Misaligned flapper, temperamental toilet
#1
02-18-06, 05:27 AM
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: US
Posts: 125
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
Misaligned flapper, temperamental toilet
My upstairs bathroom has a very temperamental toilet...it's so temperamental that when my plumber came out in January 2005 and rebuilt all the innards, I had to call him back because it was flushing twice. It's from about 1968, and based on what he said, it's some kind of screwy kind of American Standard toilet that seems to be hard to adjust.
A few times a day, the toilet will refill for about 30 seconds. I've pretty much figured out that the problem is a misaligned flapper. I say this because I hear a drip-drip-drip inside the tank, and if I just reach into the watter and tap the flapper just a bit towards me, it stops. But the next time I flush, it reverts back to the misaligned position.
I have a lot of expenses right now and don't want to call in a plumber and spend hundreds of dollars, but given that this toilet is temperamental, I'm afraid to do too much futzing with it. Is there anything I can do by, say, simply adjusting the chain to get it to seat properly when flushing?
If it helps, it looks like the flapper has two arms with loops in them that are simply attached to two rods sticking out from a post in the toilet base.
A few times a day, the toilet will refill for about 30 seconds. I've pretty much figured out that the problem is a misaligned flapper. I say this because I hear a drip-drip-drip inside the tank, and if I just reach into the watter and tap the flapper just a bit towards me, it stops. But the next time I flush, it reverts back to the misaligned position.
I have a lot of expenses right now and don't want to call in a plumber and spend hundreds of dollars, but given that this toilet is temperamental, I'm afraid to do too much futzing with it. Is there anything I can do by, say, simply adjusting the chain to get it to seat properly when flushing?
If it helps, it looks like the flapper has two arms with loops in them that are simply attached to two rods sticking out from a post in the toilet base.
#2
02-18-06, 10:56 AM
Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 1,017
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
#3
02-18-06, 03:24 PM
Member
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: San Diego Ca. USA
Posts: 984
Upvotes: 0
Received 13 Upvotes
on
11 Posts
Hi, Temporaly remove the hose that goes into the overflow tube and let the water go in the tank. If that cures the problem there are 2 causes I am aware of: 1, The hose is below the water level in the tank and siphoning water out, a very common problem. 2, not so common the hose is too far down and you have high pressure into the overflow which prevents the flapper from seating correctly.
Good Luck Woodbutcher
Good Luck Woodbutcher
#4
02-20-06, 07:42 AM
The other replies are good advice. If the flow stops when you touch the flapper, check the spot where the flapper seats. Is the base of the valve/tower smooth and clean where the flapper sits? Is the flapper chain set too short/tight? There should be some play in the chain, but not enough to where a pull of the flush handle won't lift the flapper up from it's seat.
#5
02-20-06, 07:50 AM
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: US
Posts: 125
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
There is no hose going into the overflow tube.
The flapper seems to be visibly off-kilter just by eyeballing it. It seems to be falling just a wee bit too far toward the back of the toilet.
It's a rubber thing with two arms, each of which has a loop on the end of it. These arms attach via these loops to a T-bar looking thing at the base of the overflow tube. I can tap the flapper back into place to stop the dropping, but the next time it flushes, the flapper falls back into the wrong place again.
The flapper seems to be visibly off-kilter just by eyeballing it. It seems to be falling just a wee bit too far toward the back of the toilet.
It's a rubber thing with two arms, each of which has a loop on the end of it. These arms attach via these loops to a T-bar looking thing at the base of the overflow tube. I can tap the flapper back into place to stop the dropping, but the next time it flushes, the flapper falls back into the wrong place again.
