Strong Silent Champion 4 Flushing System Sets New Standard in Virtually Clog-Free Performance

    LAS VEGAS, KITCHEN/BATH INDUSTRY SHOW (May 8, 2007) -- It takes a true Champion® to shatter its own record. The next-generation Champion 4 flushing system laps the competition--and American Standard's own previous breakthrough--with the widest waterways in the industry, virtually eliminating clogging, noisy flushes and the dreaded overflow.

    Strong Silent Champion 4 Flushing System

    Like the four-minute mile threshold no one ever expected to break, the Champion 4 four-inch opening between the tank and the bowl creates incredible water power by pushing water into the bowl three times faster than the standard two-inch flush valve and one-third faster than a 3 /4-inch flush valve.

    After scouring the bowl clean, Champion 4's wide open, fully-glazed 2 3/8-inch trapway can move almost 70 percent larger mass than a standard two-inch trapway and 40 percent larger mass than the industry's second best siphonic high-performance toilet.

    "Following extensive field testing in homes and facilities, we know the Champion 4 is a flushing system the whole industry can get behind," said James Walsh, American Standard product director for chinaware. "We intend to prove it by how we stand behind this toilet."

    The Champion 4 flushing system is guaranteed to go the distance, backed by American Standard's limited10-year Worry-Free™ Warranty on everything inside and outside of the toilet.

    Champion 4 flushing technology is available in a sleek new two-piece toilet, as well as on FloWise®, American Standard's high efficiency toilet (HET) that flushes on 20 percent less water than standard 1.6 gallon toilets.

    Champion 4 breaks other barriers as the first virtually maintenance-free toilet. American Standard's exclusive EverClean™ fired-in, permanent, antimicrobial surface repels dirt and resists bacterial growth on all exposed surfaces of the toilet. The Accelerator™ Flush Valve with a rigid plastic seal won't warp, corrode or leak.

    American Standard initiated the high-performance toilet race four years ago with all new flushing mechanics and reengineered waterways designed to eliminate what consumers have long hated about toilets--clogs, overflows and the heart-pounding race to the plunger. Champion 4 now raises the bar with features that include:

    * A funnel-shaped, piston-action Accelerator Flush Valve that forces the water to accelerate as it enters the bowl. Instead of a typical hinged rubber flapper, this rigid plastic piston action valve allows 360 degrees of water to be released into the bowl in less than a second with nothing to impede the flow of the water. The seal shuts and seals firmly, but quietly, in less than a second.

    * The record-breaking four-inch flush valve that allows more water to enter the bowl faster, scouring the sides clean before powering waste and water out as quietly as any other gravity-fed toilet.

    * Hydraulic reengineering that eliminates chokepoints, such as the typical 90 degree angle from tank to bowl. The fully-glazed siphon trapway snaking out of the bowl is the industry's largest at 2-3/8 inches, allowing more volume per flush and virtually eliminating the need for plungers.

    * The silver-based EverClean permanent surface that keeps Champion 4 toilets literally sparkling and significantly cleaner inside and out. The EverClean double-coated glaze is fired
    into the porcelain, imparting a pearlescent gleam under bathroom lights while inhibiting stain and odor-causing bacteria between cleanings.

    * An upswept deck--created by eliminating the 90 degree angle that slows water down on most toilets--connects the tank to the bowl at a higher point than typical two-piece toilets, and slopes downward. Together with EverClean, the Champion 4 deck design helps prevent grime that can collect between tank and bowl.

    * A longer, more stylized trip lever that adds design interest while making it easier to release the power of the Champion 4 toilet with a simple light touch.

    * An optional slow-close EverClean toilet seat with an easy lift-off feature so homeowners can easily remove and replace the seat and cover without any tools for easy, thorough cleaning.

    The Accelerator Flush Valve in Champion 4 toilets replaces the traditional floating-ball-and-chain mechanism, as well as the Flush Tower™ featured in American Standard's first-generation Champion Flushing System.

    Like the Flush Tower, the Accelerator Flush Valve releases 1.6 gallons of water in less than a second for a precise metered flush. New shock-absorbing properties in the Accelerator Flush Valve make Champion 4 toilets even quieter than their award-winning predecessor, even as the flush power increases. "Champion toilets have always flushed more quietly than other toilets, because we reduced chokepoints and turbulence," Walsh said. "With Champion 4, we were able to reduce the mechanical sound at the same time we improved performance."

    The first Champion 4 two-piece has a clean, crisp transitional style and consumer-preferred flat top to increase storage capabilities. "After performance, fit and comfort, consumers look at style," said Gray Uhl, American Standard's design director. "Some brands boast of performance, others stand by their styling, but Champion 4 is best all-around."

    Champion 4 is available in White, Bone, Linen, Silver and Black, with a suggested list price the same as the original Champion, ranging from $333 to $424 in White. For more information on Champion 4, visit www.americanstandard-us.com. Information on this and other American Standard products is also available by calling (800) 899-2614.

    For more information:
    Consumer Media:
    Lindsey Rose
    Carmichael Lynch Spong
    (612) 375-8516
    lindsey.rose@clynch.com

    Trade Media:
    Nora DePalma
    Building Profits Inc.
    (770) 772-4726
    ndepalma@building-profits.com