After consulting this forum, I bought a Korky 528 fill valve and installed it in my 1992 Kohler Wellworth. The install went smoothly. I had to set it for it's full length. It filled right up to the flush valve. Everything looked good, but I left the lid off to monitor it. Later I noticed that the level of water in the tank had dropped and water is dripping from the new fill valve...seems like it's coming from the white cover near the hose. I pretty sure the flapper isn't leaking. The water in the bowl seems about right. I just futzed with it some more. It's locked into place correctly. Does the white cap come off? Is this thing defective? Thanks for your help!
New Korky 528 Fill Valve not working right
- Thread starter Jim Crist
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A fill valve cannot make the level drop, unless the tube to the overflow, that refills the bowl, has its output below the water level. That tube end should be held up with a clip. Whatever dripping you might see in the tank from the fill valve would make the tank level rise -- not fall.
Otherwise the problem would probably be the flush valve, which includes the flapper. You may just need a new flapper. A rare problem is water wicking up the clip and into the overflow tube. A cracked overflow tube is another possibility.
Otherwise the problem would probably be the flush valve, which includes the flapper. You may just need a new flapper. A rare problem is water wicking up the clip and into the overflow tube. A cracked overflow tube is another possibility.
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Thanks...you hit on it! There's a half inch crack at the top of the overflow tube. After I futzed with it, it stopped dripping from the white cap on the new fill valve. That tube is part of the flush valve, so I'd have to take the tank off to replace it, right? I just shortened the new fill valve, so I'll just live with a half inch less water in my tank. I guess that'll cause a slightly poorer flush, right? Thanks again...
I am pretty sure there is a way to fix it... somebody will know of a good method.
I think emptying the tank and applying 2-part epoxy might do it. Perhaps you could wrap the epoxy with fiberglass cloth that the epoxy can impregnate.
Even a waterproof tape might do it.
WJcandee
Wise One
Your Korky 528 is an anti-siphon fill valve, which means that if there is suction within your potable water piping in your house (i.e. you drain your house piping for some reason), the water in the toilet tank isn't going to be sucked back into your potable water system. (Eeeew.)
Because of this anti-siphon feature on the fill valve, it's going to drip water from a few places in the valve while filling. It won't drip water when it's not filling. The purpose of the valve is to put water into the toilet tank, so it doesn't matter whether a few drips fall off of it into the tank or not; where the water comes from on the valve is of no importance as long as it ends up in the tank.
Korky hears this concern over and over and over again, and so the instructions on the valve used to be quite clear in explaining this; now they are a little more muted "Normal water flow from 3 areas" -- it doesn't really say don't worry about the drips anymore, but that's what they are saying. See Item 6(c) and the associated drawing here: http://www.korky.com/PDF/instructions/528.pdf
You can use waterproof tape around the top of the overflow riser to seal the crack; it's a common place that overflow risers crack. If you want to replace it, Korky makes a pretty-decent flush valve with a twist-lock that lets you easily raise and lower the level of the overflow; you don't have to cut it with a hacksaw like most overflow riser replacements. It's not a difficult install; usually the hardest part is getting the underneath-the-tank nut on the old flush valve to turn; the metal ones tend to rust in place and I have had to actually cut off the nut with a Dremel tool on a couple of our toilets because no amount of leverage would turn the nut on the shaft.
Even though it's not complicated to replace the flush valve, it is still more of a pain than replacing a fill valve, which is easy. If you can seal the crack with little effort, I would probably be inclined to try that first, although it's not what a plumber would do.
Also, if the water level in the toilet as you have now adjusted it gives you a decent flush, you can just leave it as it is and save the water...
Because of this anti-siphon feature on the fill valve, it's going to drip water from a few places in the valve while filling. It won't drip water when it's not filling. The purpose of the valve is to put water into the toilet tank, so it doesn't matter whether a few drips fall off of it into the tank or not; where the water comes from on the valve is of no importance as long as it ends up in the tank.
Korky hears this concern over and over and over again, and so the instructions on the valve used to be quite clear in explaining this; now they are a little more muted "Normal water flow from 3 areas" -- it doesn't really say don't worry about the drips anymore, but that's what they are saying. See Item 6(c) and the associated drawing here: http://www.korky.com/PDF/instructions/528.pdf
You can use waterproof tape around the top of the overflow riser to seal the crack; it's a common place that overflow risers crack. If you want to replace it, Korky makes a pretty-decent flush valve with a twist-lock that lets you easily raise and lower the level of the overflow; you don't have to cut it with a hacksaw like most overflow riser replacements. It's not a difficult install; usually the hardest part is getting the underneath-the-tank nut on the old flush valve to turn; the metal ones tend to rust in place and I have had to actually cut off the nut with a Dremel tool on a couple of our toilets because no amount of leverage would turn the nut on the shaft.
Even though it's not complicated to replace the flush valve, it is still more of a pain than replacing a fill valve, which is easy. If you can seal the crack with little effort, I would probably be inclined to try that first, although it's not what a plumber would do.
Also, if the water level in the toilet as you have now adjusted it gives you a decent flush, you can just leave it as it is and save the water...
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hj
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Your toilet will flush "perfectly" even with an inch or so less water in the tank.
Thanks everyone...this is a great forum. I guess I'll just leave it for now. I did read the instructions carefully and saw the bit about water coming from 3 spots. But it had a rapid drip coming from the white cap near the hose, continually, long after it was done filling. I had it locked into place as the instructions said, but after I loosened it and relocked it again for the third time and perhaps put more clockwise pressure on it it stopped.
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