Need toilet advice

[RickVS]

Hi. I have a 2 year old American Standard toilet that periodically 'runs', hikes my water bill, and fails the dye test.

When I look under the hood there is a cylindrical float and a cylindrical flapper that seems well-sealed to the bottom of the tank. There is also what I suspect is a smaller diameter overflow tube that has an even smaller diameter rubber hose that drains into it.

When I hear the toilet run, and I lift up the tank cover, I see water coming out of the rubber hose and into what I think is the overflow tube. So I am confused about how to repair this leak.

The flapper is solidly received by the tank bottom, so I don't think water is leaking there. Which begs the question of why would the toilet throw perfectly good water down an overflow tube?

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Rick

 

[phishfood]

The fill valve is designed to allow water to run through that rubber hose when the tank is refilling, so that in itself is not a problem.

Most likely, the flapper is allowing water to seep past. When the water level gets low enough in the tank, the fill valve opens and refills the tank, as it is supposed to. Replace the flapper, making sure that there is no debris or buildup on the seat that the flapper seals against.

 

[lordofthepipes]

the flapper for your toilet is the round piece of rubber under the (big cylinder) that the trip lever lifts to flush the toilet.

 

[RickVS]

Okay, so can I go to HD and just buy the rubber thing? It seemed like a pretty substantial assembly to just up and replace, plus the cylindrical thing doesn't come out of the tank freely. Something in the bottom keeps it from coming out. Thanks.

 

[RickVS]

Let be more exact. This toilet has a black cylindrical frame that the rubber flapper seals up against. Attached to this frame is the black refill tube. The frame is very much secure. The flapper is a green circular piece that has attached underneath a blue rubber ring. The ring and the top of the cylindrical mount both seem to be in fine shape and seen to seal okay. There is no tearing or build-up (this toilet is only used a couple times a day for less than a couple years and we don't have hard water). To replace the whole assembly would require removing the black cylindrical mount (does it twist? Is it sealed with something?). I can't just remove the flapper because the flapper has a protusion on the bottom that fits through a ring in the base and then bulges, so you can't pull the flapper protusion back through the base. Any other thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

Rick

 

[RickVS]

Just for the sake of closure, I thought I'd let everyone know that AS sent me a free gasket that fixed the problem.

 

[havasu]

Thanks for letting us know the final outcome. I'm certain this will help others in the future!