Hi, apologies for posting a newbie basic plumbing question. My toilet requires several pumps on the handle to flush - pretty sure that means the diaphram in the siphon has gone. Cistern is directly on the pan ("close coupled ?") so it needs a bit of dismantling to get at it.
It sounds like the sort of thing I ought to be able to do myself, but have little plumbing experience. Unfortunately the supply doesn't have it's own isolation valve so I can't leave it too long once I get started. (We do have another toilet so it's not an all-out rush, but can't take the several days I usually like to give myself !) So I just want to know what to expect if/when I start. (I'm the sort of person that stares at a problem for a good long time before actually laying hands on.)
I've uploaded a couple of photos to
"supply.jpg" is the supply side: a plastic pipe with outer diameter 21mm (presumably the base of the bit inside the cistern) connects to a metal pipe with outer diameter 16mm. There's a single nut of 24mm at the join. (Plus a plastic nut up by the cistern.) The metal pipe uses soldered connections off the the supply from the cold tank. I assume the junction is just some standard way to connect a plastic pipe to a metal pipe. Should it be relatively easy to open ? Any tricks if it isn't ? There's no obvious way to support the metal pipe as I turn : should the soldered joints be strong enough to withstand what small amount of force I'll be able to apply, or should I try to support it with something ?
What will I need to replace to put it back together ? Compression joints talk about olives and things, but this doesn't look like the sort of compression joints I see pictured online. Or best to just wait to see what's inside.
"overflow.jpg" is the overflow side. The plastic thread from the cistern just connects to a plastic pipe leading outside. I assume that's just a push-fit or something - doesn't need to withstand any water pressure..?
The cistern is attached to the wall as well as the toilet base. Is the wall mounting taking all the weight, or is that just for stability ? I guess once the water's all out it shouldn't weigh too much. (It's 9l capacity I think - china or whatever rather than plastic.)
thanks for reading this far.
Dave