Last night, I noticed that there was a constant trickle into the toilet bowl (no jokes, please). I took the lid off the cistern, and saw that there was water constantly flowing into the cistern, which was presumably overflowing into the bowl. If I lift up the ball c*ck arm, the water stops.
The ball c*ck seems intact. Is there some way of lifting the ball c*ck up, so that it only allows water in after a flush?
Thanks for your help.
That's what the ball (or other-shaped float) does: if it's not cutting off the water when the cistern is full then either the float (ball etc) is leaking and not floating or (more likely) a rubber diaphragm or washer inside the float valve is perishing and needs replacing. Google this group for how-to.
-- John Stumbles
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Tony
There should be an adjusting screw at the valve end of the ball arm. Screwing this in a bit should close the valve before when the ball is lower.
If his WC's got an internal overflow it's likely to have an plastic rather than metal float arm, or possibly a fluidmaster or torbeck or other new-fangled valve. And if he did have an old-fangled metal arm valve it'd probably be waaaay past its sell-by date :-)
-- John Stumbles
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Fine to bend if it is a metal arm, if it is a plastic arm there will be an adjusting screw at the pivot end, but probably means something else has gone such as water entering the float
I had this very problem last week, it was the ball valve in the cistern.
Replacing the ball valve might be worth considering - that's the blue bit in the following picture:
At £2.99 at Screwfix (probably £6.99 at your local B&Q) it's not worth spending time hunting down and replacing washers.
Takes about 10 minutes of effort - and that includes going out in the garage to grab any tools you might need.
PoP
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Yes it's probably like the stupid plastic one in mine, the cistern is too small for the ballcock ie. it catches the side of the cistern as it lifts (spent hours trying to work out where to fit it). So if it moves a fraction of a mm it overflows constantly. Need a smaller/thinner float.
Mark S.
A Torbeck valve is your friend here.
It will also result in quieter cistern filling.
.andy
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However if the cistern was working fine for a period of time and has only recently started overflowing this might suggest that simple adjustment isn't the cause or solution (unless the original installer forgot to tighten up the lock nut on the adjustment screw - that might be worth checking).
Most probably cause is either a ball float that is taking in water, or the ball valve washer has deteriorated. My money is on the latter.
PoP
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Isn't an eroded washer the most common cause? If the flow is reduced to a dribble then it implies that the valve is likely to be closed with as much force as the ball can impose - therefore water is leaking past somehow - due to a pitted, eroded 10p washer. They last about 10 years in my experience.
I assume adjustments have been tried - but why should an adjustment be needed - unless something has worn?
You can also get thinner, sort of barrel-shaped rather than spherical floats.
-- John Stumbles
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-+ The astronomer married a star
Apart from a loud thud when it cuts off. Well, that's what I get anyway. I wonder if the OP has an external overflow, in which case that would presumably be dripping rather than the excess trickling into the bowl.
On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 08:19:59 -0000, "stuart noble" I wonder if the OP has an external overflow, in which case that would
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No, I might just do that if it gets on my nerves.
This did happen to me recently, although it was a combination of factors : The water level was originally adjusted so it was just short of the overflow. The water board renewed the mains locally, which I assume increased the pressure. (I also had a burst main under the back yard shortly after) The ball now wasn't quite exerting quite enough force to close the valve at that level. Result = overflow.
It is a thin barrel one already. It's my own fault for choosing a "foreign" design suite rather than a Boggs And Co. standard one. ;-)
Mark S.
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