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Toilet Trouble!

paulfromcamden

paulfromcamden

Baffled
We have a dual-flush toilet that is constantly filling.

From what I can tell it's a problem with the valve on the inlet - even when the float rises to a level that should shut the valve it keeps filling.

Is there likely to be a quick fix for this? Or is it time to call the plumber?

There's a shut-off valve on the pipe to the cistern but at the moment I can't even work out how the valve might be removed - it all looks pretty flimsy so I'm wary of snapping something!
 
Switch the water off, remove the valve - should be easy, even if there is a bit of scale. Dismantle the valve, carefuly clean-up all the parts, including removal of any scale. Replace and see if that has fixed it. If it is the old style that requires a large rubber disc to seal against, check that very carefully, Check any seals, in fact, carefully.

The valve is,on all the ones that I have had apart, secured to the inlet by a, usually, plastic nut - maybe an inch and a half AF?

Most of the joints will/should be firmly hand-tight, no more. Vaseline or washing-up liquid are good (re) assembley aids.

If in doubt, post a pic', although I bet there will be gazillions of videos on YouTube.
 
You can sht off the valve on the pipe easily, it's a quarter-turn with a screwdriver job.

Is it an easy fix? Yes. Can you do it? Maybe.

Sometimes a quick look establishes what's wrong, I recently had a valve leaking, I stripped it down, gave the rubber seat a wipe, it now works perfectly. For now. There was a lot of poking about involved though.

A plumber will simply fit an entire new mech, because they cost very little and his cost is his time. He doesn't ever want to go back.
 
I have exactly the same problem. I have fiddled with the inlet valve but have been unable to fix it. The plumber is due to come out tomorrow.
 
Yes looking on Screwfix I think what I need is a new bottom entry fill valve - £10-20.

Assuming they're all compatible with any bog (?) I think I'd rather just get a new unit than mess around trying to clean scaled up plastic that might just fail again.

I'll take a pic.
 
I have same issue - is there a better solution than the float valve with the rubber seal for a retrofit?
 
Photo. Looks pretty nasty in there but I think this is just stained limescale as it's only on this section of the cistern.

Can I just turn off the water on the inlet valve and swap this unit out for one of my choice?

There's a plastic hex nut where the pipe enters the cistern. Weirdly it wasn't even tight but there's no leak there.

The cistern also takes an age to fill. No idea if this is connected or not.

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Nice modern one there. Just swap it like for like, easy enough. You could dick about cleaning the limescale off, if you were lucky you might get it working in the time it takes to get to Screwfix and back. Or not.
 
McKMini said:
I have same issue - is there a better solution than the float valve with the rubber seal for a retrofit?
Click to expand...
Not really. They are cheap, crude and effective. After a few years they get clogged up with scale, particularly in hard water areas, and become unreliable.
 
paulfromcamden said:
Lots of the units seem to have 1/2" thread fitting. Can I be reasonably confident that this will fit my inlet pipe?

edit: plumped for one of these: https://www.screwfix.com/p/flomasta-bottom-entry-fill-valve/5527f

Fingers crossed!
Click to expand...

Might be the flush valve passing which is why the fill valve is keeping trying to fill the cistern.

Personally I always recommend to customers that changing both valves is more economical as it's only the cost of the other valve and possibly a donut washer kit so maybe another £30 plus labour and a filling valve.

The other thing is that both valves are the same age so no doubt the other one will fail later on too.
 
Well mixed success... new fill valve is in place but the brass shank is a couple of mm shorter meaning I couldn't use the nice thick washer it shipped with and had to use the old knackered one from the old valve which isn't sealing properly and is dripping.

The inlet pipe is a fixed pipe. Is there such a thing a very short 1/2" thread extender I could use? Or anything else that might help?

Edit: I think I need a 1/2" brass threaded extension - but Screwfix don't sell them!
 
You could try bodging a washer out of many turns of PTFE plumbers tape. That plus the original washer might seal the cistern inlet.
 
paulfromcamden said:
Well mixed success... new fill valve is in place but the brass shank is a couple of mm shorter meaning I couldn't use the nice thick washer it shipped with and had to use the old knackered one from the old valve which isn't sealing properly and is dripping.

The inlet pipe is a fixed pipe. Is there such a thing a very short 1/2" thread extender I could use? Or anything else that might help?
Click to expand...

Just use a flexible connector 1/2" X 15mm X 300mm or longer and just coil it

https://www.screwfix.com/p/flexible-tap-connector-15mm-x-x-300mm/6768g
 
I'll pop round to the plumbers merchants in the morning and see if they have a brass extension or hose that will work.

Thanks for all the help so far!
 
I had that problem, fixed with a new one of these. It goes in the cistern where the inlet to the toilet bowl is situated and you have to remove the big plastic thing above it by twisting it with your hand. (Sorry about the technical terms).
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/18362822...d=link&campid=5338728743&toolid=20001&mkevt=1
Videos on YouTube showing how to do it.
To empty the cistern I tied the inlet valve up at the ‘full’ position and flushed so it didn’t fill up again as I couldn’t find the shut off to the supply.
 
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paulfromcamden said:
It's a idea. Do I need 1/2" x 15mm or 1/2" x 1/2"? (https://www.screwfix.com/p/flexible-hose-x-x-300mm/50739)

I'm not sure how I would connect it to the stop valve in the pipe though as it has a captive nut.
Click to expand...

if you can turn the water off to the cistern (not via the stop valve at the cistern) just cut the pipe to the cistern and connect the flexible hose but don't cut the pipe too neat (approx 8 inch to 10 inch below the cistern) then you'll have plenty to play with re the flexible hose plus you can buy a flexible hose with a valve on it (Screwfix do them) or you could use a piece of copper pipe between the valve and the flexible hose.

The hose you've linked to needs a coupling to connect to the inlet pipe or if the inlet pipe has a valve on it just connect one end to the valve and the other end to brass shank on the fill valve.

Here's the valve type flexible hose

https://www.screwfix.com/p/flexible-tap-connector-with-valve-15mm-x-x-300mm/3558g
 
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