It seems like the flapper arm is sticking up but I can't figure out why. Also I notice my toilet is flushing twice, what to do about that. Thanks a lot guys

Hey Jody,

Let's you and I get some terms straight.
Flapper= the rubber thingy that has a chain.
Flush Arm= The arm the chain connects to.
Flush Lever= The lever on the outside of the tank you push to flush.
Now tell me what happens. Are you saying the Flush Arm hangs up and won't fall back down allowing the flapper to seat? Please explain. Cheers, tom

Hey Tom, Thanks a lot,it's the flapper that sticks up sometimes and the water keeps running until I take the top off the toilet and push it down by hand, a friend of mine said to put vasiline on it but that do not work.Plus my toilet flushes twice

I've had that twice already; in both cases, simply putting in a new flapper solved the problem. They're pretty cheap, and usually not difficult to install - the ones I used (made by Fluidmaster) simply snapped on to the horizontal pieces sticking out of the overflow tube.

Note that this will not help if there is problem with the cahain length; only if the flapper itself is worn out. Otherwise, you'll need to adjust the chain so there's just a little bit of slack.

Cheers,
Moishe

OK Jody, Got it!
Sounds like your flapper linkage needs adjusting.
With the flapper seated the linkage wants to have 1/4" of play. Too much play and the flapper doesn't get pulled back enough giving you a short flush. Too tight and it lets water seep past the flapper. I adjust the chain by the link and if it needs fine tuning, I bend the flush lever rod a bit untill I have the desired play in the linkage. One more thing about a flapper. you will see where the old flapper hooks onto the base of the white overflow tube. On a older type with no hooks the flapper has a ring that slips down over the overflow tube to the seat. If your tank has hooks, take a sharp knife or scissors and cut the neoprene ring off on the marks provided and hook the flapper on the hooks. Leaving the ring on will interfere with the flush. The water level in your tank should be 3/8 to 1/2" below the top of the overflow tube when the tank's filled. Hope this helps and let me know if it does. Tom

I forgot to mention that the flapper is brand new. What I don't understand is why would the chain have anything to do with the flapper being stuck in the UP position. I understand if its seeping or not coming all the way down but being STUCK in the up position. Do anyone have any feed back on the toilet flushing twice. THANKS

Hi jody,
The reason you get a double flush is because the flapper isn't seating and you have again as much water entering the bowl.
Try this. Take off the lid and lift the flapper up by its chain. Now push the flush lever on the outside of the tank down and let go. Does the lever fall right back down again? Let me know. Tom

You need to answer one question, is the chain holding the flapper up or is the chain relaxed when the flapper is stuck in the up sosition. If the chain remains tight when the flapper is stuck in the up position then you need to work on the flush handle assembly. Possibly even having to replace the Flush handle and lever. This is sometimes a very tricky thing to do, if it is plastic it should unscrew. But be forewarned the threads are left handed threads, meaning they turn backwards from normal threads. If it is a metal handle I would suggest that you use a hack saw and saw the nut that is holding the handle to the tank. This nut is located just inside the tank. Be careful because the handle goes into a square hole and if you try to unscrew the nut sometimes it will turn the mechanism in the square hole and split the tank.

If the chain is relaxed (not tight) when the flapper is stuck you need to check the float ball to make sure it is not falling so far that it interfers with the dropping of the flapper. You can check this by flushing the commode with the talk lid off to watch how thing work.

About the double flush, it is possible that you put the wrong flapper in the tank. If it is a water saver tank ( 1.6 gallons per flush) then you need to use a flapper made for that type tank. If it is a 3.5 gallon per flush you need to buy a flapper for that style.

Letmetellu,

"About the double flush, it is possible that you put the wrong flapper in the tank. If it is a water saver tank ( 1.6 gallons per flush) then you need to use a flapper made for that type tank. If it is a 3.5 gallon per flush you need to buy a flapper for that style."

