Why are toilets not joined to the main plumbing via a dedicated, leak proof joint? Something that latches into the toilet and is sealed? Automotive, aircraft, and other industries have high pressure fluid lines. Could someone conceive of an improvement to the current toilet connection?
In: Engineering
> Something that latches into the toilet and is sealed? Automotive, aircraft, and other industries have high pressure fluid lines.
Houses move and shift over the years, and with the seasons the wax ring is flexible and so prevents cracks from forming when the plumbing joins the toilet.
> Could someone conceive of an improvement to the current toilet connection?
There have been a few over the years, but wax rings are well known and cheap. So that is basically the hurdle to beat.
Hope that helps.
If you are a professional installer who knows what they are doing a wax ring works wonderfully. There’s really no reason to change.
If you are a DIYer who has never done it before, there are some products out there that are more accepting of amateurs
To my knowledge most toilets in the UK don’t use wax rings, we have a flexi hose (think dryer hose but more solid) that connects to the waste pipe
Many have tried.
All have failed.
Wax works best.
The main challenge is that the seal/joint is not accessible in any way. Find me another application (like your examples) where the connection is made blindly with no capability to verify. And cannot be torqued due to the fragility of the material. And must be removable without damage.
No particular reason, mostly inertia? US toilets have the drain pipe directly below them and are mounted to that flange. Toilets e.g. in the EU are generally just sitting on the floor and the pipe is connected to the back with a simple plastic pipe and push-in rubber seals. Works just fine.
Cheap, easy, effective.
Aircraft hydraulic fittings are solid metal lines that DONT move in any way shape or form.. less they start spraying hydraulic fluid at 2000 PSI.
Why don’t you make something better? Dig into it then
It works and it’s cheap. Why over complicate it?
I’ve used the rubber ones on a couple toilets and they’ve held up for several years, no issues. What I hate about wax rings is it’s a “one shot” type deal. You have one chance to set the toilet perfectly.
Biggest problem I see with wax rings is when people pour HOT water down the toilet. Can melt the wax and cause a mess. Otherwise they do the job well. Even an amateur can install a toilet and if you mess it up just do it again. They are cheap and forgiving.
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