nicktheplumber
In reply to message posted by kalm3:
I recently posted the following concern and tried the suggestions offered to me to no avail. There is no leak, I adjusted the water pressure but the refill tube continues to send water into the overflow pipe every few minutes for no apparent reason. The problem appears to be worsening. Is there any help for me?!!!………………………..I installed all new components in my toilet tank using a Fluidmaster kit. Now to try to explain the problem…
About every couple of minutes, the refill tube sends water into the overflow pipe for about one or two seconds. I’ve watched what is going on in the tank and can’t seem to see a problem. I do however sometimes hear a hissing-type noise from the valve top, but not always. PLEASE HELP! THE NOISE IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!
Well, the problem you describe seems simple enough. The float valve is allowing tank water to rise above the overflow tube and thence into the bowl…OR, the float valve is dumping water directly into the overflow tube via the small (usually 1/4″) tube that runs from the float valve into the overflow tube. The first possibility (that the tank is being filled too much and is overflowing), can be diagnosed by putting dye into the tank and seeing if this dye enters the bowl without a flush. This technique will also diagnose a leaky tank ball valve. In any case, the float valve shoud be set so that the tank stops filling at least 1/2″ below the level of the over flow. There is no reason whatsoever that the float valve should ever allow the tank to fill above the overflow tube. Make sure that your tank water level never rises above 1/2″ of the top of the overflow tube. Second, your float valve may be leaking, and dumping water into the overflow tube via the small tube that enters the overflow (this is there to top off the bowl during a flush). It is possible that the float valve is malfunctioning and will not stop the flow directly into the overflow tube. One way to see if this is the case is to pinch off or remove the tube going into the overflow. Doing so will not materially affect the flush, but may leave a post-flush bowl with a lower water level.
Your problem is either a faulty float valve, a poorly adjusted float valve, or a leaky ball valve (or cracked and leaky tank). There are no other possibilities. I repeat: THERE ARE NO OTHER POSSIBILITIES. so check it out. Plumbing is nothing if not logical.
NtP