You caught my attention with that statement. Since a 1.6 and a 3.5 tank all use the same flush valve and seat where do the different styles of flappers fit in. Here is a web site devoted to flappers.
http://www.azpartsmaster.com/shopazp...et%20Tank.html
And I'm, still looking for a 1.6 gallon flapper and a 3.5 gallon flapper.
I've been retired for over 10 years and new stuff has come out since then. I try to stay on top of new developments but am always ready to learn.
If you could provide me with documentation for your statement I sure would appreciate it. I may be old but I'm never too old to learn something new. Cheers, Tom

Hey Tom, I done like you said and lifted the flapper up by the chain and pushed the outside lever down and the lever did fall right back down

That means the flush lever and arm is working properly and not hanging up.
Is there a ring on the flapper? Where's the chain when the flapper hangs up?
Regards, tom

There is not a ring on the flapper and the chain is dangling when the flapper is sticking up

Ok, Next question. How does the flapper attach itself to the hooks located at the base of the over flow tube. With plastic or rubber holes?
Sooner or later you're going to tell me why that flapper doesn'r want to come down and seat. Cheers, Tom

If it was only one piece or the other hanging up, you should have been able to identify it and fix it by now. Tell Tom which piece is sticking and he will tell you how to fix it. Is it possible the holes in the flapper are too small for the hooks on the valve and it won't pivot easily? Most of them are the same.

What do you mean flush twice? My answer on the other site and the ones here are all for the usual case where something hangs up and the water just keeps running. Do you mean it flushes, stops, and then starts again?

Speedball, In our area we have had the 1.6 gallon per flush tank balls and flappers ever since the 1.6 gpf toilets came out. And as you know some of them we never did make them flush properly. I have bought several different brands of the 1.6 but Korkey and fluidmaster have served me best. Some of the Mexico commode will not take them. I found several places on the net that refers to the 1.6. But I am only sending one site.

http://www.shopzilla.com/8B--Plumbin...30969__sfsk--3

On one of the threads back a few weeks ago some people thouhgt we were having a disagreement. In my case it was not true. I may have said something wrong but typing on here is hard to get your point across like you want to. If you ever feel like I step on your toes be sure and tell me... I will watch closer where I am stepping. Letmetellu.

You have to have enough slack in the chain in order for the flapper to completely shut or it will run all time

Letmetellu,
Thank you for your input. In a earlier postin this thread Isaid this about flappers.
"You caught my attention with that statement. Since a 1.6 and a 3.5 tank all use the same flush valve and seat where do the different styles of flappers fit in. Here is a web site devoted to flappers.
http://www.azpartsmaster.com/shopazp...et%20Tank.html
And I'm, still looking for a 1.6 gallon flapper and a 3.5 gallon flapper.
I've been retired for over 10 years and new stuff has come out since then. I try to stay on top of new developments but am always ready to learn.
If you could provide me with documentation for your statement I sure would appreciate it. I may be old but I'm never too old to learn something new. Cheers, Tom"

Well you came back with a site to back you up and prove me wrong. It seems that there are different flappers and I thank you for that. I'm always willing to learn. As for our disagreement I don't recall it so it couldn't have been too much. I want you to know I welcome your input on this page and consider you a valuable asset. So let's find out what Jodys toilet is and get her fixed up with the correct flapper. Regards, Tom

I just had the same problem. The flapper doesn't fall back down into its seat unless I give it a tap. The chain length is fine - once down, the flapper seats properly. I think it must be just a bad manufactured part, i.e. not to specs. It looks fine and should work, but seems improper manufacture means there isn't enough weight to cause the flapper to fall back down. I tied a small brass weight just above the rubber flapper and now it falls back just fine like it should have in the first place!

Speedball, I did not find the response to my post until today so that is why I am so long in getting around to showing you about the different flush balls and flappers, (1.6 versus 3.5)
Where I live it is as much of a "sin" to the EPA to install the wrong flapper or ball as it is to install one of the old style toilets.
And you say that all commodes use the same flush valve and seat, which is a misstatement. There are several different size flush valves. One that comes to mind is the old American Standard commode that had the brass barrel flush valve, The Kohler of the past had a much bigger hole in it's flush valve and there were several others that might have been just local to my area. One was the Waco and another called the Alamo brand, which had four tank bolt holes.
The difference in the 1.6 and the other styles is the fact that the 1.6 either has a smaller hole in the bottom or has a float device of foam in the bottom of the flapper like the old Lavelle flappers that fit on the Crane commodes. Here is a web site that you can check out to see the documentation about the 1.6 flappers if you want to see it. Korky Brand Toilet Tank Repair Products

Some of the higher end TOTO and American Standard toilets have Douglas Valve openings that are two inches in diameter.

The thought behind the design is to empty the tank of the 1.6 gallons of water much faster, thus allowing, at least in principle, the scouring/swirling action of the pre-low consumption water closets of yore.

It seems to work, for the most part, one drawback, though, is that the bowls are shallower, which translates to more splashback on the ol' keester when doing #2. :D