Eli5: Why are most public toilets plumbed directly to the water supply but home toilets have the tank?
In: 4741
Public toilets need to be able to deal with anything the public can throw at it. Plumbing it directly to the water supply means they can generate a very forceful jet of water to “get rid of things”.
I’m sure you’ve seen public toilets, people put all kinds of stuff in there that shouldn’t be in there.
Home toilets, well, you don’t want to mess up your own plumbing, so you’re going to care a lot more about not clogging it up. So you end up being a lot less destructive, because it’s YOUR toilet.
And because of that, you don’t need the full jet of water. Just the siphon effect from a tank, is all you really need.
Also, public toilet water supplies might have more water pressure than that in your own home.
Residential construction generally uses far smaller water pipes and supply lines than what’s usually available in many commerical buildings.
Residential toilets are often connected by hoses of about 3/8″ in diameter, which doesn’t supply water fast enough to eliminate the need for a toilet tank (and the entire house may only have a 3/4″ connection to the utility provider)
Residential construction generally uses far smaller water pipes and supply lines than what’s usually available in many commerical buildings.
Residential toilets are often connected by hoses of about 3/8″ in diameter, which doesn’t supply water fast enough to eliminate the need for a toilet tank (and the entire house may only have a 3/4″ connection to the utility provider)
Tankless toilets require very high pressure to operate, similar to the ones like cities that carry high volumes of water.
So you have the cost element of the pipes and pumps for each individual house. The cost of running the pumps adds up quickly.
The tank creates enough flow that it can push most things through the toilets plumbing. It does this without electricity. Now if your waste management uses electricity that’s different.
You also have a maintenance issue with high pressure plumbing. It require more servicing and is more expensive due to more complicated repairs.
Also some public toilets do have a tank it’s just hidden behind the wall. Just depends on the location and architect.
Residential construction generally uses far smaller water pipes and supply lines than what’s usually available in many commerical buildings.
Residential toilets are often connected by hoses of about 3/8″ in diameter, which doesn’t supply water fast enough to eliminate the need for a toilet tank (and the entire house may only have a 3/4″ connection to the utility provider)
Tankless toilets require very high pressure to operate, similar to the ones like cities that carry high volumes of water.
So you have the cost element of the pipes and pumps for each individual house. The cost of running the pumps adds up quickly.
The tank creates enough flow that it can push most things through the toilets plumbing. It does this without electricity. Now if your waste management uses electricity that’s different.
You also have a maintenance issue with high pressure plumbing. It require more servicing and is more expensive due to more complicated repairs.
Also some public toilets do have a tank it’s just hidden behind the wall. Just depends on the location and architect.
Public toilets need to be able to deal with anything the public can throw at it. Plumbing it directly to the water supply means they can generate a very forceful jet of water to “get rid of things”.
I’m sure you’ve seen public toilets, people put all kinds of stuff in there that shouldn’t be in there.
Home toilets, well, you don’t want to mess up your own plumbing, so you’re going to care a lot more about not clogging it up. So you end up being a lot less destructive, because it’s YOUR toilet.
And because of that, you don’t need the full jet of water. Just the siphon effect from a tank, is all you really need.
Also, public toilet water supplies might have more water pressure than that in your own home.
Tankless toilets require very high pressure to operate, similar to the ones like cities that carry high volumes of water.
So you have the cost element of the pipes and pumps for each individual house. The cost of running the pumps adds up quickly.
The tank creates enough flow that it can push most things through the toilets plumbing. It does this without electricity. Now if your waste management uses electricity that’s different.
You also have a maintenance issue with high pressure plumbing. It require more servicing and is more expensive due to more complicated repairs.
Also some public toilets do have a tank it’s just hidden behind the wall. Just depends on the location and architect.
Public toilets need to be able to deal with anything the public can throw at it. Plumbing it directly to the water supply means they can generate a very forceful jet of water to “get rid of things”.
I’m sure you’ve seen public toilets, people put all kinds of stuff in there that shouldn’t be in there.
Home toilets, well, you don’t want to mess up your own plumbing, so you’re going to care a lot more about not clogging it up. So you end up being a lot less destructive, because it’s YOUR toilet.
And because of that, you don’t need the full jet of water. Just the siphon effect from a tank, is all you really need.
Also, public toilet water supplies might have more water pressure than that in your own home.
In order for a toilet to flush, you need a high volume of water in a short period of time. The tank stores this volume and the toilet is designed to deliver it all at once. Basically, all that water builds up momentum which flushes everything along with it. Residential plumbing is not designed to provide that much volume in a short period of time, but commercial plumbing usually is.
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