Toilet Fill Valve Issue?

[MinnieB]

Hi,
Having a weird problem with my toilet. Sometimes when I flush it the flush becomes a bit anemic and the tank doesn't refill right away. If I look in the tank it is only half full. Then at some point later, maybe 15 min. or a couple of hours, 8 hours or even 24 hrs. I hear a loud sound almost like there is air in the line and then suddenly the tank fills back up. I may go a month and this happens 3 times or have it happen for 3 days in a row. It is the old ballcock type float inside. I prefer this to the newer kind I have in my other toilet as it seems to flush much better. My apartment maintenance guy has recommended replacing the guts in the tank with a new type fill. I had him check the water line that goes from the floor to the tank to see if maybe it was clogged. He rinsed it out and said it seemed ok. But my problem persists. I watched it yesterday as I pushed the handle down and the water line seems to shake nearer to the floor than the tank. I'm wondering if the pipe below the floor is perhaps clogged and then the reason I hear the loud sound is enough pressure builds up to push past it and fill the tank. Does that sound plausible or is it really the fill valve? Is there some way to tell without removing the fill valve?

 

[Jeff Handy]

Just start with changing the fill valve to a Fluidmaster.
As long as that is compatible with your toilet.

 

[sarg]

As Jeff Suggests ... a probable $7 fix.

 

[Rickyman]

As Jeff Suggests ... a probable $7 fix.

It’s a free fix, she lives in an apartment with a maintenance guy that already offered to swap it out

 

[Jeff Handy]

Also change the flapper, it also can affect the quality of the flush.
And the old flapper could be slowly leaking.

 

[MinnieB]

Just start with changing the fill valve to a Fluidmaster.
As long as that is compatible with your toilet.

The maintenance guy swapped it out and what I feared would happen has happened. I still have the same problem and now the toilet doesn't flush as powerfully as it did with the previous setup. That is when the tank fills with water. I don't think it is the flapper because I'm not losing water when the toilet is dormant. The tank intermittently isn't filling up after flushing. As I said, it can take hours before it fills back up. When it does, it does so immediately, it's not a slow fill that happens over that time period.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Makes no sense.

Unless the toilet shutoff valve or supply line is plugged with minerals or rust.
Or the water pipe in the wall or floor is holding lots of loose chunks of crud.

And if they were, when he turned off the water to change the fill valve, all that junk would instantly clog up your new fill valve, when the water came back on.

He should have run the flex supply hose into a bucket, while he operated the shutoff valve fully open and closed several times.
To flush out junk.

Have the toilet shutoff valve changed to a ball valve.
Don’t worry if all they can find is an ugly one in a big box store.
Or you can order pretty ones online, we just had a thread here listing some.
A ball valve will pass the chunks more easily.

Or at least flush out your current valve and supply, and change your fill valve again.
And old shutoffs can also release bits of worn out rubber, which will clog the fill valve.

You can also just change the little diaphragm on top of the fill valve, or pop the fill valve off the riser in the tank, and pop on the rest of a new one.
We can advise if you need info on this.

Assuming you went with a trusty old reliable Fluidmaster.

 

[Jeff Handy]

The toilet flushing less powerfully is not the problem.
Only a symptom of the real problem.

The tank is not filling fast enough, or not filling completely at times.

So the new fill valve is clogged.
Or the shutoff is clogged, or supply line is clogged.
Or the maintenance guy set the tank water level too low.

Or the fill valve float is catching on the side of the tank.

However, if the tank water level IS ever correct, and you get a poor flush anyway, then the flapper is dropping too soon, or needs adjusting or replacing.
The chain could also be too long.

OR the toilet or toilet drain is partially clogged, and needs a toilet auger or drain snake to clear it.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Replace the stop valve,water supply and ballcock.

If that doesn’t work find out why you’re losing water pressure intermittently from the service provider.

 

[skeezix]

With a full tank, try turning the supply valve (the one underneath the tank) off and then see how the toilet flushes. The tank should empty around 5-8 seconds or so. If it still flushes slow, then something is wrong with the flush valve or beneath it where the tank fits onto the bowl (I doubt it but it could be something to check if everything else checks out).

If the toilet flushes normally, then I would suspect the same things that others here have suggested (i.e. faulty fill valve or a blockage in the supply line before the supply valve).

Is it possible the plumber told you he installed a new fill valve but he really didn't?????

 

[Twowaxhack]

With a full tank, try turning the supply valve (the one underneath the tank) off and then see how the toilet flushes. The tank should empty around 5-8 seconds or so. If it still flushes slow, then something is wrong with the flush valve or beneath it where the tank fits onto the bowl (I doubt it but it could be something to check if everything else checks out).

If the toilet flushes normally, then I would suspect the same things that others here have suggested (i.e. faulty fill valve or a blockage in the supply line before the supply valve).

Is it possible the plumber told you he installed a new fill valve but he really didn't?????

Why do you need to turn the water off to see if the toilet flushes properly ?

If you want to see if it’s a toilet trap way or drain is the problem you can flush the toilet by pouring water into the bowl from a bucket.

it it flushes good with a bucket then you have a water delivery problem from the tank of the tank won’t flush it.