Review Explorer

Since our first trip to Japan over 20 years ago, we have been bidet toilet seat believers. We have always used Toto products in our home. When we first built our home in Hawaii, we omitted the bidet and have missed the comfort and cleanliness they provide. We knew nothing about Brondell or the "Toto clone" bidets until seeing them on Amazon. The SE400 seemed to have a good balance of features at a "value" price, so we took the plunge. In all, it is a ni... Read More

Since our first trip to Japan over 20 years ago, we have been bidet toilet seat believers. We have always used Toto products in our home. When we first built our home in Hawaii, we omitted the bidet and have missed the comfort and cleanliness they provide. We knew nothing about Brondell or the "Toto clone" bidets until seeing them on Amazon. The SE400 seemed to have a good balance of features at a "value" price, so we took the plunge. In all, it is a nice unit for the money. Shipping was fast, packing was very good, and installation was a snap. The mounting plate design is fairly standard on most bidets, so the installation took less than 15 minutes from the time the box was opened. Installation instructions are simple and clear. The included nylon "T" adapter makes water hookup easy. The unit requires standard household power, and the 3 1/2 foot power cord must be plugged into a GFCI outlet or GFCI extension cord for safety. (Don't ignore this important precaution.) In fact, the hardest part of the installation for me was installing a convenient electrical outlet and wiring it into the bathroom's GFCI circuit. (I chose an outlet with integrated USB charging ports to take the place of the magazine rack in the modern bath.) The unit has nice "fit and finish". The controls are well laid out and fairly easy to understand, even at first glance. There are some subtleties to the unit's operation, and the contol of them, that make the time invested in reading the manual worth while. The factory settings for temperature, position, etc., are middle of the range, and adjustable. The user adjustments are remembered, even if the unit is unplugged. The side-mounted control arm is conveniently located. The profile of the arm mounting make it easy to install in a tight space. (See picture.) Some folks may wish for a detached remote unit however, so take this into consideration if comparing features with other models. Being a "value" unit, the array of operating features is basic for a bidet seat, but fairly effective at their job. The single water jet is has the two essential modes: Rear Wash, and Front Wash. Each mode is adjustable in front/back positioning. The jet's water pressure is adjustable across a small range, which is less than the Toto's I have used in the past, but generally adequate. Missing from this model is an adjustment for jet spray width. Its a minor compromise, but you may find yourself "wiggling for position" on occasion. The wash modes do have a "Move" function which oscillates the jet back and forth. A nice feature in a value model. The wash cycle, when manually activated, lasts two minutes then shuts off. You can restart the cycle immediately by pressing the wash button again. You can shut off the wash function (or also the dry function) at any time by pressing the Stop button. The wash system uses a small reservoir tank for storing and a small electric element for heating the water to your selected temperature. We have always used tankless units with "On-demand" heating, and the reservoir system is somewhat of a disappointment in comparison. The principal shortcoming is the inconsistency of delivered water temperature. As the washing proceeds the water cools off as the heating element struggles to keep up. The issue is most noticeable at the maximum temperature and pressure settings, as one might expect, but is evident at all settings. When the reservoir is replenished, the water does reheat relatively quickly (however, our standing water temperature is probably around 70 degrees. Colder water will take longer, of course.) The drying function is fan forced, heated air. The air temperature is adjustable, and the fan is relatively quiet. I was pleasantly suprised this was more effective than the same drying function on my Toto units. This model does not include a carbon deodorizer filter that other models have. A "luxury" feature that did find its way onto this model is a heated seat. Very nice for those trips to a cold bathroom! There is no time-of-day control, so the seat is heated continuously when the function is engaged. This model includes a switchable LED "night light". A nice feature for finding the toilet in a pitch black bathroom. Its probably just me seeing too many horror movies in my youth, but the blue glow reminds me of those scenes where we would shout "Don't go in there!" There are three "specialty" buttons: Auto, Eco and Massage. Auto initiates a one minute rear wash/dry cycle with settings for temperature and pressure at the middle of the range. Eco sets the water and seat temperatures to 85 F. Massage is designed to cycle the wash jet pressure up and down. I didn't really notice much of a effect in this mode, however. Our home is 100% solar powered, so energy use is a consideration. When plugged in, not heating water in the reservoir or heating the seat, and not in use, this model draws less than 1 watt. The water heater draws about 600 watts when activated. How long and often the water heater turns on depends on temperature setting, feed water and room air temperature. The seat heater draws 20 - 60 watts, depending on temperature setting and Eco mode use. The wash function uses about 5 1/2 watts (when not heating water) and 10 watts when the Move function is engaged. The Dry mode uses about 120 watts on medium temperature setting. A 2 minute wash, 2 minute dry cycle at medium temperature and pressure with an unheated seat consumes less than 0.03 kwh (kilowatt hours). By my reconing, the seat heater is the biggest energy consumer. It can be turned off, of course, but it would be much nicer if there was a time-of-day setting to help conserve energy. The Eco mode setting consumes 20 watts while heating the seat. This is a new model, and we've used it for about a week, so I can't speak to durability and longevity. It has a 1 year warranty. Pros: • Clean, simple design, and decent appearance. • Nicely thought-out functions for the price. • Simple installation. • Comfortable ergonomics. • A seat lid sturdy enough to sit on. Cons: • Reservoir system struggles to keep water at consistent temperature. • No wash jet width adjustment. Overall, we are happy to have a bidet seat back in our lives. The balance of quality, features, and price make the SE400 a good value. Read Less