should I use kohler replacement parts for my toilet?

Hello all, I have 3 identical Kohler toilets in my house that all need new fill valves and flush valves. The toilets are Kohler Wellworth series, model K-4612, 1.6 gal toilets. My questions is this, do I need to use genuine kohler parts in these toilets or is it ok to use Fluidmaster parts from Home Depot/lowes? Here's the reason I'm asking. I replaced the fill valve and flush valve in one of the toilets with Flashmaster valves from Home Depot. The toilet works fine, but not the way it's supposed to work. As I mentioned, it's a 1.6 gal toilet and prior to replacing the valves, it used aprox 1.6 gal of water per flush and operated very quietly. Now, after replacing the original valves with Fluidmaster valves, it uses aprox 5 gal per flush, (the entire tank emptys per flush) and is very loud. I changed the flapper to an adjustable flapper and I was better able to control the amount of water it uses per flush, but not exactly back to factory specs of 1.6 gals. So, was it a bad idea to use Fluidmaster universal parts instead of Genuine kohler parts or is it not all that important, as long as the toilet flushes and doesn't leak. If I had called a professional plumber in the first place, what parts would he have used? thank you, your help is appreciated. There is another adjustment that you're missing, if you want to lower the water usage. The float valve has an adjustment too. You can determine how much water enters the tank, in the first place. There is a spring loaded plastic ring on the shaft that allows you to raise or lower the float. Are you sure that the tank actually hols 5 gallons? Your toilet tank should have a line on the inside that tells you where the water should be, if your toilets are 1.6 gal. that line is close to the spec. amount. Theres no way that you are getting 5gals in that tank, the whole tank should be close to empty when it's flushed. Trying to limit the water is going to cause you potential problems; sounds like you are trying to get it to use LESS water then it was designed for. Fluidmasters are slightly noiser then factory parts.

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