[r2traps]

Hi everyone,

After I flush my toilet, the water starts filling the tank, but goes past the desired fill line and all the way up to the overflow tube, making the toilet run constantly. After reading one of speedball's old replies, I tested the ballcock arm. I am able to lift the ball float arm all the way up, and this stops the water entering the tank. Since the problem is not the ballcock, I tried bending the arm downwards in small increments, hoping to find the perfect bend to make the water stop at the fill line. Well I bent it quite a bit, and now the ball float gets in the way of the flush valve flapper, not allowing the flapper to close after the toilet is flushed. Right now I'm stumped so any help would be appreciated!

[ballengerb1]

You bent the arm a bit too far but bending the arm has been the fix for many a DIY starters. Inbend the arm about half way back to where it was. Did you notice a screw on top of your ballcock? Try tightening the screw in half turn increments. That should adjust your float more precisely than bending the arm.

[r2traps]

Thanks for the response ballengerb1. A bit more background info, I bought the entire toilet (bowl, tank, flush/fill valve) together, as it was a special price for a floor display model. I have no clue what make the flush and fill valve are.

I tried adjusting the screw/arm for a long time and could never get it to make that extra push. I've concluded that the overflow tube that came with the flush valve is much too short, as it didn't allow the water in the tank to fill high enough to make the ball float reach the desired height.

With this is mind I had two possible solutions: a) change the overflow tube or b) change the fill valve to a newer style. I went to Home Depot and bought a fluidmaster overflow tube and a fluidmaster anti-siphon fill valve as back up.

Emptied and disconnected everything and tried like hell to unscrew the overflow tube. Wouldn't budge, and I didn't want to force it enough that it would snap. I took a pic of the current overflow tube, along with the fluidmaster overflow tube (just sitting in the tank) to show the big difference in height. See "photo 9"


So I went to plan B and replaced the ballcock with the anti-siphon fill valve, which is very handy as you can adjust the height accordingly. Now everything works fine, however the water level in the toilet seems a little low. Tried doing some research on the subject but came up with conflicting reports. Not sure if the water level is fine or not, so I've attached a photo (Photo 7). Can someone take a look and let me know if the water level in the bowl is too low? If so, I will probably have to change the flush valve/overflow tube so that the overflow tube is more standard size (taller).

[ballengerb1]

Looks like a Fluidmaster 400A Fluidmaster | Products | Fill Valves - Anti-Siphon Fill Valve (400A) Good choice, I can't be sure from your pic but the water does look a bit low. You can adjust the Fluidmaster by pinching the silver metal clip on the rod that goes to the float. Move the clip up to get more water or move it down the have less water. Almost forgot the instructions for the FM 400 http://www.fluidmaster.com/pdf/400a_instructions.pdf

[r2traps]

I actually have the 400AC, which is an international model as I'm in Canada. I think the only difference is that the rod you were referencing is actually plastic and can be controlled by a plastic screw at the top of the rod. That being said, I can't adjust the rod to allow more water because the water level in the tank is already very close to the top of the overflow tube. Of course, the tank water level can not go any higher than the overflow tube. This is why I think I may need to change the flush valve/overflow flow tube. Will having too little water in the bowl cause any problems in the future?

[KISS]

I agree. The overflow tube is too sort. Usually toilets have the fill line marked as such "Fill line". It looks like the tank is lines to prevent sweating and the level should be no more than the top of the styrofoam.

Not having an adequate amount of water means flushes will not be strong enough and you will likely have to plunge more often.

[ballengerb1]

This toilet arrived as a unit and there should not be a need to change out an over flow tube factory installed. The water level should be 1/2" below the top edge of the over flow tube. Are you just not getting a satisfactory flush with this much water?

[r2traps]

I've decided to keep the toilet as is. The toilet flushes fine and I think the water level is fine as well. Thanks for all the help!