How can I tell what flapper to use for my Toto toilet?

June 24, 2020 12:35 PM

I need to replace the flapper in the tank of my Toto toilet. I bought a random "Toto compatible" flapper on Amazon and it doesn't work reliably. It runs a lot and has to be fiddled with to sit properly and cut off the flow of water.

The only labeling I can find on the toilet is inside the tank, where the ceramic is embossed with the markings "S | 15" above "2575-2904". These don't appear to correspond to Toto model numbers.

I would rather not spend $100 on a plumber when I could do this myself for $15. Is there some approach that has a good chance of getting me a working flapper?

posted by Winnie the Proust to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

So I also have a Toto toilet that doesn’t have enough markings, and the flapper chain attachment point broke in late March. I looked at Toto toilet models online to find one that looked like mine (Dartmouth) then looked up the full parts list for that model - I think on one of those parts replacement sites - and then looked up the current replacement models. It ended up being made by Korky and part number 2023BP. I saved the paperboard from the package so I don’t have to do this again.

It was my first and only trip out of the house during the first 6 weeks of shelter in place and Home Depot was not pretty (though compared to now it was very hygienic).
posted by janell at 12:59 PM on June 24, 2020 [3 favorites]

But there are also the 3” valve models which makes it tricky. Home Depot had a couple different options and the one I went for was shelved apart from the wrong ones.
posted by janell at 1:00 PM on June 24, 2020

If you have a plumbing supply place (i.e. not a big box store) near you that sells Toto, take the part there and they can tell you.
posted by Seeking Direction at 1:16 PM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

I bought the Korky replacement from Home Depot to replace my Toto flapper, which was unreliable such that when it wasn't sitting properly the toilet made a whining noise and had to be fiddled with.

Unfortunately, the replacement had similar issues after a while. The one weird trick I found that helped was to eliminate as much slack as possible in the chain. Seems like doing that pulls the flapper up further and it has a better chance of seating properly. YFMV.
posted by homesickness at 1:32 PM on June 24, 2020

Response by poster: The problem is I already replaced the original flapper. The replacement doesn't work well and I no longer have the original. My bad, I know!
posted by Winnie the Proust at 2:04 PM on June 24, 2020

Have you contacted Toto? They might have some secret method of determining the model and therefore necessary flapper part number. Of course they wouldn't get back to you for days, but the information may come in handy in the future should something else go wrong.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 4:26 PM on June 24, 2020

I'd try again to find the model number. It's in there [the inside of the tank] somewhere.
posted by Glomar response at 6:09 PM on June 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

Mine definitely does not conform to that “on there somewhere” expectation, Glomar response, and the OP’s presumably doesn’t either.
posted by janell at 9:30 PM on June 24, 2020

It's tough without the model number. It can be tough even with the model number. Ours is on the flip side of the water box cover. Failing that, I guess I'd say contact TOTO or a plumber to see if they can figure it out. They might be able to tell from the dimensions.
posted by biersquirrel at 3:22 PM on June 25, 2020

Response by poster: Thank you all for the suggestions. Inspired by homesickness's comment, I went in and tweaked the chain again, removing some slack. It's now working much better. Not perfect, but good enough. If it gets worse again I'll follow up on some of suggestions here for tracking down the right replacement part. Meanwhile I'm marking this resolved.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:51 AM on June 26, 2020