Toilet running because not sealing properly

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Mark Gottlieb

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I live in a condo. I recently replaced the flapper valve. I went away for a week. I used the toilet and now the flapper valve will not seal the opening properly. I can't shut the water off on the bottom as I can't turn the handle on the valve. What can I do to stop it from running.
 

Terry

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You can lift up on the float. That will shut the fill valve off.
You may want to talk to your association about getting your shutoff replaced too.
 

WJcandee

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I live in a condo. I recently replaced the flapper valve. I went away for a week. I used the toilet and now the flapper valve will not seal the opening properly. I can't shut the water off on the bottom as I can't turn the handle on the valve. What can I do to stop it from running.

A couple of thoughts.

First, to stop the immediae problem, can you push the flapper into position on the valve on which it sits so it at least seals? If not, you may have made the chain just a bit too tight. Set it so that when the handle is at rest, you have one or 2 links of slack chain resting on top of it, preferably one.

Now...lets be sure you have the correct flapper. Some toilets take different ones. Can you tell us the model and make of the toilet? It's often stamped in the tank. Is it one piece or does it have a tank bolted onto the bowl. Even better, post for us a picture of the inside of the tank.
 

Mark Gottlieb

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A couple of thoughts.

First, to stop the immediae problem, can you push the flapper into position on the valve on which it sits so it at least seals? If not, you may have made the chain just a bit too tight. Set it so that when the handle is at rest, you have one or 2 links of slack chain resting on top of it, preferably one.

Now...lets be sure you have the correct flapper. Some toilets take different ones. Can you tell us the model and make of the toilet? It's often stamped in the tank. Is it one piece or does it have a tank bolted onto the bowl. Even better, post for us a picture of the inside of the tank.
 

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Reach4

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Is that chain a bit tight? If so, if you move the clip at the top of the chain, you might be able to give the chain a bit of slack.
 

WJcandee

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The photos do help a lot. Classic American Standard; we have something close in one bedroom and we love that seat with the quick-release hinges for easy cleaning!

Your flush valve has some appurtenances that suggest that it at one time had the old American Standard tilt-flush thingy on it. For that reason, your overflow riser (the vertical tube rising from the flush valve) doesn't have little "wings" down at the bottom on which to hook a flapper. So Fluidmaster gives you a little black piece that wraps around the overflow riser and slides down to the bottom and then you hook their flapper on to the little bars that protrude on the side. Which is what you (or the last person who installed replacement parts in it) already have done.

That Fluidmaster flapper has some fans and some detractors. For a generic toilet like this, you might find that a basic Korky flapper would work well. Any 2" Korky with a collar that goes around the overflow riser. Like this one, but in any color: red or black or this teal one at HD: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Korky-Teal-2-in-Toilet-Tank-Flapper-63CM20/100164092 If you do go with the Korky, it talks about clipping the oval thing if you have a "plastic" flush valve. That's an arbitrary distinction; the real distinction is whether your flush valve has wings, which yours doesn't, so you would pull out all the black stuff around your flush valve -- the flapper and the adapter -- and slide the collar of the Korky over the existing overflow riser.

However, I would first try to make this Fluidmaster one work, and since I'm not there I can only observe a few things. First, you want the flapper to...well...flap down on the opening making a complete seal. That means that the black ring that goes around the overflow riser has to be set at a height that allows the flapper to lie flat on the valve opening. If it's too high it will leave a little opening close to the riser, too low it will leave a little opening away from the riser; this is exacerbated by the fact that the material in the Fluidmaster flapper seems to me to be a little less pliable than the Korky, so it has to be a little more precise. Just slide the collar thingy up or down a bit on the riser to make sure the flapper lies flat.

Second, Reach4 is right that that chain seems kinda tight. You want very little slack, but you want SOME slack, like a link or two. It looks like the clip is on the last link of the chain, but you seem to have the clip connected to the flush handle rod a little weirdly. If you can, clip it so the top of the clip (the short squarish part) is riding flat on top of the hole in the flush handle rod, and the rest of the clip is hanging down from there. When you do that, you will probably have too much slack, so you need to attach the clip to a lower link in the chain, which is easy to do. Requires a little dexterity, particularly if the chain and clip are wet, but it's doable.

Third, also because of the way the clip is attached to the flush handle rod, it looks like the flush handle rod or clip may be binding a bit against the rubber refill hose. Make sure it moves freely, and if you have to slide that clip around on the overflow riser, do so. You can also cut the refill hose with a scissors and give it a straighter route to the pastic clip on the top of the overflow riser, which you can position on the left side of the overflow riser (i.e. closer to the fill valve).

Hope this helps, and let us know how you make out. We want you to succeed, because this really isn't something you should have to spend $90 on a plumber call to fix.
 
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Wallijonn

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Slimy flapper valves usually cause drips or leaking. Typically all you need do is to remove it and clean the slime away with dish washing detergent. But the part that the flapper seals against should also be cleaned of slime. If the rubber has hardened or deformed then it should be replaced.
 

hj

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Those flush valves seldom work properly without the original "tilt flush" mechanism, mostly because the sealing surface is larger than normal . Even if you use the Fluidmaster 555 "glue on replacement seat" it has to be precisely located in order not to leak. Yours looks like it still has the limiting stop on the bracket so you should be able to reinstall the original unit, or a new one if you broke the nipple off trying to remove the snap on disc.

as_tilt_valve.jpg


as_tilt_valve.jpg
 
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Wallijonn

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WJcandee

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Not to get my feelings hurt, Wallijohn, but take a look at the first sentence of my second paragraph in reply 7 above...

In any event, I'm sure HJ is correct, because he nearly always is, but I have one of these and a Korky flapper with the "collar" works fine on ours. Don't know how that Fluidmaster flapper-ish thingy would work on it though, even if perfectly-installed.

Our good hardware store has a bunch of the tilt-flush non-OEM replacement units available and I'm sure that many local ones (and any good plumbing supply) would as well...

If the tabs are snapped off and the whole flush valve needs to be replaced, then I would go to the more-standard Korky flush valve, which comes with a flapper and a twist-to-height-adjust oversized overflow riser.
 

Wallijonn

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wjcandee,

Sorry I missed your posit. I guess it didn't register in my mind until I saw the picture.

P.S.,

I had to look up the meaning of "appurtenances". Have a cookie... :D
 
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