Toto toilet making bursts of hissing air noise when flushing

[Josee]

Good morning,
Toto toilet started making bursts of hissing air noise when flushing. Was intermittent last week and is now with every flush. Stops making noise when tank is full. Everything else running normally & water level is fine. It sounds like air in the valve but there hasn't been any water cut-offs to explain this. I *think* its about 5-8yrs old (we bought the house this summer).

I opened the tank but I honestly don't know what I should be looking for besides Mr. Google telling me these have some issues with the fill valve. I couldn't find any similar problem to mine though.

 

[Reach4]

Do you have a well?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Josee]

Do you have a well?

No, municipal hook-up

 

[Reach4]

Presuming that there is not air in the line, a new flush fill valve should cure any related symptoms. It is a nice DIY job.

If you have a multi-turn shutoff valve, this would be a nice time to change that to a quarter-turn shutoff. Pros recommend changing the hose between the shutoff and the toilet at the same time.

You can go to http://m.korky.com/home.php and select that you want a fill valve, and what toilet you have. It will recommend a good replacement. Or you could just get the silver top Korky, which works for most Totos (not Aquia).

 

[Jadnashua]

You may have two things going on...if the valve is turning on intermittently without you flushing, the flapper valve is likely leaking and the fill valve is just opening up to keep the level up. The fact that that is noisy, may mean that the seal in it is bad, and on some of them (depends on the brand and model), that valve is a few dollars, and quick and easy to replace. Some need to be totally replaced because they do not have any user serviceable parts. Without knowing exactly what you have, can't give specific recommendations.

If the valve is turning on and off after flushing, it is also possible that there's some crud in the inlet filter, the wall shutoff valve's washer is broken up and partially clogging things, or the float is rubbing or binding on something.

 

[WJcandee]

Presuming that there is not air in the line, a new flush valve should cure any related symptoms. It is a nice DIY job.

He means FILL valve, not FLUSH valve. I make that same typo all the time.

Korky 528MP, has a silver cap, available at Lowe's and HD and online, should do the trick. There's a Toto TSU99A.X that's basically the same thing, and a Korky528GT that is the same thing and marked for Toto. But the 528MP does all you need, and it's going to be the least expensive option that works.

Avoid any other flavor of the 528, because they will be more expensive and/or won't have the right refill ratio. The white cap plain ol' 528 won't give you the right refill, and the 528T is only right for some Toto toilets and in any event is unnecessarily-expensive.

If you already have a Korky valve in there, you may be able to fix it just by cleaning the innards and replacing a little cap inside that has the working/sealing parts. The cap is like $3 at HD. Shoot us a photo and we'll tell you whether you have a Korky.

 

[Josee]

Thanks all. Its a Korky 528, white cap. Shot a 20 sec. video of the noise it makes
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fiifj1cxxiovuaq/Korky valve.mp4?dl=0

 

[Reach4]

Thanks all. Its a Korky 528, white cap. Shot a 20 sec. video of the noise it makes
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fiifj1cxxiovuaq/Korky valve.mp4?dl=0

Your video is not visible without an account.

You could try a Korky R528 replacement cap. http://www.korky.com/fill-valves/replacement-cap-assembly-fill-valve. Can't say it will help, but it is cheap, easy, and probably locally available. https://terrylove.com/forums/index....-g-max-korky-528-fill-valve-quiet-fill.32924/ may have some info. No exact match in symptoms, but worth looking through.

I have seen a procedure for some fill valves where you take something apart, invert a glass over the open fill valve, and turn the water back on to have a high flow flush through. I don't find such a procedure for Korky valves.

 

[Josee]

Well, there goes my Oscar...
Total fluke; my husband turned-on the sink faucet moments after flushing and the water coming out was also *spurty* Not full-on air, but just an odd flow. Its rhythmic though, just like the toilet.
I flushed while the sink faucet was on full and it quieted down the toilet hissing and spurting to almost normal. When the sink faucet if off = airy spurts from toilet. So logically there's air in the system but no way to explain it. ?

 

[Josee]

Actually, on subsequent tries turning on the sink faucet didn't do much aside from mimic what's going on in the toilet. How are the sink & toilet lines connected?

 

[Jadnashua]

Unless you have a defective pump somewhere in the system, once you turn on a faucet, shortly afterwards, all of the air will be purged out of the lines.

Water fluctuations can be caused by a loose washer in a valve. The only one common to both the toilet and the sink is probably the main shutoff for the whole house. If it is loose, water flow can move it, partly closing off the flow, then once it slows sufficiently, the pressure drops, and the washer releases. It can flutter fairly quickly. If this is the case, unless you have say a shutoff for the bathroom group, it may be that main valve.

What are the pipes made of? Galvanized, copper, pex, or other? Some crud in the line could cause it as well.

 

[Josee]

They're copper. Everything else is working normally in the house. Am going to plumbing dept. of local hardware and will play them my little video. Will also pick-up a replacement Korky, for that small amount its worth a try.

 

[Reach4]

So logically there's air in the system but no way to explain it. ?

When the city works on the water mains, air can be introduced into the system. That may have coincided with a boil order, which you could have missed. If that is what happens, this is just an event, and the air goes away.

If air is somehow being added continually to your plumbing, that is different. Do you have water treatment equipment such as a water softener?

 

[Josee]

Ok, problem solved! I changed the Korky flush valve and its back to normal. Guy at hardware store said it sounded like a train accelerating when flushing!
Thanks for all your input and ideas.

 

[WJcandee]

I changed the Korky flush valve

Fill valve?

Congratulations on solving the problem!!

 

[Jadnashua]

IF the original valve was a Korky, just replacing the seal for $3 or so and less than a minute of your time with no tools would have probably fixed it. Depending on the water quality and pressure, they can last anywhere from 3-10 years or more. If you can retrieve the old one, pop the cap and take out the seal. The instructions with pictures are on the Korky website. My guess, the seal is split and deformed...a new one is smooth and dome shaped.

 

[Jadnashua]

IF the original valve was a Korky, just replacing the seal for $3 or so and less than a minute of your time with no tools would have probably fixed it. Depending on the water quality and pressure, they can last anywhere from 3-10 years or more. If you can retrieve the old one, pop the cap and take out the seal. The instructions with pictures are on the Korky website. My guess, the seal is split and deformed...a new one is smooth and dome shaped.

 

[Josee]

Yup, fill valve... My guess is that it was about 10yrs old, which is when the previous owners had done the bathroom. For the $18 I spent replacing the whole thing it was well worth it!