What am I looking at needing replaced on two different toilets where
- about every 60 seconds, the water level in the tank decreases enough that the fill valve opens up and refills the tank ? In the bowl, you can clearly see a trickle of water. I also added some dye to the tank and it shows up in the bowl quickly.
- same as above except the water level doesn't drop anywhere near as quickly ? I can't say I've heard this toilet refill yet.
Do I just need to replace the cone-washer between the tank and the seat ? They're both Mansfield toilets and it appears I have a choice of 2" or 3" washers... Seems to me that the fill valve is fine. They are a different design than I've seen before too. If they need replaced, can I use the more typical Fluidmaster design with a flapper ?
The seal on your flush valve is leaking - pretty common. Often you can replace just the flapper which is far easier than replacing the entire flush valve. This looks like a Mansfield so there is no traditional flapper, however you can still just replace the seal just as easily:
I just need to replace the rubber gasket/washer as shown in the video ?
If you aren't getting leaking water on the outside of the toilet (the red dye will help differentiate leaks from condensation) then the cone washer is fine. If you see the red appear in the water in the bowl then it is just the flush valve that is leaking. The seal is normally the culprit and is the easiest first step. You may want to run your finger around the seat (the bottom of the 'cup' that rests on the gasket) and ensure it is clean, smooth, and consistent. If there are any anomalies then that part should be replaced (not sure if you can find just that or need to replace the entire flush valve).
God I hated the Mansfield. The red gasket lasted about 6 months at best. Bad water I think. No in tank cleaning that would cause them to deteriorate faster. Had 4 toilets with them so I just purchased several at a time and waited. To lazy to see if complete rebuild kit to normal flapper type would have helped. Something like this. »www.amazon.com/Lavelle-4 ··· ds=korky
Menards (a regional Lowes/Home Depot type place in the Midwest) was out of that simple little red washer/gasket, so I ended up buying a replacement valve. When I got it all back together, it was leaking through one of the three bolts. So, off to the store again, except it was late and I could only buy a cone+two nuts-bolts-washers kit and Mansfield uses (3) (and the cone doesn't fit a Mansfield) !! Had to buy (2) kits !! All is well now though.
Glad you got it fixed, now you have some spare parts for next time.
Can't say I'm a plumbing expert but that is the first time I've ever seen that type of system. I though, except for some of the low flow pressurized types, toilet internals were all interchangeable.
It's new to me as well. I think this can be converted to the more common design, but even if not, the parts are available at the big-box lumber yard stores (Lowes, HD, Menards, etc) and aren't expensive. The replacement fill valve was $8. Granted, I can't run to Walmart at 2am and get this part though...
I won't replace the valve again (for a while). I'll buy the washer/seal and keep them handy. They're less than $2. I still need to replace the fill valve in one of the other toilets. I'll replace the tank-to-bowl bolts, rubber washers, nuts, etc for good measure as well.
By the way, the tank had all sorts of floating flakes of crispy, white material. I'm thinking it's lime, but not sure (never seen it before or at least this bad). The washer/seal was in terrible shape too.
Do I just need to replace the cone-washer between the tank and the seat ? They're both Mansfield toilets and it appears I have a choice of 2" or 3" washers...
Okay, I finally got around to replacing the valve on toilet # 2 and when it is flushed, I'm getting a trickle of water that I'm fairly certain is coming from the cone washer. It wasn't in the best shape and the replacement I bought doesn't fit a Mansfield properly. The universal washers have straight I.D. holes, while the Mansfield type (at least what's on the toilet already) is stepped. Problem is, Menards (a regional Lowes type store) doesn't have the right kind. They do have other Mansfield parts though...
Where can I buy this washer locally, i.e. Lowes, Home Depot, Sears Hardware, Ace Hardware ?
On a semi-related note, I've encountered different methods of assembling the tank-to-bowl. For example:
Bolt - rubber washer - tank - base - metal washer - nut Bolt - rubber washer - tank - washer (optional) - nut - base - metal washer - nut (this creates a small gap between the tank and base - worked fine on toilet # 1 and other toilets I've repaired in the past)
What do people like to see or do themselves ? Depending on the kit you grab, you can end up with either method. Most kits are 2-bolt versions as well, not 3-bolt like Mansfield toilets (and a few others).
I didn't indicate I was having any design issues such as slow filling, did I?
I wasn't talking about your particular toilet in general, you mentioned a Mansfield and the toilet at Grandma's house came to mind. I think part of the problem is her house has issues with low water pressure but sometimes you have to flush the darn thing 2-3 times to completely expel the contents. It was installed like 4-5 years ago.
If I was having the problems you were having, I'd replace the whole toilet based on my experience above with the Mansfield toilet at Grandma's house. dcurrey above said he hates Mansfield toilets as well, you fix them problem comes back six months later.
Why can't toilet manufacturers stick with a simple Fluidmaster fill valve and flapper flush valve design that has been used throughout most of the 20th century.
Why can't toilet manufacturers stick with a simple Fluidmaster fill valve and flapper flush valve design that has been used throughout most of the 20th century.
So that the comparison was as fair as possible, I have (3) Mansfield toilets. Two of them are upstairs, so let's presume things like water pressure are as equal as possible vs comparing to one downstairs, for example. One of the Mansfields has a Korky MaxPerformance valve in it while the other is OEM parts. Now, you may have a different definition of "forever" than I do, but the Mansfield took (2) seconds longer.