Toilet supply line ruptured

[S H O P D O G]

Woke up 0530 this morning to the sound of heavy rain. Walked down stairs only to find that the rain was in my kitchen. Hauled ass back up the steps to the bathroom to find that the toilet supply line ruptured. Backtracking I figured that all was fine at just after 0030 so sometime after 0030 and 0530 this occurred. Now, judging by the amount of water on the floor in the kitchen and the basement it must have been at 0032.

Our kitchen ceiling, the fan, the telephones the kitchen parquet floor (which is now buckling and sounding like a sponge) has all been lost. Along with several items one might find on the kitchen floor and on the table. You never think that something like this will happen and when it does you wonder whywould I friken leave that there?

Oh the joys of homeownership!

Sd

[Smarty]

Just curious....what type of supply line was it and where did it rupture (at the end fittings, in the middle, or elsewhere?????). Is the line subject to any unusual stresses like vibration, flexing, etc.??? This is an unusual situation...

Smarty

[S H O P D O G]

I've never had it happen before! Ruptured at the top and was a plastic line, (PVC). It broke away from the toilet. No unusal stresses that I am aware of, the toilet doesn't move when being used and the floor is solid.

SD

[Don Phillipson]

So this connector lacked the metal wire sheathing that is nowadays common for toilet and washing machine supply lines?

[jJim McLaughlin]

Not so unususl.

I had the same thing happen in the master suite toilet about 4 years ago.

The supply line wsa one f those braided chrome wire metal sheathed ones.

Too busy swearing and cursng abut the flow of water through the living room ceiling light fixtures and the falling wall board in the living room below to ever bother to figure out where the failure point on the supply line was.

The line was still fully connected both to the tank inlet fitting and the to the valve on the stub pipe coming out of the wall.

That particular supply line had been there about 15 years, ever since that bathroom floor was tiled and the old white flushable toilet that actually flushed was replaced by a "low flo" fancy porceline toilet that was color keyed two match the tile.

[Stormin Mormon]

I'll admit, I don't remember hearing of another toilet supply line rupturing. Any idea what caused it?

[Stormin Mormon]

That's it. It's the fault of the 1.6 galon per flush toilet.

[dpb]

Which is why I still use copper tubing even at the price...maybe you'll get a small leak at a compression fitting, but the chances of a full-blown break are minimal.

--

[dpb]

My conjecture would be aging and a nick perhaps during installation combined w/ the tension on an outside wall of a bend in the line...

[jJim McLaughlin]

ROTFL.

Damn floor is wet, too. Must be another supply line (G).

[Toller]

A couple years ago I installed a new valve and the instructions said it must be used with braided wire supply line.

I asked the manufacturer why that was, as I didn't want to replace my nylon braided one. He said there was no real reason for it, since the supply lines never break. That made sense, since the pressure is so low in the narrow line. (yes, I know the actual static psi is exactly the same, but the total pressure on the walls is much less because the area is much less.)

But apparently it can happen! I have bought some braided metal for my ice maker, but haven't gotten around to installing it.

[HeyBub]

The floor's not lost!

Mine got double-wet due to a leaky water heater. I just left it alone for a couple of months, then re-glued the tiles. Worked out okay.

[willshak]

on 8/13/2007 10:50 AM Toller said the following:

Besides the strength, could it serve as an electrical ground connection to the grounded supply pipe ? I don't know, just asking.

[willshak]

on 8/13/2007 10:50 AM Toller said the following:

Besides the strength, could it serve as an electrical ground connection to the grounded supply pipe ? I don't know, just asking.

[Jerry]

About 20 years ago, woke up to the sound of running water in the the middle of the night. Asked the wife why she was taking a shower at

2:30? Realized she was still in bed - why was the water running? Ran to the bathroom, saw water spraying under the toilet, shut it off. The supply line was just fine, it was the cheap plastic nut attaching the supply line to the bottom of the tank - split very cleanly between the round part and the hex part. Luckily, this was a single story home on slab, got it shut off right away, only problem was a little bit of wet carpet at the entry to the bathroom.

For the last 20 years, I've been wondering when the next one is gonna break.

Jerry

[RickH]

In my area (Chicago suburbs) the toilet supply must be done with soft copper and compression fittings. And if an actual plumber is installing your faucets he has to use soft copper there too. Only homeowners can get away with using the hoses. That is, if you want to be up to code or pass an inspection.

They now make little alarms that will ring when water contacts them, handy for under sinks and toilets, sump pumps, floor drains, etc. to wake you up to problems before they become catastrophes.

Heres are a bunch of them, considering your story they are probably worth it:

[dpb]

Toller wrote: ...

...

No, pressure is force per unit area so 40 psi is the same no matter what the diameter. Therefore the _FORCE_ exerted on the wall is proportionally the same as to the larger diameter as area is directly proportional.

Pipe and tubing wall thicknesses (for the same material) are scaled as size increases (although in steps, not for every incremental size) so the tensile stress is (very) roughly the same.

How much difference there is for plastic wall thicknesses versus size I'm not sure, haven't looked specifically, but would expect them to be similarly scaled as for tubing and pipe for economy in materials as compared to required thickness for designed/rated pressure.

The only place the smaller diameter really makes a significant difference is that the total _FORCE_ at the end cross-section may be small owing to cross-sectional area...

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[RickH]

Or this one which meters a "running toilet" and says "enough is enough":

[Smarty]

Neither have I. That's why I posed the question as to what type was involved, where it failed, and whether there were any exceptional stress, temperature, vibration, or other explanations. It is relatively common to hear of plastic tubing developing a leak when refrigerator ice makers are involved.

Smarty

[S H O P D O G]

Well, one end was plastic, this (forgive the layman terms) this plastic end screwed onto the toilet. the plastic was cracked, so thats where the water was coming out

SD