About speedball1 Expertise About me: My Plumbing Expertise: I retired from plumbing after a lifetime in the trade. all phases from service and upkeep to construction, both residential and commercial. I am qualified to do anything in plumbing from fixing a leaky faucet to drafting a set of plans for a commercial shopping center and supervising the construction. My last five years were spent as a trouble shooter for a large plumbing company. I took on all my companys complaints. I have been a expert on the plumbing page at Askme.com. In a field of 200 experts my rating was number one. You may also find me at Answerway.com and AskMe Help Desk.com. This is fun for me and if I can help anybody out that`s iceing on the cake. Degrees & Certifications: As for degrees, I don`t have any. Just a Journeymans ticket, but hey! How about fifty years experience?
Experience Life Experience? Hmmmmmmm! Ran away at 15 and joined a carnival, Navy at 17 Merchant marine at 19 I've had a hellava life.
Question Tom, Thanks for the answer. I had done what you suggested earlier on to no avail. The old tank I have is thicker than the newer ones out now so even the retrofit tank levers are too small in width and height (shaped like a 5/8" square) to fit properly into the old tank and not spin around. The opening in my tank for the handle is rectangular, 7/8" x 9/16" with an additional 1/4" x1/4" cut out at the bottem kinda like the letter "T" with a thick top cross bar and a little stubby vertical bar. In any case, when I flush, the flapper immediately drops back to cover the valve at the bottom -almost as if it has a hole in it and thus no air to hold it up momentarily. I removed it and it seems to look like the replacement flapper I just purchased. A Korky's! The bar from the handle leading to the chain is fairly heavy and once one flushes, this drops back quickly to its original position. I'll be durned if I can figure this out. Should I be trying a different brand of flapper. My tank was made in Trenton, NJ by Thos. Maddock and Son's, probably around the turn of the century. Thanks again. John v
Followup To
Question -
I have a very old toilet that works well. However, when one presses the flush handle and then releases it, the flapper valve immediately closes and thus does not allow the full contents of the tank to move on down the drain. If I hold the handle down for about 10 to 15 seconds, it works fine. I have tinkered with the handle, the angle of the "lifter bar", etc. to no avail. I would like it to flush with a simple press on hte handle without having to hold it down for the period required. Any ideas you have would be appreciated and I thank you for them in advance. John
Answer -
Hi John, No biggie! Your linkage on the flapper is not adjusted correctly. With the tank full, the linkage wants to have 1/4" of play. Too much play and the flapper gets pulled back giving you a short flush. Too tight and it lets water seep past the flapper. I adjust the chain by the link and if it needs fine tuning, I bend the flush lever rod a bit untill I have the desired play. Also the tank level wants to be 3/8" below the top of the white over flow tube when the tanks filled and shut off. Hope this helps and thank you for rating my reply. Tom
Answer Good morning John, Look down at the base of the flush valve,(the flapper seat. Are there little hooks down there? If so, did you take a pair of scissors and cut the neoprene ring off at the lines indicated before you hooked it up? If not then you've located your problem. Or, on very old tanks the ring will slip over the overflow tube to secure it. If that's the case then reposition the ring down a little closer to the seat and see if that helps. Check and let me know if this is the case. Cheers, Tom
