™ type Flushometer valve installed in a private home in New York. At below right we illustrate an infra-red-operated toilet flushometer valve installed in toilets in Google's New York City offices.

Flushometer toilet or urinal valve (C) Daniel Friedman Infra red operated toilet flushometer valve, Google HQ NY City (C) Daniel Friedman

The flushometer valve is particularly suitable to public restrooms since there is no delay between toilet uses waiting for a reservoir tank to refill. Typical flush volume is 1.6 gallons.

Flush valve or flushometer type toilets rely instead on high water pressure, usually but not always from municipal water systems, along with a larger diameter water supply pipe, to clean the bowl and dispose of waste.

Invented by William Sloan in 1906, this valve type is still referred to as a "sloan valve" by some plumbers.


Flushometer valve operated toilet (C) Daniel Friedman

Unlike the electric flush toilets shown above a flushometer toilet or urinal relies on building water pressure and flow rate to clean the bowl and move waste past the trap into the building drain.

An auxiliary pump is not normally used.

Flushometer valves shown here are manual, operated by a push lever.

As most readers will have encountered, other flushometer valves are "touchless" and operate automatically after the fixture is used, relying on an infrared sensor to detect the presence or absence of a user.

Details about how fluhometer valves work, their required working water pressure and other features are

at FLUSHOMETER VALVES for TOILETS URINALS where we provide information about how flushometer valves work, are installed, adjusted, or repaired.

Flushometer Water Type Urinal compared with Cistern Driven Urinals & Waterless Urinals

Flushometer valve operated urinal (C) Daniel Friedman

A conventional flushometer valve water operated urinal is illustrated above.

In the photograph below we illustrate an older style urinal that uses a wall-mounted cistern to provide bowl cleansing or flush water at adequate pressure and volume. Urinal and its wall cistern are installed in a toilet in Akaroa, Canerbury, New Zealand.

Wall cistern opeated urinal installed in a toilet in Akaroa, Canterbury, New Zealand (C) Daniel Friedman

Waterless Urinals Save Water

Waterless urinal (C) Daniel Friedman at left we illustrate a dry or waterless urinal. This fixture uses a combination of bowl design, patented fixture drain traps, a trap sealing liquid, and a urine-resistant coating to eliminate the need for any flush water at all - providing a "dry urinal".

Waterless urinals can save about two litres of water for each use or flush that is avoided.

How waterless urinals work

Waterless urinals work to drain urine without creating an odor problem by a combination of features including

Watch out: typical installation instructions for waterless urinals warn against connecting these fixtures to copper drain/waste/vent systems because of a risk of corrosion that can cause costly leaks and ensuing building damage. Other manufacturers such as Sloan® advise:

Check DWV material. Suitable materials include cast iron, PVC, ABS, and galvanized steel.

Watch out: failure to use the manufacturer-recommended liquid sealant, failure to replace the silicone valve on the manufacturer's schedule, or failure to properly clean the urinal (typically using the manufacturer's recommended cleaner) can lead to odor complaints at waterless urinals.

Some waterless urinals such as Waterless.co's model use a patented trap (EcoTrap®) that maintains the trap seal liquid in place and that is exchanged annually or more often depending on urinal usage frequency.

Watch out: failure to maintain the flap and oil seal in a waterless urinal can risk dangerous passage of un-sanitary and explosive sewer gases into a building. Sloan includes this warning for installers as well:

CAUTION After removing any urinal from the drain line, it’s normal for certain naturally occurring but potentially hazardous sewer gases to escape through the opening until the waterless cartridge is installed properly into the waterless urinal.

If you need to leave an open drain line unattended after removing the urinal from the wall, temporarily wedge paper towels or a rag into the drain hole to reduce any outflow of sewer gases, and remove the paper towels or rag prior to completing the urinal or cartridge installation.

Never smoke, have an open flame, or place your nose or mouth near open drain lines or waterless urinal housings into which a cartridge is not yet properly installed. You also can wear a breathing mask when removing or installing any waterless urinal or cartridge to reduce potential exposure to any such gases.

Sources of Waterless Urinals & Installation / Maintenance Guides

Kohler waterless urinal illustration at InspectApedia.com (C) adapted from Kohler cited in this article

EcoTrap special trap seal for waterless urinals by Waterless Co. cited at InspectApedia.com

Above: the EcoTrap® waterless urinal special trap seal / "blue liquid" device described by the Waterless Co.'s waterless urinal data given just below. [Click to enlarge any image]


...

Continue reading  at FLUSHOMETER VALVES for TOILETS URINALS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

Suggested citation for this web page

FLUSHOMETER TOILETS & URINALS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.


Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to TOILET INFORMATION

Or use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Try the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly.

Search the InspectApedia website

Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, photograph, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. Apologies for the delay.

Only one image can be added per comment but you can post as many comments, and therefore images, as you like.
You will not receive a notification when a response to your question has been posted.
Please bookmark this page to make it easy for you to check back for our response.
Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca

Comment Form is loading comments...

Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.


ADVERTISEMENT