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pende_tim
Premium Member
join:2004-01-04
Selbyville, DE

pende_tim

Premium Member

[Plumbing] Toilet Tank Draining Whats Normal?

I have been tracking down the source of water pressure loss when I secure my house and shut off the water supply. When I leave the place, I turn off the street water to the entire house so that any broken, frozen pipes do not create a disaster.

What I have noticed is that when I return I hear a rush of water through the shutoff valve indicating there house side has lost pressure. The rush is the water heater expansion tank refilling as the house side totally drains.

After doing a little poking around I appears that the flapper valve in one of the tanks is allowing water to escape into the toilet. If I turn off the water supply to the toilet, the tank is empty overnight.

Do flapper valves seal 100% ? or is some bypass to be expected? I don't want to get into a long involved process replacing the flush mechanism only to find out leaks are normal.

mackey
Premium Member
join:2007-08-20

mackey

Premium Member

[Plumbing] Re: Toilet Tank Draining Whats Normal?

They're supposed to seal 100%. The tank emptying overnight is not normal.

It shouldn't be long or expensive to fix, just a new flapper. Shouldn't take 5 minutes and your water bill will thank you.

/M

pende_tim
Premium Member
join:2004-01-04
Selbyville, DE

pende_tim

Premium Member

Replacing the flapper is easy, I already have had it out looking for gunk, nicks etc.

So flappers are "universal" and I do not need to replace the flapper and valve seat as a pair?

mackey
Premium Member
join:2007-08-20

mackey

Premium Member

Shouldn't need to replace the seat as it's hard plastic. You may need to if it's damaged though. Try a new flapper first as it's cheap and easy and 99% of the time all you need.

/M

pende_tim
Premium Member
join:2004-01-04
Selbyville, DE

pende_tim

Premium Member

thanks. off to Fenwick Hardware for a flapper.

Thane_Bitter
Inquire within
Premium Member
join:2005-01-20

Thane_Bitter

Premium Member

Might be too late now but it is worthwhile to take the old one with you just to get the correct size/part. Put on a pair of disposable glove when removing the old one, after years of being underwater that rubber develops a sooty, greasy sort of coating that stains everything it touches.

pende_tim
Premium Member
join:2004-01-04
Selbyville, DE

pende_tim

Premium Member

Hi,
Thanks for the tip.
The toilet is only 2 years old and has not seen much use so inside is reasonably clean.
I did take old one with me and came back with one that was reasonably close. The old one was from a Gerber toilet with a 2 stage flush flapper. There is a hole in the bottom cone of the flapper and a hole of the side of the cone. This allows a small quick flush for #1 and a longer flush for #2 depending on how long the lever is held.

None were in the store that had that feature so I had to modify the new one a bit. All seems to be fine now. As an added bonus, the new one is clear so I can see if it is leaking.

Pacrat
Old and Cranky
MVM
join:2001-03-10
Cortland, OH

Pacrat

MVM

Sometimes a bit of hard water mineral sediment can get caught between the sealing surfaces and cause a "leak" from the tank into the bowl. I periodically check the seat for foreign material... not all the time, but when I think of it.