5 Best Rear Outlet Toilets Compared

Rear outlet toilets or back outlet toilets are rarer than normal floor mounted toilets but it is still has its uses and are much in demand. Rear outlet toilets are very useful if you can’t tear up your floor or just want something that looks a little bit sleeker. Many apartments require this type of toilets which discharge out of the back to a common wall where all pipes are located.

If you’re looking for the best back outlet toilet or something that will work with a home or apartment with concrete floors, the rear discharge toilets listed in the table below are the best you find in the market. The available range in rear outlet residential toilet models is very limited. However most of them are made by popular and reputed brands and they are as elegant as any normal floor outlet toilet. These models will look great in any space and are able to make your bathroom nice and clean.

Top Rear Outlet Toilet Comparison Chart

* GPF = Gallons Per Flush

Best rear outlet toilet: If you are looking for the best rear outlet toilet from a top brand, either the American Standard Yorkville or the Kohler Barrington models will do just fine. They have been around for decades and are good workhorses. They also have the standard 4 inch rough plumbing for rear discharge toilet.

Yorkville and Barrignton both now come with pressure-assisted flushing technology and give you a better and more powerful flush. Maintenance and repairs are also easy as replacement parts are available and most plumbers are familiar with them. However, the flushing is a little loud because of their pressure flush system. Also, the pressure assist may be too much if you have an opposing toilet bowl on the other side of the wall.

If the loudness and power is too much for you, the Gerber Maxwell floor mount toilet is a good alternative.

If you are installing the rear discharge in a basement or the drainage level is not enough then you’ll have to get a toilet with a macerating pump. The best rear outlet toilets with macerating pump are the Saniflo macerating toilets.

American Standard Yorkville Rear Outlet Toilet

American Standard Yorkville is a very old and reputed rear outlet toilet model. Yorkville toilet have been around for many generations. You can still find functioning, original Yorkville toilets in old condos that date back to 1960s and 1970s. Continuing this tradition, American Standard does still make the Yorkville back flush toilets.

Yorkville models today use a pressure-assisted flushing system to make the toilets flush faster and quicker than the old Yorkville models. These new Yorkville pressure assisted toilets give you a good powerful flush and perform pretty well. However it’s a little louder than a regular toilet.

Kohler Barrington Rear Discharge Toilet

Like American Standard, Kohler also makes a rear outlet toilet. The current Kohler rear outlet toilet is the Kohler K-3652-0 Barrington Pressure Lite Toilet (check at Amazon #ad). Like the Yorkville it is also a pressure assisted toilet.

Gerber Maxwell Backflush Toilet

Gerber makes a Maxwell floor mount back outlet toilet called the GERBER PLUMBING 21-975 282800 Maxwell Compact Elongated Ergoheight, Back Outlet Siphon Jet Toilet (link to its Amazon page #ad)

Wall Hung Rear Outlet Toilet

As an alternative to installing a rear outlet toilet you can also look into wall mounted toilets. No digging up the floor is required with wall mounted toilets, and they free up the space beneath the toilet bowl for leg room and make it super easy to keep clean.

However they are very costly and much more difficult to setup. Also I’ve heard plumbers say in condos, its better to stick with a floor mounted gravity rear outlet model.

Toto Rear Outlet Toilet

Toto doesn’t make any floor mounted rear discharge models. However, what they are famous for is their Toto Aquia Wall-Hung Toilet which discharges from the back. If you are considering a wall hung rear outlet toilet this is one of the best wall hung toilet you can buy in the market today.

US Federal Standards requires all toilets to be 1.6 GPF or less. Federal standard GPF rate is 1.6 GPF. However toilets with 1.28 GPF are considered, “High Efficiency Toilets” and are required in some states like Califonia. There are also 1.0 GPF and lower toilets which consume even less water. They are called, “Ultra High Efficiency Toilets”.

Alternative Names for Rear Outlet Toilets

Rear outlet toilets are known by many names. Here are some of the popular names this type of toilets are known by:
* Rear discharge toilet
* Back outlet toilet
* Back flush toilet
* Rear flush toilet

How To Install A Rear Outlet Toilet?

Not many people are familiar with rear discharge toilet plumbing. So one of the frequently asked question about this type of toilets is about how to install it. Connected to this is a related question about the rear outlet toilet rough in size.

The standard rear outlet toilet rough in is 4 inch from the floor because the most popular back exit toilets like American Standard and Kohler have this rear exit toilet plumbing height.  However depending on the model this rough in size might change.

If you have the plumbing fittings in place, you can install a back outlet toilet on your own without any specialized plumbing tools. Here are the few steps you will need to follow:

1) Make sure you have everything you need to install and secure the toilet.
* For example, holes in the correct place on the floor to secure the toilet. Place the toilet where it will be installed and check whether the toilet base bolt holes on the ground align. If not mark the location for the bolt holes on the floor and remove the toilet. The take away the toilet and drill mounting holes in the locations marked.)

* Check whether pipe from wall reaches and can lock in place into the outlet on the toilet. If the wall sewer pipe doesn’t reach the toilet bowl outlet you will need a connector to join the two.
2) Then apply silicone grease or place a rear outlet toilet wax ring on the horizontal sewer pipe surface sticking out of the wall. The silicone grease or wax ring will help you slip the toilet bowl into position and seal it to prevent leaks.

3) Move the toilet bowl into position next to the sewer pipe. Press the bowl slowly towards the wall, slipping the sewer pipe into the opening at the back of the bowl. Push it until the bowl locks into place with the pipe.
4) When the toilet bowl is securely in place, insert anchor bolts and washers through the mounting holes in the base of the toilet bowl and tighten into the holes on the floor.

Note: If it’s a two-piece toilet (toilet tank and bowl separate) then you can attach the toilet tank to the bowl after installing and securing the toilet bowl to the floor. But some people attach the tank and bowl together before moving it into place with the sewer pipe and securing it onto the floor.

Conclusion

Rear outlet toilets or back outlet toilets are rare in residential areas, but not uncommon. Despite the fact that they are less common, there are houses all over the country that have rear outlet toilets. But the biggest problem you have with rear outlet toilets is your choices are limited. And not all options will work with the places and aesthetics you may be looking for. If you are bound and determined to have this kind of a toilet, you may have to alter your original plans to make this toilet a little bit nicer to look.