Just completed a multi-day saga of installing a new Flushmate Cartridge Kit, and thought I'd pass along a couple of lessons learned. In a perfect world, without hard water, soft water, age, heat, algae, etc, it's a ten minute job. In a 15 year old toilet, it takes just a little longer. In our case, about 10 days!
First, the plier handle and wrench technique works fine, IF you have the right pliers. I used a pair of side cutting needle nose pliers with flat jaw sides that fit nicely into a crescent wrench. In the first attempt, it took some torque to get the cartridge to budge, but it unscrewed and the inside guts of the thing came out nicely. Unfortunately, the outer case was firmly lodged in the tank in its original position. Hmm, how do we get this buggah out? Since we are in the middle of the Pacific, and Sloan is on the mainland, had to wait a day to call customer service.
The nice lady at customer service suggested spraying with Pam, heating with a hair dryer, and using my best McGyver moves (yes, that gives away my age) to fabricate a hook to go under the lip of the open base of the cartridge case. Okay, the Pam and hair dryer weren't a problem. Err, the hair dryer died! Found another hair dryer and heated the sucker until it smelled like a French Fry vat! Used a brass hook connected to 100 pound test chain, and heaved. Since the whole thing was a little slippery, I attributed the failure to move to my greasy hands. So, go out to the garage, root around and find about a 1 1/4 inch dowel to wrap the chain on. Try #2 - connected the hook to the lower lip of the case. Movement at last! Oh, oh - the brass hook simply bent straight and came loose. Too late to run to the local hardware store. Wait until tomorrow.
Okay, after a run to the hardware store, now we have the nice heavy S-hooks you used to use for kids swings before OSHA got involved. We use 'em for trailer safety chains. Slipped the new hook under the lower lip of the case, and heave-ho. It's moving! Nah - this time the chain distorted.
By now it is Friday and too late to call Sloan. But, we all know the tyranny of email, and they do offer email customer service. So, I pounded out my plea to Sloan Customer Service and wait until Monday for an answer. Pleasantly surprised - a reply was in my inbox on Monday. This time the caution was not so much heat with the hair dryer, and make a hook out of a coat hanger. Well, you can guess my response to the coat hanger hook and hair dryer. The advice wasn't helpful, so with one last, desperate cry for help, I sent off one more email because of the time and distance.
"Try white vinegar", was the response. Well, you guessed it, no white vinegar in the house, and I wasn't up to using my wife's best balsamic, so this time it was wait until we could make a grocery store run. After getting the vinegar, I replaced the cartridge guts and left them screwed in loosely. I filled the cartridge cavity recess at the top of the tank with about 3/4 cup of vinegar and left it to marinate for two days since this was a guest bath, and what the heck did a couple more days matter?
The vinegar did the trick. Oh, I know, some of you old pros probably knew that all along, but I'd never had faith in vinegar other than for coleslaw and washing windows. Out here in Hawaii we aren't noted for our hard water, but the soft water does rapidly turn nice fixtures white and does cause buildups. Even though there was no visible buildup at the top of the cartridge, once I had the cartridge case out, you could see a light white discoloration on about 3/4 of the case. It came right out! No hooks, no prying or tapping with a screw driver, just right out. It took ten minutes and most of that was in adjusting the height of the actuator.
Now, which way to the beach?
First, the plier handle and wrench technique works fine, IF you have the right pliers. I used a pair of side cutting needle nose pliers with flat jaw sides that fit nicely into a crescent wrench. In the first attempt, it took some torque to get the cartridge to budge, but it unscrewed and the inside guts of the thing came out nicely. Unfortunately, the outer case was firmly lodged in the tank in its original position. Hmm, how do we get this buggah out? Since we are in the middle of the Pacific, and Sloan is on the mainland, had to wait a day to call customer service.
The nice lady at customer service suggested spraying with Pam, heating with a hair dryer, and using my best McGyver moves (yes, that gives away my age) to fabricate a hook to go under the lip of the open base of the cartridge case. Okay, the Pam and hair dryer weren't a problem. Err, the hair dryer died! Found another hair dryer and heated the sucker until it smelled like a French Fry vat! Used a brass hook connected to 100 pound test chain, and heaved. Since the whole thing was a little slippery, I attributed the failure to move to my greasy hands. So, go out to the garage, root around and find about a 1 1/4 inch dowel to wrap the chain on. Try #2 - connected the hook to the lower lip of the case. Movement at last! Oh, oh - the brass hook simply bent straight and came loose. Too late to run to the local hardware store. Wait until tomorrow.
Okay, after a run to the hardware store, now we have the nice heavy S-hooks you used to use for kids swings before OSHA got involved. We use 'em for trailer safety chains. Slipped the new hook under the lower lip of the case, and heave-ho. It's moving! Nah - this time the chain distorted.
By now it is Friday and too late to call Sloan. But, we all know the tyranny of email, and they do offer email customer service. So, I pounded out my plea to Sloan Customer Service and wait until Monday for an answer. Pleasantly surprised - a reply was in my inbox on Monday. This time the caution was not so much heat with the hair dryer, and make a hook out of a coat hanger. Well, you can guess my response to the coat hanger hook and hair dryer. The advice wasn't helpful, so with one last, desperate cry for help, I sent off one more email because of the time and distance.
"Try white vinegar", was the response. Well, you guessed it, no white vinegar in the house, and I wasn't up to using my wife's best balsamic, so this time it was wait until we could make a grocery store run. After getting the vinegar, I replaced the cartridge guts and left them screwed in loosely. I filled the cartridge cavity recess at the top of the tank with about 3/4 cup of vinegar and left it to marinate for two days since this was a guest bath, and what the heck did a couple more days matter?
The vinegar did the trick. Oh, I know, some of you old pros probably knew that all along, but I'd never had faith in vinegar other than for coleslaw and washing windows. Out here in Hawaii we aren't noted for our hard water, but the soft water does rapidly turn nice fixtures white and does cause buildups. Even though there was no visible buildup at the top of the cartridge, once I had the cartridge case out, you could see a light white discoloration on about 3/4 of the case. It came right out! No hooks, no prying or tapping with a screw driver, just right out. It took ten minutes and most of that was in adjusting the height of the actuator.
Now, which way to the beach?
Last edited:
