TMH maybe? Wickes push button flush loos - are they maintainable?

[Tim Watts]

I have an application where it would be desirable to mount a close coupled loo that does NOT need to be fixed to the wall, but the cistern is entirely supported by the pan.

Wickes have several that have no fixing holes in the cistern, which infers the above... However, they have a flush valve I have never seen before:

After much Googling, it looks like a Geberit style.

Are these things actually sort of standard, or would I be shooting my feet off choosing a cistern with one in? It seems quite hard to find spares, but maybe I am Googling for the wrong search term...

The do seem quite elegant - no pipe or cable to stop the lid being removed, otherwise a standard close coupled cistern.

Ta

Tim

[Roger Mills]

A lot of cisterns have that sort of flush mechanism these days rather than conventional syphons. I have recently retro-fitted two of mine with these

and they work fine. Mine have buttons which mount in the holes previously occupied by the flush levers - but I assume that the Wickes one has its buttons in the lid?

One potential disadvantage of this arrangement is that the overflow discharges into the pan, and may not be noticed so easily as if water is dripping outside. [In my retro-fit jobs, I've retained the original overflow pipes, and set the internal overflow at a higher level so that it's never used].

Another potential problem with the one you cite is that it bolts to the pan with bolts which go through the bottom of the cistern - which may give rise to leaks - as opposed to the usual close-coupled arrangement which has an external plate held on by the flush mechanism nut. On the other hand, bolts through the bottom may provide a more rigid fixing - obviating the need for wall support - I don't know.

[Tim Watts]

Yes - and it's very simple - the buttons poke buttons on the flush valve with adjustable rods.

Aye - my high level flush does that too... Isn't ha pretty normal now?

Another potential problem with the one you cite is that it bolts to the

Good point... I did not notice that.

[David Lang]

That seems to be the standard now. Most replacement toilets seem to be designed so the cistern doesn't actually reach the wall anyway.

? However, they have a flush valve I have never seen

I have a Wickes 'Newport' WC which has that flush valve and it's been fine for 3 years.

I'm not suggesting they are unreliable, just that the fashionable desire for smaller cisterns has outweighed the practicality. They are terribly over complicated compared to a siphon and much more expensive to replace/repair if they go wrong.

There are quite a few different makes, some of which baffle even my knowledgeable local plumbers merchants.

I think it's a case of forget spares, just resign yourself to having to replace it if it fails.

[David Lang]

It is a big disadvantage IMO. It causes excessive water bills because people don't notice the overflow like they would if it were external.

[David Lang]

Now we know.....

[charles]

I don't think it was fashion, but changes to the Water Regs - which completely ignore places which were built before WW2 and have long sewage pipes and need more water.

[polygonum]

Nearby there are several three-storey buildings which I think are some sort of OAP/sheltered housing. Most of them have enormous areas of limescale down the walls where tell-tales/overflows were simply ignored

- I suspect for years. Being external, affecting everyone in the building by splashing down their walls and windows, and being obvious to everyone else who went by, was not sufficient to get the issues addressed. At least an internal one wouldn't have disfigured the building in the same way. No idea of the impact on their water bills!

[Tim Watts]

Hi David,

It did seem fairly random which ones had mounting holes and which ones didn't :-o

You may have misunderstood me :) I'm not after spares to repair the flush valve - I just want to know I can get a whole new flush valve - there does nto seem to be an abundance of them on the web, unlike the basic hand lever/siphon

[Tim Watts]

OTOH if you had the dipstick upstairs neighbour I had in my first flat in London, it would have saved a big white stain on half the wall from where his overflow was piddling down the wall for 2 years...

[Roger Mills]

Interesting reading . . . with some very quotable bits, such as:

"There is no problem, no matter how complex, which if looked at in the right way cannot be made even more complex.?

and

"In theory, theory and practice are the same, but in practice they are not".