Best to get a whole new unit for the tank or just replace the seals ??
- posted
19 years ago
Best to get a whole new unit for the tank or just replace the seals ??
Sounds like it needs a new washer. There could even be a bit of grit stuck under it.
The valve costs a handful of quid and is easier to change than changing the washer. If you can't shut the water off (or do it completely) then you can change a valve under full pressure just on your own, but I'd hate to try changing a valve like that, if something decides to jam.
It's also a good time to go to a valve type like a Torbeck, which is faster filling. Although I respect that some people (probably in harder water areas) don't like them.
In some areas, it's also likely that the nozzle of the valve has worn as much as the washer has gone hard. Don't change one part and have to go back to do it again.
I always have a spare valve in the toolbox, but it's usually the one from the last job, rebuilt at leisure on the bench.
You don't want to replce it with a faster filling one if the new one would fill faster than the overflow could cope with - if it had to.
Robert
Depends on why it's "faster filling". A Torbek fills faster because it fills at full rate until it's full, then closes. A traditional valve gradually throttles once the tank is about half full. This doesn't mean that a Torbek will overwhelm a properly sized overflow though.
If it's a plastic valve I'd replace the washer. If it's brass and you're in a hard water area it might be all scaled up and hard to rewasher (or might be a part 1 valve where you should have a part 2) in which case I'd replace (with a plastic diaphragm valve, or Torbeck type equilibrium one if you want to be flashy). Remember to replace the fibre washer on the tap connector and thread the tap connector nut onto the plastic thread of the valve before finally tightening the valve onto the cistern
- it's awfully easy to strip the thread and knacker the valve if you try to tighten it when they're misaligned.
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