Inside my cistern

M

Mr Flapjack

Registered User
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52
Hi,

Has any DIYers ever changed the ball thingy and the rest inside a toilet cistern? The one in my bathroom doesn't quite fully close when the water level fills up and there is a constant dripping that echoes down the hall. Its starting to drive me mental so I've decided to do something about it. I've heard it can be a tricky job. Any help?
 
Re: Inside me cistern

Before you go changing it try this.

Bend the rod that is attached to the ball slightly downwards towards the water.

THis will cause the ball to float slightly higher thus putting more pressure on the valve at the other end.

Often this is enough to stop the drip.
 
Re: Inside me cistern

A second option would be to adjust the valve with a screwdriver so that it closes earlier.
 
Re: Inside me cistern

Before you go replacing it, are you sure it needs to be replaced? An adjustment to the ball valve or a replacement washer should do the trick.

If you do need to replace it, it's not that complicated, you'll generally need to remove the entire cistern from the wall to do this though. First you'll need to turn off the water supply to the cistern, and then empty it. Remove the cistern from the wall, undo the large nut that holds the internal mechanism in place. Take out the mechanism and insert the new one, making sure you tighten it into place well and use whatever rubber washers they provide. [broken link removed] are very handy here.

Drop cistern back into place, using some silicone to seal the join. Re-attach the water feed and you should be back in business.
Leo
 
Re: Inside me cistern

Does the dripping stop after a few minutes or hours or whatever?, if so then bending the rod attached to the float should solve it. (as per HighFliers' instructions)

If the dripping never stops then presumably the cistern would overflow at some stage and you would have mentioned this... so the everlasting dripping must be from something else... probably from the cistern into the toilet bowl, in this case replace the seal around the outlet to the bowl or something...

I don't think a leaking cistern into the bowl would cause a dripping sound so I reckon the dripping does stop after a certain amount of time when the cistern fills up enough. (so just bend the float downwards)

Cheers
Joe
 
Re: Inside me cistern

I don't think modern cisterns have bendy rods, somehow....
 
Re: Inside me cistern

Hi folks another cistern problem, about five minutes after flushing our toilet there is a noise very high pitched and as loud as any alarm clock which lasts for about 30 seconds, is there such a thing as an alarm in the cistern which lets you know when its full or has anyone any idea of it?
 
Re: Inside me cistern

extopia said:
I don't think modern cisterns have bendy rods, somehow....
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you're basing that on, it's the easiest method of adjusting the height of the float. The inlet hole is probably not pre drilled into the side of the cistern and the float will have to be adjusted.

I remember reading an article about six months ago by a plumber on a similar topic. The filling of a cisterns can be controlled in one of two methods, either by a standard float as above or by using a siphon type device. He reckoned the siphon devices are prone to failure and are difficult to replace. They weren't used for many years because of this but they are undergoing a resurregence lately, maybe because of marketing by the manufacturer. He also reckoned they're used in unsuitable circumstances, i.e when the cistern is totally enclosed in pub toilets for example, this would make replacement very difficult. And the old float system is grand, so why change it.

I'm a furniture maker, not a plumber so this isn't professional advice.

Cheers
Joe
 
I've previously recommended a newer type of cistern ball valve called "Cisternmaster"- it works on the same principle but is quiter in operation. They cost about twice the price of a regular ball valve but the quiet fill is worth it!
 
For a quiet fill I've seen cisterns where the fill valve had a light plastic tube which ran down to the borrom of the cistern thus filling from under the water level. This stops most of the noise.
 
We had a problem with one of ours in a new house too, we found out from plumber that a batch of them had been installed and were faulty, our builder contacted plumber who replaced with no charge.
 
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