Warmed/heated toilet seat
 

:rolleyes:

Well it works.
Only draws about 14 watts.
That is a lot less than an electric space heater.
The advertisement said that it warms the seat 20 to 25 degrees F warmer then the surrounding environment.
Its sitting at about +20'F.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1449625046

How long does it take to warm up? I think this is one place where more power, thermostatically controlled, would actually be a lot more efficient.

As I understand it, Japanese don't heat their bathrooms. Instead they heat their toilet seats, much less energy.

They have done quite a bit of development on these things, with washing and drying features too. Toto seems to have the most sophisticated and expensive ones, and there a re quite a few Korean made units that have similar features for less money.

Some even have 'learning' functions, so that they learn your habits, and heat up when you are likely to need it.

Search: 'bidet seat' and/or washlet for more info.

-AC

It took between 10 and 20 minutes to warm up.
Low power heat input an heat out put eventually balance out.
Its naturally thermostatic.

Yes I lived in northern japan for 3 years.
The concept of residential central heating is alien to them.
Kerosene space heaters are very popular.

Japan is the leader in toilet seat tech. But I didn't want to spend $400 to $600 on a seat.

Check out the Korean models for half of what you just quoted. Not quite as 'sleek', but is a toilet seat the right place for sleekness?

I saw some even cheaper as 'referbs' but again, is a toilet seat where you want a referb?

-AC

After spending 6 weeks in South Korea recently, I can attest to the comfort factor. I remember the first night at a hotel after a 12 hour flight and waking from a deep sleep. I found myself walking across a cold tile floor and then sitting on a pre-warmed toilet seat. I would have to say that it was something of a luxury, however it was nice and something I could get used to.

I got a bit of a surprise after pushing some buttons written in Korean while I was trying to flush it!!!!!!!!!!!:eek:

Yeah, no ordinary toilet seat.

When I built my MiniLoo, I was aware of the bidet seats, and after reading some reviews, and watching YouTube reviews, I decided to allow for one in the MiniLoo, so I made sure that my little wall-hung Toto was designed to accomodate a TOTO SW2044.

I even built in a GFI and a water tap.

Haven't got the magic Toto yet, but I am ready.

-AC

Keeping it warm 24/7 just because it needs to be used for a few minutes per day doesn't sound very optimal. As opposed to a quickly heating design that only takes a few seconds to warm up and therefore only needs to turn on when actually in use.

I guess I could spend a few hundred more on one that warms up faster.

The buttons adjacent to the flush at the Marriot I stayed at in Tokyo were similarly written in a foreign language. It was most definitely a Toto flush with plenty of bells and functions based on what happened when I pressed them.

When my wife and I were dating, her townhouse had a bidet. Her cats used to love to sleep in the bowl of the bidet.

As we keep our house relatively cool, then even though we bump up the temperature when expecting guests, our friends know to dress warm. One day we had them over and were discussing energy conservation when one of the ladies came out the toilet, complaining: "Even their toilet seat is cold!"

I agree with NiHaoMike - unless you have a lot of people using this one toilet seat, or you spend hours at time on it, then keeping it on 24/7 makes it a space heater. Even turning it on 10-20 minutes before use is a waste, in my case at least, because I sit for longer than 1-2 minutes only when sorting extreme digestive problems. Toilet seats may be cold at first contact, but they warm up relatively fast when you press warm skin on them.

Oil Pan - Please don't take this post as an attack on your seat. In your case it works for you and I appreciate the info you have provided:)

Seems like a lot of cost for a little comfort to me also. Thought the solid seat that that stood guard in our outhouse at our cabin thru -20 winters was agreeable no comfort of joy the new foam filled seat that we now swap out seasonally has never taken more than the count of three to reach rear end temp. Longevity and quality of the flexible plastic covering is lacking, the $10 cost I really can't expect much(about three winters). Next one I will shop for a deluxe model if there is one. The low tech has proved itself to my family. Wouldn't mind heated TP and wipes thought.

They need to make it run on 'methane'!! But then no one would flush and you'd have to deal with the order. I guess it comes down to smell or warmth!:D

Rob

Washing the Delicate Parts....
 

A friend of mine, or rather his wife just got a Toto 350e.


I'll post a user's report after they've put a few miles on the thing.

In the meantime, here's an interesting article in Slate magazine about this rig.

Finally some real-time user feedback:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLlhs-7T7Cw


-AC

I have seen those when I lived in japan.
My wife is not ready for one so I didn't try to push the issue.

The hand-carved styrofoam seat is popular in northern outhouses. Standard 2-lb insulation foam works well.

My wife saw a funny bidet ad video on Facebook and got me to watch it..
Then I saw that 1st time video(above) today and found it extra funny.
I also got interested in getting a bidet..
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01INP9O7S
I didn't know you could get an add-on bidet so cheap. Under $50..

Not sure I would like the cold water, but according to the reviews, it's not a problem.

Have one of the cheap ones and love it. The cold water isn't an issue. You get used to it. I can tell you I now hate using a toilet without a bidet. I think I paid $35 from Woot on one of their sales.

It took about 20 minutes to install.. And we also found cold water isn't an issue..