To those that have incorporated Urinals...

We're rebuilding our basement after a recent water heater accident. We're going to go ahead and add a half bath while we're at it and I want to incorporate a urinal. A contractor is doing the work. I just need to pick it out.

Any tips, recommendations or FYI's I should know about? Brand of Urinal? Auto or manual flush? I'd like to use a BL tap handle as the flush handle if possible. Best cakes to use, how often to change them in a home environment, do you even use them, stuff like that.

The BL handle is pure genius.

I've always loved the urinals, at Stasiu's in Minneapolis...
http://www.urinal.net/stasius/

Flush twice, it's a long way to the kegerator!

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

The BL handle is pure genius.

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Totally agree. Love it.

toto makes the best stuff.

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

The BL handle is pure genius.

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TyTanium said:

Totally agree. Love it.

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Not an original idea. I saw/heard it somewhere on HBT a while ago.

rawlus said:

toto makes the best stuff.

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Time to get out of the 80's brother.

One of the bars here has a keg as a urinal. They cut it in half and left it a bit higher in the back and plumbed it all in, its quite neat actually.

IrregularPulse said:

Not an original idea. I saw/heard it somewhere on HBT a while ago.

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Doesn't the idea of having a BL handle kinda negate the idea of an auto-flush?

And, in regards to the giant mint. I prefer WinterGreen.

Kohler actually makes the best urinals. I would go with a Sloan Royal 186-1 flush valve but I'm not sure if you'll be able to mount a tap handle to the flush handle just because the way they're made (unless you do some welding). The flushometer handles have a seal on the end of them that seals into the body of the flush valve. You're going to want to also check into a carrier for inside the wall that the urinal will be bolted to. Since it's a residential application you may be able to get away from using a carrier and save yourself about $250.
If you're looking to save water you could always go with a waterless urinal. The downside to those is they have a special cartridge in the drain that makes the seal and allows waste to go through. They are extremely nasty to change but you would save some money going that route because you won't need a flush valve.

Do you have a Ferguson near you? I would go in to there and talk to their plumbing salesman.

KitB said:

I've always loved the urinals, at Stasiu's in Minneapolis...
http://www.urinal.net/stasius/

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I knew I'd peed in one of those...

http://www.urinal.net/mcsorleys/

Mcsorleys' ale house NYC

Is the BL handle because it tastes like what you are flushing?

Cool idea - as an FYI, I remember reading in one of the posts of someone that had installed a urinal, that the size of the plumbing was immportant - I think it was wildwest's lean to brewery, but that's 70+ pages long and I couldn't find it in a search.

I think he mentioned that you needed to ensure that you had 3/4" water lines feeding the urinal, not 1/2".

I installed a urinal in our bathroom a few years back. I think the urinal itself was Crane; but the flush mechanism was Toto. It was manual and people would constantly leave pee in it. I say go for the auto flush; be prepared its spendy! Also, put down a rug or mat under it, our tile grout got stained. We guys are messy I guess... There is nothing more rewarding than getting up and peeing in your own urinal! My wife and a few of her friends used it once during a party; that was interesting!

pickles said:

I installed a urinal in our bathroom a few years back. I think the urinal itself was Crane; but the flush mechanism was Toto. It was manual and people would constantly leave pee in it. I say go for the auto flush; be prepared its spendy! Also, put down a rug or mat under it, our tile grout got stained. We guys are messy I guess... There is nothing more rewarding than getting up and peeing in your own urinal! My wife and a few of her friends used it once during a party; that was interesting!

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I say get the full height urinal and a floor drain a half foot away.

Get something etched in the urinal like a fly or something. Studies show that when you have something to aim at you're much more accurate.

Arduino that sucker and make your OWN autoflush!

pickles said:

I installed a urinal in our bathroom a few years back. I think the urinal itself was Crane; but the flush mechanism was Toto. It was manual and people would constantly leave pee in it. I say go for the auto flush; be prepared its spendy! Also, put down a rug or mat under it, our tile grout got stained. We guys are messy I guess... There is nothing more rewarding than getting up and peeing in your own urinal! My wife and a few of her friends used it once during a party; that was interesting!

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If you had it to do again, would you put it in? Or was it more of a novelty that wore off quick and ended up being a waste of money?

Definitely would do it again. Keep in mind that this was in a bathroom on the lower level of the house, not in a basement/game room. I've since purchased a new house and don't have room for one, but when I move (and wife allows it) I'll put in another. It was never really a novelty, although it seems like it. The house was completely gutted and a high end remodel done that included two baths; one was full bath plus urinal.

Get yourself one of these.



Or one of these.



They are specially designed to help avoid unwanted splash back or spillage.

just make sure none of your friends take a dump in the urinal.

Homercidal said:

Flush twice, it's a long way to the kegerator!

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Homer, You got it all wrong..... Pee hard and flush twice it a long way to Bud's brewery. Since I came back from Germany I have seriously missed my Pils and Hefe's. Gonna do something bout that soon enough. Nearly 90% done with my brew rig. Just a few more little bits here and there and build a trick stand for a cripple. But, I am having a blast learning to brew. It is an addiction I wont go to jail for anyway...
Bob

I know someone with an anatomical anomaly that causes him to pee in split streams at a nearly 90 degree angle to one another, left and right. For him, it's either a urinal or sit. He installed a urinal in his home in about 1980. No cakes. Never had a problem with it. Visitors always get a big kick out of it.

A urinal is on my shortlist once my basement brewery is in place. Bar opening party is this weekend, but the brewery is still the garage.

