Porcelain Pursuit Part One

With each passing year, it becomes harder to find the good stuff, intact pre-war plumbing, particularly toilets.

My lookout is constant, and often I'm aided by tipsters. A.J. called about a sink in a dumpster, Katie about a deco toilet on Craig's List.


Recently I gleamed a rare cast iron tank (pictured left with bowl). Cast iron tanks were cheaper and once more plentiful (than their porcelain counterpart). Many however were scrapped during WWII, or in more recent times, and are often passed over, even by vintage plumbing restorers, because of the costs associated with refinishing the tank interior.


The majority of the commodes that end up on the street, are cruddy, thin-walled, first gen no-flows. In 1994 federal law created a new toilet manufacturing standard and a 1.6 gpf (gallons per flush) decree. Correspondingly, municipalities began to incentivize, or mandate (at the time of real property sale) the replacement of older, larger tanks. Of course, nearly all pre-war toilets can be retrofitted with a smaller liner, some were already more efficient, and most were plain ol' better operating. No matter, they got tossed; however, many of the low-flos were poor performing, with flimsy flapper valves, and...voila. Last year the EPA released a voluntary 1.28 gpf specification for high efficiency toilets. Manufacturers that meet the voluntary standard can display a Water Sense logo.

Planned obsolescence has found its camouflage: conservation.