Leak Beneath WC Cistern From Supply Pipe

Nov 22, 2010 1 Replies

Hello, A leak has developed beneath my toilet cistern. Years ago, my father installed one of those in-line stop-taps on the pip supplying the cistern. If I turn the tap off, the leak stops, with just a slight weep until it ceases altogether. If I open the tap, the leak starts again.



The washer beneath the cistern is dry. There is no leak, with the stop-tap turned off and the cistern filled from a jug. The leak appears to be from the thread joint between the float valve and the stop-tap.



Coincidentally, it seemed to start when the ball was adjusted to stop the cistern overfilling slightly, and running through the overflow.



Is there anything I can do to stop the leak? PTFE tape? Is there any reason why it should start leaking after all these years?



Thanks, John


I had something like this occur a few years after moving into a new house. It started leaking and the more I trued to tighten the joint, the worse it got. Turned out that the connection had been crossthreaded and eventually the pressure caused the plastic thread to to fracture. The more I tightened it, the larger the fracture became.

Fitted a new part, made sure it was threaded correctly and never had a problem again.

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