Korky Quietfill valve studdering

[Popeisdope]

Hello everyone

First post here. Thank god for the internet, theres always somewhere you can ask for help/advice on just about anything.

Anyways. Ill spare you all the story that lead me to posting here and just get down to business.

The owners of the house I'm staying in recently replaced the guts in the tank of the toilet near the room I stay in. They chose a korky quietfill. I guess it has worked fine up until recently which coincided with me staying here so im being blamed for breaking it.

I know theyre cheap to replace but i dont wanna go buy one when this one is probably fine and just needs some adjustments or maintenance.

When you flush the toilet and it begins refilling the tank itll get the tank around 1/4 full fine and then it does this stuttering thing. Like its turning off and on. It doesnt always do this but its becoming more and more consistent. Ive never messed with plumbing in my entire life so I have no idea where to begin.

Two observations though.

1. The tank doesnt seem to fill up to the white corner piece of the valve like instructions say it should. It fills up to about a half inch below it, where there is a circle rectangular hole on the black portion of the valve and then stops.

2. I havent turned the water off and taken it out yet but i do not see the clip thats supposed to lock things into place. Is this supposed to be visible from the outside?

Any ideas where to begin ladies and gents?

 

[Jadnashua]

Stuttering could be either the fill valve, or possibly, the shutoff valve at the wall. First, if that valve at the wall is a multi-turn one verses 1/4-turn, the washer may be going or loose.

Second, it could be that the seal in the valve cap is getting old and stiff. That's about a one-minute replacement once you have the water shut off. It doesn't take any tools and is about 20% of the cost of a full new valve.

Third, the float under the cover has a small hole in it...sometimes, that can get plugged up, again, easy to clean.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[WJcandee]

Yeah. The water level won't fill to the intersection of the black piece and white piece.

What happens in the Korky is that there is a little float in the rectangular black part of the valve that constitutes a little chamber. The float will float up and shut the water off when the water level inside the rectangular black chamber rises to a level just below the top of the rectangular hole in the side of the black chamber. To give the valve an authoritative shut off, the design of the black chamber prevents the water in the toilet from going into the black chamber until the water level reaches the rectangular hole. Then the water rushes through that hole into the black chamber and firmly and quickly raises the float to a level that shuts off the water and keeps it shut off. When you flush, the water in the black part flows out a little hole in the bottom of the chamber and releases the upwards pressure on the float, and the valve opens and it starts water flowing into the tank. The little hole in the bottom of the chamber has a teeny little valve in it that keeps water out when the toilet is filling and then lets it out when the water level in the tank drops when you flush.

A couple of things can cause the stuttering.

First, there is a little $3 round cap inside the valve that contains a diaphragm that seals the valve. It wears out over time, sometimes 8 years, sometimes less. It's basically the only thing in the valve that ever needs to be replaced, so when my Korkys wear out, I buy a new R528 cap and swap it out, and for $3 I basically have a new valve. Great design.

However, sometimes the rubber in the little cap tears, and when it does, and the valve opens, water runs down into the rectangular chamber in the valve and starts filling it prematurely. This results in stutters until the valve fills again and it shuts off way too early. The solution is always just to replace the cap.

Also, sometimes the little teensy valve in the bottom of the black chamber gets stuck. It is supposed to prevent water from coming into the chamber when the tank refills. The only water that is supposed to flow into the chamber should go quickly through the hole in the side. If water starts coming in the little bottom valve, then it will slowly fill the chamber, and when it does, the float will rise enough to initially shut off the valve, but it won't be enough pressure to keep it shut off, and you can get stuttering. The solution is just to run your finger over the bottom of the chamber furthest from the stem; you'll feel the valve; and clean out whatever is jamming the teeny valve. Also, if you open up the Korky to clean it, you can use a q-tip or similar to swab around the little hole in the bottom of the chamber.

Korky has some great videos on servicing the valve. It's easy. Here's one on replacing the cap:

They also have a more detailed one on "servicing" the valve, which includes cleaning it out. But the one above gives you the general lay of the land and shows how easy it is to replace that cap.

Here's the more complete one on cleaning and servicing it:

Let us know how it goes.

PS As to the little clip that holds it in place, a lot of people don't install it because it's a bit of a PITA to take out when you want to change the water height, etc. As long as the valve itself is firmly "locked" in place (you can feel it rise a bit and click as you twist the top), then the water pressure will hold it locked in that position as long as the water is turned on at the wall. If it isn't locked in place, when you turn the water back on the valve will shoot up to its full extension. Just turn off the water, push it down to the height you want, and make sure it is clicked in place. If they did put in the locking clip (which just keeps it from moving down a smidge to unlock), you don't need to worry about it because you're not going to be adjusting the water height. Anything you need to do to the valve won't involve unlocking it (intentionally at least, so be sure you hold onto it when doing what you do).

 

[Popeisdope]

Thanks guys. This is going to be my project for the day. Ill write back later and let you know if i figured it out or not.
Really appreciate your help.