3x toilet flush

[Rgwelli]

Hi there. I have a toilet that I am thinking I need to replace. (It came with the house). When it flushes, the water is like sucked out the bottom and the toilet fills partially, then empties, then fills, then empties again before finally filling and stop running. The toilet appears to be a low flow. I have never seen a flush like this. It is in the basement, and I have been told by neighbors that the toilet has to pump uphill and that all the basement toilets on the street do not tolerate #2s (just #1s). It seems like a waste of water.
Do you think there is something 'wrong' with the toilet? Any ideas appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Mikey]

Sounds like a venting problem, but that's an entirely unprofessional opinion. The first flush is close to normal, but the bowl is sucked dry again as it fills, without a proper vent to protect the siphon.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Cass]

Hard to say...it could be an improperly pitched line, belly in the line, venting problem. The only way to accurately determine if the line is the problem is to have it snaked and camered.

If it is a general problem that every one on the street shares as described then there may be nothing you can do to correct it. There are places near me that people have to have valves installed so they can prevent sewage from backing up into their house when it rains. You may have a somewhat similar problem with partially backed up mains that drain very slow and causes your toilet not to flush right.

 

[hj]

It is probably a low flow toilet with a conventional tank flapper, which lets excess water flow giving the multiple flushes, (which are not always a bad thing, by the way).

 

[Jadnashua]

HJ reminded me...a low-flow toilet requires a flapper designed for that model. Nearly all (maybe all?) low-flow toilets use a high tank and don't normally let all of it fall into the toilet. this is stopped by the right flapper closing at the proper time. If you install an older style, it might just dump the entire tank's volume, which would cause that effect.

 

[Cass]

If as mentioned in the first post all the basement toilets on the street do the same thing it is unlikely that it is a flapper problem...but the flapper is worth pursuing based on the low cost of trying.

 

[Terry]

A 1.6 gallon flapper will prevent flushing over and over again.
The 1992-1996 Kohler Wellworth does this without the 1.6 flapper.

 

[Rgwelli]

Thank you very much. I appreciate the good info.
- G