Got an SOS call from a friend with an overflowing toilet last week. The water shut-off seeems intermittent (the valve sometimes seals correctly but after the next flush the cistern carries on filling to overflow level). Removed the fill valve and took it round all the plumbers' merchants, who all looked at it and told me it'll be difficult to get a replacement and after dismantling it told me they didn't stock the diaphragm for it either!
It looks like an Armitage Shanks 'Conceala' cistern. The cistern is concealed and only accessible from above, so replacement with a conventional bottom feed Torbeck valve or similar will be impossible without taking the front panel off and a load of making good. The valve clips on to the back of the cistern and is fed using a flexible hose with a screw thread to the bottom of the valve.
According to various retailers' web sites the valve is no longer available and has been replaced with a pushfit version, but it'll be difficult to replace the flexible hose from above because there is very little space around the (bottom) feed into the cistern. Looks like a service kit may be available, so should I just try this first? My concern is that if the seal is intermittent it might not just be the diaphragm.
Anyone have experience of replacing or fixing this type of valve?
TIA,
David.