Toilet flap valve and fill help needed

[dbosman]

My wife and I are so used to jiggling the handle we don't even think about it.
Adult children were or are here for the holidays and the water flowing noise is constant until I go up or down stairs to jiggle the handles.

I need a new flush valve solution with no chain to get caught under or in the valve mechanism. No matter how short the chain something stretches or the lever won't stay up or ... and the chain ends up under something.
I need a fill valve solution that slows at the end of the cycle to reduce the stop noise. The valve we have fills quickly, but oh the sudden stop. No hammering, just bang as it shuts.
Something that lasts more than five years would be really nice.

I don't mind taking the tank off the base to replace parts but every few years got old, before I did.

Thanks for suggestions.

[Hannibal]

Home Depot sells an entire toilet for right about $100. Not the standard lever/flapper/fill valve design. Has push buttons in the tank lid. Internals made by Fluidmaster. Bowl is higher off the floor and larger diameter so you don't feel like your sitting on a chair designed for kindergarten kids. I don't know what it takes to stop one up, but no one in my house has ever managed it. Used to be a common problem. Brand is Glacier Bay. They will solve your problems.

Edit to add - replacing an entire toilet is a rather disgusting job, but overall much faster and easier than trying to rebuild an old commode that still has the same inherent design flaws. So long as the floor flange is intact, you're golden. Do NOT use the hardware to tighten the tank to the bowl or the bowl to the flange. Just use your weight and your fingers on the fasteners. Toilets installs are no place for pliers and wrenches except for the water supply line, perhaps. Life is too short to put up with cheap, malfunctioning plumbing.

[metricmonkeywrench]

Went to this style and never looked back. We are on a well and the caught chain routine would empty the well in no time. Eventually the seal will leak but nothing catastrophic and a easy fix

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-Flush-Valve-for-Mansfield-41142X/205172276

[Houndog]

The best toilet tank system I've ever used is a Fluidmaster setup.You can find them in most hardware and home improvement stores. Three more places you need to check is where the flush handle goes through the tank to make sure it's tight and not allowing the bushing to turn in it's seat and play havoc on the flush chain settings. I suspect that may be your whole problem. You also need to check your water pressure. It should be below 60PSI. That will make lots of noise in the system and lead to shorter life of valving in your appliances. The last thing is to look in the toilet tank for a bunch of debris in your water. If you find that an inline water filter is a must! You have junk coming in your house from the utility lines!
Hope this helps!

[Pipefitter]

It seems that you have an older 5 gallon flush tank on your water closet. I would look at a slow fill valve, with a flapper that has a float that you can adjust on the chain. Take a close look at the seat on the flapper valve, if it is corroded then you would want a repair kit that includes a new ring.
Once you get the flapper valve to quit leaking you should turn the water off at the main and drain the entire house by opening a valve at the high point in the house and a low point drain, this will allow air back into the water hammer arrestors.

[Moleman-]

I like the fluidmaster except for the occasional chain catching on the flapper. The last house we had came with the Mansfield cup type metricmoneywrench linked to. The seals on them don't seem to last as long as the flappers so buy another seal when you get one. The upstairs toilet we have now occasionally has the flapper stick on the chain. Tried a new lever, Bending the lever, different lever lengths, different chain lengths, repositioning the standpipe/flapper assembly and can't seem to get rid of the chain occasionally catching on the flapper. We're on a septic system so my worry is that at some point it'll catch on the chain as we're going out of town for a while. There's a Mansfield cup type fill assembly out in my barn waiting for me to get motivated to put in it. Downstairs has the fluidmaster and never had an issue with it but it's a different tank design.

[Traffer]

My sisters toilet had the same problem. No matter how I adjusted the chain it got caught under the flap. Finally figured it out...Needed a new handle. If the handle stop is broken off you won't notice but it will let the chain flop all the way down. I got a new handle for about $4 and problem solved.

[wildwilly501]

Just repaired mine What pipe fitter said the flapper with the float

[Hickory]

Plumbing is an invention of the Devil, it's the only thing I know of that will make a preacher curse.

[JBinMN]

Here are some suggestions I have used, or been told, that may help out concerning toilet tanks & their guts...

If you do use the one with the chain, put a cheap, small fishing float/"bobber" on the middle of the chain so it floats up & out of the way.
https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/163180144548_/50-75-FISHING-BOBBERS-Round-Floats-Red.jpg


If you just replace the flapper, I have been told to use the black type rather than the red or blue ones if I use the Korky brand. It seems they seal better & longer.
https://assets.supply.com/images/productimages/korky-lav2001bp.jpg;width=500;height=500;bgcolor=White;q uality=65;;scale=both;

To save some water if you have one of the old toilets that hold a lot of water you can put a rock or a brick in the tank to offset the amount of water the tank holds to save water. Or even a plastic jug full of water with no air in it to displace water.
Note - I don't have a pic, so you will have to imagine it...LOL
;)

G'Luck!
:)

[EMC45]

Korky and Fluidmaster make kits from 1 step/1 part all the way to complete rebuild kits. Find out what is needed (ie; flapper, float, fill valve etc.) and go from there.

