Weird leak through overflow hose

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The111

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For several days I've been hearing a constant trickling from my toilet, with the tank refilling every once in a while. I suspected a leaking flap valve, but on inspection today found something much weirder. Water was leaking out the end of the overflow hose into the bowl, but that water coming from the tank, not the wall. (Eventually, when the tank got low enough, the wall would kick in and refill).

So, faulty fill valve, right? Probably, but here's what's weird. I noticed that if, while it was leaking, I lifted the fill hose up a bit so that it was not engaged quite as deeply in the overflow tube, the leak would stop. Weirder still, if I then dropped it back down, the leak would not start back up again (until a new flush cycle). So I devised the super cheap "fix" below. :D

The loop just prevents the hose from engaging too deep into the tube (which I admittedly could have also accomplished by simply trimming the hose... although this way it is reversible). I've tested it several cycles now and it is no longer leaking at all.

I am fully stumped. My first guess was this was related to a pressure differential somehow, but the overflow tube is empty, so the end of the hose is in open air whether it is 25% engaged into the tube (as it is now with my "fix") or 50% engaged (as it was before I "fixed" it).

So, just out of good old fashioned academic curiosity... any ideas WTF is going on? :confused: :eek:

toilet.jpg
 
Yeah replace the fill valve and flapper. And are you on a well? Looks like you have alot of dirt in tank
 
This time when you replace the fill valve do not discard the fill tube clip that attaches the tube to the top of the overflow. Use it to create an air gap so your potable water is even better protected from contamination.
 
Your problem isn't the flapper or the fill valve. The refill tube is pushed down the overflow below the water level in the tank. Causing the tank water to siphon down through the overflow. You need to get that refill tube pulled up to the proper height. The fill valve comes with a clip that is used for that purpose. Looks like who ever put the fill valve in discarded it.
 
Your problem isn't the flapper or the fill valve. The refill tube is pushed down the overflow below the water level in the tank. Causing the tank water to siphon down through the overflow. You need to get that refill tube pulled up to the proper height. The fill valve comes with a clip that is used for that purpose. Looks like who ever put the fill valve in discarded it.

Thanks John, that sounds like exactly what is happening. Did not know there was supposed to be a clip there. My twist seems to accomplish the same thing though, good enough for the time being. :rolleyes: Not sure I understand what physical principle causes water to siphon down when the tube hangs slightly lower, I'd understand it if the free end was submerged in water (it's not), but as I mentioned earlier the air pressure should be the same anywhere in that tube.
 
The twist does not solve the siphon problem.

Repeated tests both before and after adding the twist suggest otherwise. I just went back and removed the twists and repeated the before/after tests. Same result. No drip with twist, immediate and continuous drips without twist. Every time.
 
That looks like a cleaner version of my toilet tank. The well-water with all the sediment really gunks it up.

You might want to see about finding a replacement clip to put on to keep the tube up high enough that it won't siphon, without having to twist it like that.
 
That looks like a cleaner version of my toilet tank. The well-water with all the sediment really gunks it up.

You might want to see about finding a replacement clip to put on to keep the tube up high enough that it won't siphon, without having to twist it like that.

Oh yeah, forgot to respond to the earlier guy. It's not well water. Looks like rust or something. It's a rental house so it doesn't bother me that much. :rolleyes:

And yeah I should probably pick up a clip eventually. But I'm proud of my redneck fix for the moment. :eek:

Oh, and that is an awesome avatar you have!
 
Oh yeah, forgot to respond to the earlier guy. It's not well water. Looks like rust or something. It's a rental house so it doesn't bother me that much. :rolleyes:

And yeah I should probably pick up a clip eventually. But I'm proud of my redneck fix for the moment. :eek:

Oh, and that is an awesome avatar you have!

I've had to use a few redneck fixes in the past, so I know how that goes. I'm guessing maybe you have metal pipes and rust is building up or something. A lot of my supply lines are PVC but the water is so full of sediment that it comes out looking like rust.

Thanks! I drew the avatar when I was bored. Its a more modern version of a drawing I did on the back of an exam in Electronic Engineering 101 back in college. I finished the test before everyone else and had some free time.
 

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