Lever vs Button Toilet?

Frank99

My plumber was going to fit me a new toilet for £140 labour and add on the cost of the toilet.
I don't know much about push button style apart from the fact my sisters keeps breaking so i opted for the traditional lever/handle version.
My plumber has come back to me saying the lever versions are too expensive and he can get a push button for around £50 instead otherwise I'm talking £200 plus to get what i want. I think he might be trying it on or he knows he can get a button one free or something because I'm seeing quite a few handle versions by googling for around £150.
Am i missing something because this is the fourth plumber I'm on after the other three also started making excuses about this.
I don't know how to fit a toilet and I'm way to old to be training to do it, after being let down before by private plumbers i opted for a council plumber thinking he might do it as an extra little foreigner or side job.
Wondering if i should just accept the push button as my toilet has been broken for over six months!

Doozergirl

It's true that they're not all that common anymore.  

If you think that you can find a quality specimen of what you're after within your budget, it's as simple as buying one and asking someone to fit it for you.   They're no different to fit.  

BUFF

OK, your toilet isn't working but what is actually broken (i.e. why does the whole toilet need replacing rather than e.g. the syphon)? Is the ware itself actually cracked or whatever?

neilmcl

If he's costing £50 for a whole toilet unit then that's very, very cheap, I'd be a slightly concerned of the quality of what he intends providing.

Maybe he's looking at something like this - https://www.screwfix.com/p/toilet-to-go-close-coupled-toilet-dual-flush-6ltr/78711 which is pretty bargain basement.

Jeepers_Creepers

Bargain-basement button type at SF, yes, but does the job and reviews seem kind. Depends on what style you are after as well, I guess?

Frank, why do you want 'lever'? Is there a particular reason - aesthetics, ergonomics, reliability? (I'm with you on this, by the way - I much prefer the look of lever...)

As you say, you can get lever type for £150 or even a bit less. I suspect the plumber was simply exaggerating the issue so as to persuade you towards 'button', but why? I don't know. Perhaps because lever-operated dual flush mechanisms are prone to going wrong, so he anticipates a likely call-back?

Most cistern are now button because some EU directive (I think) insisted on the dual-flush aspect, and this is much easier with button-operated flap-types. However, guess what? Yup - they are very prone to leaking and will let-by with the teeniest bit of grit caught in the seal. Lever-operated syphons, on the other hand, simply do not 'leak' - they just cannot. Ergo, overall water savings are zero or worse.

Why do you want to go 'lever'? And what style are you after?

[Deleted User]

We had a new bathroom last year, the old loo had a button flush and no problems with it for almost 10 years, so we has a button one this time.

coffeehound

The button mechanism failed on the loo at my last place.  The <shudder> chromed plastic button fitting went brittle and broke up.  I'd prefer the easy repairability of a lever.  Would agree that it's best to repair the existing loo if at all possible rather than replace it with a tiny cistern.

twopenny

I've gone for a lever for the same reason as the OP. So many I know don't work.

Here's one for£60......the toilet base is about the same price. So yes they are a bit more expensive but only by the price of a plumber call out to repair the button flush

https://www.cityplumbing.co.uk/Twyford-Option-Dual-Flush-Lever-Cistern-OT2421WH/p/403939?gmcpid=403939&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsM2Ekeyo7wIVFoFQBh2BdADNEAQYASABEgJw9_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#fo_c=2832&fo_k=58f6dc6e11e2a83bfac0eac83190ad39&fo_s=gplauk

And you can change the lever if you want to match your taps when you decide on a redesign a few years on.

I'm sure he can get a button flush one for that price. City Plumbing, Travis Perkins and probably some others always have offers and sales every month which if you're not fussy about what you install can be incredibly cheap.

Just don't go for Victorian Plumbing - the plumbers pension fund it's called here.

theoretica

I believe there are some button controlled toilets which are syphon mechanism but it is less usual - the syphon would be very important to me because of the tendency of other types to start leaking into the pan.  Especially important to keep on top of leaks if you are on a water meter! https://waterwise.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Leaky-Loo-Position-Statement-1.pdf

coffeehound

Wickes used to make a lot of noise about selling a complete loo for £50, don't know what their cheapest is now.

Doozergirl

twopenny said:

Just don't go for Victorian Plumbing - the plumbers pension fund it's called here.

It's not Victorian Plumbing that do the cheap stuff!  They do a mix but they sell some really good brands. 

It's Victoria Plumb that sell some dubious, plasticky products.  To be fair to them, the push button toilets were the only things that lasted in our old house!  9 years and counting without a hint of an issue.