I was thinking of just plumbing the drain into my sump, which is quite active (ie, it pumps at least twice an hour, and pumps into a storm drain not my yard.) Those w/ experience w/ a urinal, what do you think? Would I have stink issues w/ it going into the sump?

I think it would be fine, but two friends have said that it was a bad idea.

K

kmmuellr said:

A urinal is on my shortlist once my basement brewery is in place. Bar opening party is this weekend, but the brewery is still the garage.

I was thinking of just plumbing the drain into my sump, which is quite active (ie, it pumps at least twice an hour, and pumps into a storm drain not my yard.) Those w/ experience w/ a urinal, what do you think? Would I have stink issues w/ it going into the sump?

I think it would be fine, but two friends have said that it was a bad idea.

K

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Even though some old sewers are combined with storm runoff; you cannot do this. I repeat don't do it; it doesn't meet any modern building code, and is just plain nasty!

I'm pricing this out to see if we can swing it. We upgraded to Drywall from paneling and are adding a non existent bathroom, so cost is a factor.

Per my understanding, I need to buy a urinal unit and a flush unit. Anything else that will add significant cost? It looks like I could get in one there for $200-$250.

Correct me if I'm wrong or point me to a cheaper option.

You obviously have the added expense of extra water supply and drain connections, but otherwise that's it. Were can you find the pair for $250? Seems a bit low but it's been years since I looked at them.

pickles said:

You obviously have the added expense of extra water supply and drain connections, but otherwise that's it. Were can you find the pair for $250? Seems a bit low but it's been years since I looked at them.

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My contractor's price includes everything installed, I just need to supply the fixtures. Online It looks like I can get a Urinal for $91 (cheapest I saw) and the Flush valve for about the same. I need to go to Lowes and see what they have as far as stock as well.

Are those the only two components I need besides water supply? Does the urinal come with the drain trap?

The trap was integral to the porcelain. I'm pretty sure that's how most wall hung units are. At the time I did mine Lowes only special ordered them, thats probably changed now. I had a friend who's a plumber that hooked me up.

Edit: Google show that some wall hung units require a trap. This Toto model for example has an integral one.

Too bad one can't go to a store and test them out.

I am constantly surprised at the poor design of many urinals. Many, nay most, seem to be designed to maximize the amount of splashing. I like the old ones we have at work. They are floor mounted and look like if someone took a regular toilet bowl, heated it up and then stretched it up, and gave it a little pinch in the sides. It has a nice deep bowl to minimize any splash escaping, and could easily be used by the ladies if they were desperate.

Its a DIY forum, why not get DIY with it?

xsists said:

its a diy forum, why not get diy with it?

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this wins!!!...

That would be great for a hunting cabin. The house..not so much

A urinal install requires 3 things.

1) the Urinal itself
2) the flush valve
3) a carrier

The trap is integrated into the design of the urinal, and the flush valve acts as the water supply/stop.

No one has really talked about the carrier, but you should really use one. Every urinal you have stood in front of was mounted with a carrier.

If it was me, I would go with the following 3 pieces.

1) Kohler 4904-ET-0 ("0" is the color code for white)
http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/pdf/1116031_4.pdf

2) Sloan Regal 186-1.0 XL (1.0 is for the lowest water consumption). The Regal is the cheaper version; the Royal (which was mentioned earlier) has a longer handle and slightly different diaphragm - but it is not worth paying almost 2x as much for.
http://www.sloanvalve.com/Specifications/Regal186XL.pdf

*Note- the urinal and flush valve I listed are both 3/4" top spud. Urinals have an option for 1-1/4"...make sure that you pick matching pieces.

3) Mifab MC-30 Series plate carrier. Any model from the 30 series can be used for a urinal.
http://mifab.thomasnet-navigator.co...hanger-plate-carrier-with-two-uprights-mc-31-


If you want to get fancy, there are a few options for electronic flush valves.

First, there is the hardwired option:

Sloan ES-S (for 3/4" top spuds) but it is insanely expensive, and overly complicated to install.
http://www.sloanvalve.com/Installation_Guides/0816156.pdf

Second, there is a battery option:
Sloan 8186-1 G2 (for 3/4" top spuds)
This is the one that kind of looks like a black cap. The nice thing about it is the no-hard-wire makes installation easy, and it has a push button override. Still very expensive.

Finally, my favorite is called the Sloan "SMOOTH" 186-HWS-0.5 (SMOOTH is for "Side MOunted Over The Handle).
It is a side mounted retrofit that just slides over the handle. It is cheap, battery operated, and has a nice manual override. You would need to purchase this in conjunction with the Regal I specified earlier. To be clear, you would use this, as well as the manual flush valve.
http://www.sloanvalve.com/Specifications/Sloan_Optima_SMOOTH_186-HWS.pdf

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info fowler, but if I added $400 hanger, that would put the urinal out of the realm of possibility. It doesn't seem the others have had a problem without them. I understand a heavy support in a commercial environment, but am thinking the standard bolts will be ok for home use.

IrregularPulse said:

Thanks for the info fowler, but if I added $400 hanger, that would put the urinal out of the realm of possibility. It doesn't seem the others have had a problem without them. I understand a heavy support in a commercial environment, but am thinking the standard bolts will be ok for home use.

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Have you bought the urinal yet?

I am just not entirely sure they can be hung without a carrier. Maybe they can, I've just never seen it.

You might, however, be able to notch some unistrut into the studs and hang the urinal on that.

I haven't bought any of it yet. Pickles, did you use one?

IrregularPulse said:

I haven't bought any of it yet. Pickles, did you use one?

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At any rate, if you haven't bought the urinal, and the sheetrock is already hung, how can you be certain that no studs need to be strategically placed in order to bolt the fixture up?