[Hardcast416taylor]

In my over 35 yrs. as a plumber I thought I had seen about everything as far as some home owner doing this work. I got a call from a guy saying something was wacko with his new home he built and a bathroom in particular. On examination of the toilet problem I noticed it was steaming in the chilly fall air. This `genius` had installed the toilet and connected the water supply to a hot water line under the floor meant for the vanity sink!Robert

[Traffer]

In my over 35 yrs. as a plumber I thought I had seen about everything as far as some home owner doing this work. I got a call from a guy saying something was wacko with his new home he built and a bathroom in particular. On examination of the toilet problem I noticed it was steaming in the chilly fall air. This `genius` had installed the toilet and connected the water supply to a hot water line under the floor meant for the vanity sink!Robert
Maybe he was trying to experiment with marinating stool samples.
:dung_hits_fan:

[Hannibal]

There was a time when 'solid' waste was essentially burned to cinders in a heated electric vessel in locomotive toilets. Fortunately, this was no longer in use when I began my railroad career.

Can you imagine the SMELL? :holysheep

[higgins]

Whatever hardware fasteners you use, check them with a magnet to make sure they're not copper-plated steel, which will rust solid in no time. This is more common than you may think, with the mass merchandisers cutting corners wherever they can. I carry a magnet to the store when I buy plumbing fasteners to make sure I'm getting brass.

[GoodOlBoy]

A complete korky kit here, with the guts (float, fill, etc) that are all housed inside a single unit that goes in the tank plus a flapper, costs about $15-$25. It takes about 10 minutes to replace and adjust it all, and lasts about 3 years in our really REALLY poor quality county water supply. You shorten the chain on the flapper to get the correct length by simply moving the clip down the chain until it is right. In good quality water supply these things last 5-6 years. When I replace the guts I always replace the flapper too. Sometimes the flapper goes while the guts are still good (again our water supply is horrible), and gets a $4 Korky flapper replacement.

I dunno if $100 parts mentioned are for one of them Japanese toilets that talk to you or what, but I've never seen a commode rebuilt cost that and hope I never do.

Edited to add: I usually keep at least one set of these spare parts kits on hand in our master bathroom closet. I need to buy another spare set because I had to replace ours around Thanksgiving and haven't gotten around to it yet. Ever notice that when a toilet decides to die it is always on a weekend after all the hardware stores are closed?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Korky-Universal-Fit-Toilet-Repair-Kit/1000460067 <----- $14.99 at Lowes....

God Bless

GoodOlBoy

[mold maker]

They also fail when there are dinner guest at the table.

[robg]

Its always the compression joints that leak ,rarely the soldered joint .usually at night .

[WRideout]

Plumbing makes men religious. I know this because I once attempted to replace the supply valves for our washer. At 1:00 am I was sitting in the garage praying that I could get the water back on for the house. I did find a copper shutoff cap, that enabled me to get the water back on.

Wayne

[MT Gianni]

There was a time when 'solid' waste was essentially burned to cinders in a heated electric vessel in locomotive toilets. Fortunately, this was no longer in use when I began my railroad career.

Can you imagine the SMELL? :holysheep

Gas fired toilets in Natural and LP are still sold today. They just use a good vent and heated air rises.

[Hannibal]

Gas fired toilets in Natural and LP are still sold today. They just use a good vent and heated air rises.

That may well be true, but if you've never worked around railroads and railroaders well, . . . . . let's just say nothing can properly prepare you for what you will experience.

[dbosman]

Thanks for all the suggestions. At this point it seems my flush lever is the main culprit. The two worst toilets have had lever after lever replaced. I did't know there was supposed to be a stop to keep them from dropping over time. I've just grabbed cheap cause they don't last.
I'm looking for a unit that lists stop as a feature.

Again, thanks.

[EDG]

I can vouch for the tall boy Glacier bay toilets sold by Home Depot.
I live in an area with exceptionally hard water. One of my toilets got very slow flushing due to mineral deposits. Since it was a contractor supplied toilet only suitable for short people I replaced it about 5 years ago. The new toilet is much faster flushing, faster filling and uses less water. Best of all it it more comfortable to use due to being adult height. It has worked perfectly for about 5 years.

About 6 months ago I bought another for another bathroom.
I only have one short toilet left and when it goes I wiil be using another one of the tall Glacier Bay Toilets.