I've got a 6 year old toilet and in the past 5 months it has not been operating properly. Sometimes (but rarely) we get a good flush but most of the time a LARGE amount of air comes from the front of the toilet's main siphon jet and then no actual siphon occurs. I can get it to flush easily if I add as little as 2 cup of water after the bubbles come up from the submerged jet.
My plumber is stumped. He's reamed it with a closet snake and check the roof vent to see the flow when it does flush. The toilet can take a 5 gallon bucket of water as fast as I can pour it in so there are no blockages downstream. For a picture in your mind... the bubbles that erupt actually force water and air clear above the rim of the toilet. Any help would be appreciated.
Kevin

Have you checked the jet for mineral build up? Did he pull the tank and pour water down into the opening to determine exactly where the problem lies?
If not then he hasn't checked the toilet out completely. Regards, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

Have you checked the jet for mineral build up? Did he pull the tank and pour water down into the opening to determine exactly where the problem lies?
If not then he hasn't checked the toilet out completely. Regards, Tom

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I've done two Hydrochloric acid (HCL) washes where emptied the tank and bowl and poured the entire 1/2 gallon bottle into the toilet via the tank and the main overflow in the tank. The HCL sat for 15 minutes the first time and 30 minutes the second time. Lots of fumes. I also treated the toilet to an C.L.R. bath by pouring the entire bottle in the tank in a similar fashion. I've used a coat hanger to clear out the holes under the rim too.

I also replaced my flapper with a red one. (The kind that is really flexible)

Background: I installed a second toilet in another RR of the house exactly like this one at the same time and it works great, I even get a double flush on occasion.

Thanks for the reply. I'm really stumped and I'm thinking about yanking the toilet off the floor this weekend to get a different angle on the problem. Over the past 4-6 weeks the bubbles that erupts is quite hilarious. It gets the seat wet on occasion.

Kevin

Hey Kevin,
"I've done two Hydrochloric acid (HCL) washes where emptied the tank and bowl and poured the entire 1/2 gallon bottle into the toilet via the tank and the main overflow in the tank. The HCL sat for 15 minutes the first time and 30 minutes the second time. Lots of fumes. I also treated the toilet to an C.L.R. bath by pouring the entire bottle in the tank in a similar fashion. I've used a coat hanger to clear out the holes under the rim too."

I can not advise against using Hydrochloric acid , or any acid, in a enclosed area such as a rest room strongly enough. As a young boy I would take limed up toilet bowls out in the alley behind the shop and boil the lime out of them with muriatic acid. Over half a century later my lungs still carry the scar tissue that the acid fumes caused. A few years ago I lost a good friend when he used a commercial drain cleaner containing sulfuric acid in a unvented bathroom. Acid IS NOT A GOOD IDEA to use to clear mineral buildup. Take it from one who's paid the price.


The bubbles just have to come from the space between the flush valve and the siphon jet. Could there be a internal crack in the bowl that you can't see that may draining back into the main and be lowering the trap level? Are there any outward changes in the bowl level? Please keep me in the loop on this and be super careful using acid. Tom

Acid Washing is dangerous. You are very correct. Even though there is a large window in this RR and I put a fan in it to expel the fumes. I now realize that it was not too smart on my part. Taking it out is an easy step to avoid a rather gloomy outcome. I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your friend.

The water level in the bowl is consistent with the past, and the other toile described earlier.

I will respond to this posti after I uninstall the toilet and take a look at it.

One last question. Under the rim, should all of the holes be of the same size? I've noticed that one in the front and one in the back of the rim are larger. Is this to promote a swirl or to vent the surge of water entering the in-between space?

Kevin

The ring holes are there to start the swirl. The jet's there to start the siphon action. Set the bowl up on blocks and fill it with water. Let me know what you find. Good luck, Tom

Ok-
So the toilet was taken out of the bathroom and set on bricks. Filled the tank and the same thing happens during a flush cycle, bubbles come from the main jet. I looked closely under the rim and found 3-4 lines (2-3" long) where it looks like cracks may be in the glazing. They occur right where the rim meets back with the inside of the bowl. Could this be my problem? The other toilet in my house (like this one) doesn't have any cracks or defects under the rim.
In case this is my problem, I'll ask this question... Can I patch over these areas? Silicon/jb weld?
Thanks for your time!
Kevin

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kreipe

Ok-
So the toilet was taken out of the bathroom and set on bricks. Filled the tank and the same thing happens during a flush cycle, bubbles come from the main jet. I looked closely under the rim and found 3-4 lines (2-3" long) where it looks like cracks may be in the glazing. They occur right where the rim meets back with the inside of the bowl. Could this be my problem? The other toilet in my house (like this one) doesn't have any cracks or defects under the rim.
In case this is my problem, I'll ask this question... Can I patch over these areas? silicon/jb weld?
Thanks for your time!
Kevin

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I sure would try a patch on those cracks. The water rushing by could conceivably set up a vacume drawing air into the flush. Let me know. Regards, Tom

Kevin,
I had this problem in my house, the toilet sometimes would not siphon. I snaked the drain & checked the vent, checked the toilet, the siphon jet was strong, the rim jets were also strong it was driving me crazy. As it turns out my neighbors had the same problem, same toilet. I replaced the toilet & it never happened again. I told my neighbors & they also replaced the toilet & never happened again for them either. Change the toilet before it makes you go crazy...
John

Thank's for the support. I am almost at the point of getting a replacement toilet. Caulking under the rim will be my last stand. I'll probably move away from an AM Standard and toward a toto.