Tank to bowl leak in new Kohler Wellworth

[rachelms79]

I had a plumber install a new Kohler Wellworth I bought at HD. From day 1, it leaks tank to bowl, about 3-4 gallons a day (I shut off the water inlet and 10 hours later the tank was almost empty). Everything is dry - the 3 nuts on the tank, the water inlet, the floor - but the tank doesn't stay full. Any ideas? I called Kohler and they said to tighten the nuts, but since there's no leak at the nuts, would tightening them help? I don't want to crack the tank by overtightening and I'm not handy enough to remove the tank and re-install it. BTW, the plumber assembled the toilet tank to bowl on the carpet outside the bathroom, and then set the toilet on the flange - the Kohler instructions say to bolt down the bowl 1st and then attach the tank. Does this reverse order make a big difference in the tank to bowl seal? thanks much.

 

[Terry]

It may just be a bad flapper. That would be easy to fix.

It could be the chain is too tight.
It could need spraying with silicone to freshen the rubber.
There is a small chance that the flush valve is leaking past the porcelain.
but I would say that's it's 95% the flapper.

If the bolts are dry, then they should be fine.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Robert Bottomley]

I, too, have the exact same problem: plumber installed a new Kohler Wellworth I bought at HD. It leaks into the bowl. Since the Wellworth is a flapperless toilet (has a canister flush value), everyone's responses of "it's the flapper" are not correct. I haven't figured out what the problem is yet.

 

[Robert Bottomley]

I ended up putting silicone grease on the gasket of the canister value. So far, it is working. We'll see how long it lasts.

 

[WJcandee]

I was going to say that just because it's a canister flush doesn't mean that it's anything more than hypertechnically-wrong to say, "It's the flapper." Because...it's the flapper (or, in your case, the canister, which does the same thing).

The principles of operation are essentially the same: a rubber-ish seal, held in place by gravity and water pressure, prevents the water from flowing from the tank to the bowl when at rest. Silicone grease or a new seal for the canister will likely solve the problem. In 5 percent of our cases, it's something else, but with the existing odds, changing the flapper (or equivalent) is always the first place to start.

If your silicone grease doesn't fix the problem, just get a new seal for the canister.

 

[hj]

Would it make you feel better if we said, "It's the water seal", instead of it's the flapper?

 

[Robert Bottomley]

Saying it is the water seal or the flapper doesn't help if you don't have a solution. It's like telling someone whose car won't run that the problem is in the engine — duh. This is a new toilet, not a 20-year-old one where you would expect aging seals to be a problem. I, and the original poster, wanted someone with experience with THIS toilet to give a solution, not generic "it is the water seal" responses. Of course it is — we know that. What is the solution to why this particular model of new toilet has seal problems?

However, I do have an update to the issue: after putting on silicone grease, it only sealed until the next time it was flushed, then it was back to leaking. I noticed that the chain appeared a bit tight so I lengthened it by one more link (there are two extra links on the chain). It is now working properly with no more leaking. So that was the issue for mine. Hopefully, this message will help others looking for a solution to why a new Kohler Wellworth toilet is leaking through the flush valve.

 

[Reach4]

Since the Wellworth is a flapperless toilet (has a canister flush value), everyone's responses of "it's the flapper" are not correct.

It sounds as if you might have finally read the second sentence on your Mac.