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Choosing the right brand for your bathroom is essential. However, with so much competition throughout the market, picking one from the crowd can be quite difficult. Today we look at some of our favorite toilets made by Sterling, and provide details regarding their flushing capabilities, design and much more. For a full list of specifications we look at in our research, click here.
The Windham ended up being our first choice due to it having several important features that are inclusive, water efficient, comfortable, and effective.
You have the right height bowl that adds a few inches from base to rim, allowing it to meet ADA standards. Then you have the Pro Force flushing technology which helps it handle larger quantities of waste with less water.
It fits the standard 12 inch, and has a three bolt installation, making your job simpler and less time consuming.
Overall, the 403082 may not have the most advanced spec list, but it has the necessary specifications for day to day usage in a residential environment.
One method we find effective in separating the pros and cons of each individual product is through detailed comparisons. Our table below will help you find important information about their specs. Sometimes, you'll find the smmaller details are left out, and not easy to find online. We aim to condense all this information in one location.
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| Sterling Windham | Sterling Stinson | Sterling Riverton | |
| Model number | 403082-0 | 402076-0 | 402532-47 |
| Rough in | 12" | 12" | 12" |
| Flush type | HET | HET | Gravity |
| Touchless | |||
| Trip lever | . | ||
| Button | |||
| GPF | 1.28 | 1.28 | 1.6 |
| WaterSense | |||
| ADA | |||
Rim height
Height without seat
|
16-1/2" | 15" | 16-1/2" |
| Elongated | . | ||
| Round | |||
| Square | |||
WSA
Water surface area
|
8 x 10" | 8 x 9" | 8 x 9" |
| Dimensions | 29.1 x 15 x 31" | 29 x 17.8 x 28" | 29.2 x 18.5 x 30.5" |
| Weight | 83.7 lbs | 70 lbs | 100 lbs |
| Trap size | 2" | 2" | 2" |
| Concealed trap | |||
| Skirted | |||
| One piece | |||
| Two piece | . | ||
| Intelligent | |||
| Floor mount | . | ||
| Wall mounted | |||
| Colors | White | White | Almond |
| Seat | |||
| Soft close | |||
| Bidet | |||
| Supply | |||
| Rating | 84% | 83% | 83% |
This is a company that manufacturers a number of kitchen and bathroom fixtures and accessories. Not just toilets, but faucets, showers, baths, and more.
They were founded in 1907, and have been a part of Kohler for a while now. A name who are known worldwide in this industry. Some of their popular product ranges include Windham, Karsten, Rockton, and Stinson.
Looking at the outside, the design is a pretty standard two piece toilet. Nothing in particular stands out from the crowd. However, this is what you would expect at this price point. What we're most interested in is how it performs, what mechanism it runs on, and the overall reliability.
Coming from a reputable brand we wasn't surprised to find that this has a number of great flush specs. It operates on Pro Force tech, which is really a long way of saying a siphonic suction action. The great thing about this innovation is that all the water passes through the rim, ensuring the harder to reach spots within the bowl are rinsed effectively. Stopping the build up of germs and bacteria in these areas is very important as it's one of the main causes of odors.
In addition to the flush system in place, it's also low flow, using just 1.28 gallons per flush, which is, of course, the number required to achieve the WaterSense label from the EPA. Over the products lifetime, especially in big family households, you can expect to save tens of thousands of gallons of water each and every year. This can also make a dent in how much your utility bills are.
This is a toilet that is comfort height too. Which means that its a specific design and size to ensure seating is easily accessible and comfortable for most adults. This also means it is ADA compliant. Even if you feel you wouldn't need this, think about any people within your family, or guests even that are either elderly, or have disabilities. This will ensure they have a better experience using your bathroom.
Installation time is potentially cut down too, thanks to the pre installed gasket and encapsulated bolts. For those inexperienced with DIY, you may still need to hire a professional to fit it for you, but those with experience, should find it easier.
And to top it all off, you get a five year limited warranty policy with it. Enabling you to send it back should something go wrong.You should check the spec sheet for full terms and conditions on this.
There are certainly areas it can improve in, for example skirting around the bowl could improve the overall aesthetics. However, for the price range, you're getting something that doesn't use too much water, creates a strong flush, and clears the bowl effectively. Not a bad trade off.
This could be a sensible addition for people on a low budget. It meets a lot of our criteria when we checked out and sorted through its main features. What we have here is a unit made by a well respected company that falls under the Kohler umbrella, and has a low flow, siphonic flushing mechanism which uses just 1.28 GPF. This will help households save water.
