Another Kind of iflush

The iFlush by WDI Products.

In a previous e-newsletter, I talked about a new app for iphones called "iflush" that allows you to flush people who bug you down the commode. And hey, how valuable was that?

Efficiency diagram and tankless water closets from iFlush.

We're going to look at a little more serious product with the same name this month, one recently introduced by WDI Products (China). This iFlush is a new flushing technology that doesn't use gravity or a pressure tank. Like pressure tanks, it stores energy to provide a forceful flush, but instead of that energy taking the form of compressed air, it uses a compressed spring.

Performance claims by the company stress the consistency of pressure applied to each flush as compared to pressure tank types - always the same, regardless of supply pressure. The company also claims quieter operation, and the ability to flush efficiently with supply pressures as low as 11.4 psi. Consumption is stated at 1.28 gallons per flush.

The components will not fit into a conventional china tank, but are instead designed to be incorporated into the base of a dedicated toilet construction. The result is a "tankless" look.

Vovo's version works solely with incoming line pressure.

While the iFlush toilet may be tankless in appearance, it does have an internal tank. This next product innovation by Vovo (Korea), doesn't even have an internal tank, but rather, works solely with incoming line pressure (as low as 10 psi). How does it do that? Who knows.

Using electronic controls, this toilet features two flush modes in terms of water consumption -1.28 and 1.6 gallons. Depending on the model, other features include:

"auto flushing," which flushes when the user gets up from the seat (even does a short flush when the seat is occupied less than 25 seconds)

a heated seat, the contour of which is "ergonomically designed" (more squared in profile for folks with similar bottoms)

a bidet function

night light

and a hand-held remote controller (not sure if that handles all the TV cable channels and the garage door, however). In the event of a power failure, manual controls are accessible from a recessed area on the side.

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Don Arnold has devoted most of his career to plumbing products,with roles ranging from designing, marketing, writing and training. He has been a contributor to Supply House Times for more than 20 years. He is the author of College of Product Knowledge, the product training course introduced by Supply House Times in 1979, which recently was updated and released in a CD format. Don Arnold can be reached at INTERSOURCE, 646 Williams Ct., Gurnee, IL 60031, 847/918-7015; or e-mail: donarnold@earthlink.net.