Refill Tube Wont Stop

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DanSD

Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2020
Messages
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Location
Sierra Vista, AZ
Hi All - thank you for being here,
So, I have just replaced two toilets in my home (4 bed, 2 bath, Arizona, 4,500' elevation, single floor). Both American Standard, round, short. The first install went perfect. The second, I also replaced the on/off valve at the wall, and the tube up to the tank. However, the refill valve will not stop running, and the it wont stop filling. Fluidmaster 400 model. I have adjusted the fill level to the lowest, and it wont stop. Regarding the refill valve, it is not inside the refill tube, it has a clip and is 1" above the top. There is also a slow drip from he top of the main shaft. I'm starting to think this is just a bad assembly?

Appreciate any thoughts!
 
You have something in the seat of the fill valve. You need to clean it up, and may need a diaphragm.
This should help:
When YOu have it apart, put an inverted cup over eh valve, and open the sill cock to let anything in the line flush out.

Good luck
 
When you operate a shutoff valve for a toilet, or replace it entirely, you will usually release some minerals or rust that were stuck in the valve.

That junk runs up into the tiny fill valve diaphragm, and basically causes a stroke, as an analogy.

You should always run a few quarts or more of water through the supply hose from the shutoff valve into a bucket, before connecting it to the new toilet.

So that junk can be purged from the line first.
 
Jeff Handy said:
When you operate a shutoff valve for a toilet, or replace it entirely, you will usually release some minerals or rust that were stuck in the valve.

That junk runs up into the tiny fill valve diaphragm, and basically causes a stroke, as an analogy.

You should always run a few quarts or more of water through the supply hose from the shutoff valve into a bucket, before connecting it to the new toilet.

So that junk can be purged from the line first.
Click to expand...

Good analogy. I'll try to cycle some more water through it, and clean up the fill valve area again. Thank you.
 
FishScreener said:
You have something in the seat of the fill valve. You need to clean it up, and may need a diaphragm.
This should help:
When YOu have it apart, put an inverted cup over eh valve, and open the sill cock to let anything in the line flush out.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Thank you, I'll keep trying to flush it out. Took the top half off and flushed the shaft with an inverted cup. Still running. I'll take another look at the shut off pin area again. Thank you.
 
Sometimes it is just easier to change the fill valve, which costs about $7.00 and takes about five mins.

It’s a mystery, but sometimes flushing out the fill valve and changing out the little parts in the top cap does not stop the trickling filling, at least for me, once in awhile.
 
havasu said:
Can you use your hand to lift the fill valve and shut off the water manually?
Click to expand...
Good point, no. When I manually lift the cylinder, which then lifts the shut off valve - it still leaks slowly.

I'm over it, going to spend the 7 bucks and replace the whole thing.
 
Jeff Handy said:
Sometimes it is just easier to change the fill valve, which costs about $7.00 and takes about five mins.

It’s a mystery, but sometimes flushing out the fill valve and changing out the little parts in the top cap does not stop the trickling filling, at least for me, once in awhile.
Click to expand...
Agreed, I've spend like 2-3 hours taking it apart, and now realize home depot has the replacement Fluidmaster 400s for like 7 bucks. Not worth the time. It is frustrating because it's a new toilet. However, after chatting with you all - I think it's likely some hard water deposit probably got caught somewhere. When I replaced the toilet - I did kink the tube pretty good, and the shut off valve o-ring/rubber seal was broken and deteriorated. I'm assuming something minuscule is caught somewhere in the new shaft as a result of me not flushing it out.

Either way, going to spend the few bucks and few minutes to just replace the whole thing!

Thank you all!
 
Here's a little secret about replacing Fluidmaster ballcocks.. There's a "locking ring" on the top part that allows you to adjust the height of the unit. If you pull that up you can pull the whole top section off. Do the same to the one in the toilet tank and you don't have to drain the tank. Just slide the old one off and slide the new one on (and don't forget to slide the locking ring back down!!
 
I know that neat trick, but I would feel like I am sort of cheating when I have customers looking over my shoulder during the installation.
The job goes so quick anyway.
I usually end up saying that they paid for an hour, so what else can I look at for them

Changing the whole valve goes so fast anyway, I feel better when they see me crawling around for a minute or two.

And usually, I advise to change the braided supply line, so I am down there anyway.

But when I change my own, bingo!
 
Update - fixed it! So, yes something was blocking the tank shut off valve from sealing and shutting off - a little piece of the o-ring from the shut off at the wall. The valve at the wall was rough to turn and even when fully closed still dripped a little. I changed that too and after taking it out saw the o-ring was all busted up and out of place.

It took me a few minutes to figure out how to take the fluid master cap and valve apart - but sure as ****, as soon as the got it apart - there was a 1/16" piece of o-ring preventing it from seating.

At first I diagnosed it as just the refill tube running, but the fluid master was running too.

I actually did end up spending the $7 buck to just get a new assembly, but there are worse things.

Thanks, again.
 
House Doc said:
Here's a little secret about replacing Fluidmaster ballcocks.. There's a "locking ring" on the top part that allows you to adjust the height of the unit. If you pull that up you can pull the whole top section off. Do the same to the one in the toilet tank and you don't have to drain the tank. Just slide the old one off and slide the new one on (and don't forget to slide the locking ring back down!!
Click to expand...
Yup, I did that too. Super quick, and no need to drain. Unfortunately, I replaced the top half and then when playing around with the one I took out - ultimately found the piece of o-ring that was preventing it from sealing. Still a good resolution.
 
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