It's crafted in a vitreous china material and is glazed over to ensure there are fewer pores for waste and bacteria to hide in.
It fits a standard 12 inch rough, and has a fairly large water spot measuring 9 inches by 8 inches. This can help kone eep smells down in the bowl for a more pleasent bathroom visit.
The bowl is also elongated with a extended rim, which is better from a user comfort perspective, but not always the smart choice for those of you needing a toilet with a smaller footprint.
Aesthetically, there is certainly room for improvement in our view, the trapway isn't concealed, neither is it a one piece product, both of which we prefer. However, as it's inexpensive in comparison to much of the market, this can easily be overlooked.
The 402532-47 has a rather unique tank design, featuring a ridged bottom with curves and the chrome plated trip lever on the front. Combined with its beautiful almond finish and it's glossy coating, it provides a contemporary style for the modern household that stays cleaner for longer.
The bowl is elongated and includes a non porous surface which helps prevent waste from sticking. This may be a small spec, but it's an important one nonetheless as it will help reduce streaking and staining.
Unlike the two above, this operates on a 1.6 gallon single flush system, which isn't quite able to meet the water conservation standards for a watersense label, but it will provide the extra water for a heavier, stronger flush. Handling both solid and liquid waste effectively.
It has a two inch trap passageway, not the largest by any stretch of the imagination, but sufficient for residential usage.
It also includes their three bolt system, which is designed to reduce the amount of time spent installing it.
Overall, we believe this model holds its own, but you may want to look elsewhere if you are searching for something that minimizes the amount of water used.
Planning - Never make a rushed decision as far as bathroom hardware is concerned. This should be calculated and carefully planned from the start as you should be aiming for something that lasts a decade at the very least.
Your rough in size, be it a ten inch, twelve inch, or even a fourteen inch, is one of the first things you should be planning for. It's important you understand what yours is before you begin shopping, simply because you may end up buying something that doesn't fit your waste outlet. We have a guide showing you how to measure this on our home page.
Then there is the location of the installation. Many of you will only require a floor mounted option. However, for people with a less space to work with, you may prefer going for something that fits into a corner, or even one that hangs on the wall.
Water usage - As the population increases and technology improves, it's become less necessary to use large quantities of water to deal with waste in the bowl. New mechanisms have been designed to do the same job for less.
That's why, given the choice, we recommend choosing a WaterSense product. They can help you and your families household thousands of gallons over the products lifetime. This can be in the form of either a dual or single flush, as long as the average uses 1.28 gallons per flush or less.
Glazing - Given the option, we suggest sticking to models that have a form of glazing coating the china. Not only does it help protect it from light damage like scratching and chipping, but it also helps fight off bacteria as waste is less likely to stick to the surface of the bowl. SanaGloss from TOTO, and EverClean from Amercian Standard are two such examples.
Bowl height - We've touched on the height subject earlier in the article, but it's important enough for a reminder. Make sure you're aware of the advantages a comfort height bowl can bring your home. Especially for those who are less mobile. The extra inches (17-19") to be precise, enable it to be ADA compliant, although, some will argue they aren't the best solution for people wanting to achieve the best posture for passing waste from a biological perspective, and there is certainly some studies out there that support this.
Bowl shape - Deciding which shape is right for you should be fairly straight forward. Go with elongated if you favor comfort above everything else, square if you want something a bit different from the rest, and round to save floor space.
Trip lever - The majority of consumers these days will undoubtedly be familiar with using a trip lever for flush activation. However, buttons and touchless designs are gaining popuilarity thanks to their accessibility. Buttons will usually be found in two flush systems, and touchless utilize infrared sensors so you only need to pass your hand over the top or side of the tank. All three have advantages of their own, but we feel you should be made aware of all options available to you.
Alternative brands - Maybe you find yourself wanting something more advanced, or you just want to look into all the options available to you before you come to a decision. If that's the case, we suggest looking into Toto, Mansfield, WoodBridge, Swiss Madison, and Niagara too. This will help you see the full picture as they all bring different innovations to the table.
Consumer reports - It's so easy to take product descriptions about performance at face value. This usually leads to dissapointment as the end result. That's why we recommend reading customer reviews online, and see what they think about their latest purchase. This is a excellent way to filter out the potentially defective units from your list.
We like Sterling. The toilets we've listed out above are not necessarily the most advanced, or the most powerful, but what they do have going for them is the ability to provide people with a low cost alternative to the big players in the industry. We think the products we've picked out above match that description perfectly. Having said that, this shouldn't stop you from doing your due dilligence and ensure you've read everything in our other considerations list for peace of mind.