Thomas Crappers original "Thunder Flush" flushing water closet was originally designed with a 7 gallon cistern. The cistern was positioned about 6 feet above the closet, and of course with 7 gallons of water at this head discharging through an inch and a quarter lead pipe... THE THING WORKED EVERY TIME.. with no embarrassing remains left in the bowl..
Crapper did not invent the flushing water closet. However, he did invent and perfect the water trap seal that prevents sewer gas and odour from escaping into the home. We now call this the U bend..
Over the years the cistern flushing capacity declined in the following increments..
7 gallons ---> 5 gallons --> 3 gallons --> 1.6 gallons, which is the current standard. In addition to this, the closet bowl and cistern now form a single unit. The result of this engineering emasculation is that flushing the modern WC is very problematic.. The introduction large cistern flushing apertures and super glazes in the WC bowl have done little to mitigate the unreliable and problematic flushing performance of modern water closets.
Furthermore, the environmentally friendly 1.6 gallon flush has some very unfortunate and unintended consequences.
1. Several flushed are required to successfully clear the WC
2. A the hydraulic design of the WC improves, another problem is beginning to manifest itself. This is the obstruction of the sub main (typically 4 inches) that connects a domestic dwelling to the main street sewer. This is caused by insufficient water flow and velocity in the sub main.
The tinkering with our WC's over the years has gone largely unnoticed, similarly has the tinkering with our civil rights.
Both are now becoming obvious... and both need fixing..
AJ