Friday, May 13, 2011

Converting an existing toilet to dual-flush toilet for around $20!

This was a fun little project with a big payoff. Dual flush toilets and waterless urinals are pretty cool, but are of course not cheap, and also require you to get rid of a functioning toilet and all the resource footprint that comes with replacing something with something more advanced. So they have this new little device in hardware stores that allows you to convert an existing toilet to dual flush. Given that easily 4 out of 5 flushes are yellow, and yet still get as much water as the one flush that really needs it, a dual flush makes a lot of sense. I don't know who came up with this device, but it has my full support. It is way cheaper and less resource intensive to convert something that is already there into something better, than to trow away the old, and build something better from scratch.We need more innovators who think like this! I found the same with the grease car conversion kit. Why waste a big pile of scrap metal for another albeit more efficient pile of scrap metal, like a new fuel efficient car, if you don't have to? Our toilet started to leak due to an old flapper, so this device also took care of that at the same time, so two issues solved with this device. Dual flush can save a family of four easily 10.000 gallons a year.


 Two buttons as shown above, top for 1 liter flush, bottom for full 1.6 gallon flush.