Toilets without Tanks: How Do They Work? Do They Clog?

WCityMike — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:10:25 -0800

PlumbingFilter: Help me understand my new tankless toilet with no shut-off valve. What do I do if it clogs? In my new apartment, I have a toilet that doesn’t have a tank and has a forceful jet-like ‘ka-WHOOSH!’ flushing action, which seems in all ways identical to the toilets you see in office buildings and most outside-the-home venues.

Please tell me, or guide me to resources about, how this system works. (I must not be using the correct search terms, as my Google-fu fails me. I located information about the systems airlines use -- vacuum drainage systems -- but I don't think this is the same, given that airline systems are, to the best of my recollection, nearly waterless and require the lid be closed.)

I’m interested in a general comprehension of how a tankless toilet system works, but also specifically interested in whether it could clog and overflow in the same way a toilet with a tank could, given the same circumstances (too much toilet paper or … er … ahem … material).

If so, in such a circumstance, how could I prevent the major flooding and water damage without access to the water turn-off valve one sees with toilets with tanks? Or do these toilets operate in a way in which overflowing becomes less likely or impossible? Or, in such a case, would I just be screwed? (And if so, why would they create a system with such an obvious design flaw?)

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Toilets without Tanks: How Do They Work? Do They Clog?