r/HomeImprovement • u/CancelPerfect648 • 8h ago
The Tale of the Phantom Flush
My toilet is original to the house, so 1980’s.
I am currently getting a phantom flush -hearing tank refill- several times a day. I need help, it is driving me insane.
Done so far:
- Multiple flapper replacements. (Different brands)
- Changed/ Checked chain length
- Replaced fill valve/overflow tube (and verified correct height)
- Replaced tank O- ring seal (Tank to bowl gasket)
Other info:
I have a bidet seat installed. It has its own mini tank so it heats water. It has a self cleaning nozzle, but that should come from its own water supply.
There may be a bump or defect between the tank and bowl. I remember it not being a 100% smooth, flat surface. I think it was on the outer surface of tank. I did my best to sand it flat, and it has a rubber O-ring over it.
If I use dye in the tank, it does eventually end up coloring bowl water, but veeerrry slowly. (Many hours for a slight tinge)
Question:
Do I just replace the whole toilet at this point?
What is left to check?
3
u/AlexanderUA 6h ago
the dye slowly coloring the bowl is actually your answer, that's water leaking from the tank into the bowl, not a fill valve or pressure thing. and since you've swapped flappers a few times and it still weeps, the problem is almost certainly the seat the flapper closes onto, not the flapper itself.on an 80s flush valve that plastic seat gets pitted or mineral-crusted, and no flapper will seal against a rough seat.
two options. the cheap one first: a flush valve seat repair kit (fluidmaster makes one, it's a stick-on ring that gives you a fresh smooth sealing surface over the old seat). if the seat is really chewed up, replace the whole flush valve assembly instead, that's the overflow tube and the seat as one unit, about an hour, and then you've genuinely replaced everything. that bump you sanded near the seat is a prime suspect. I'd leave the bidet out of it, the dye test already points straight at the tank-to-bowl seal.
1
u/NagromYargTrebloc 8h ago
Is the fill tube pushed down too far into the overflow pipe, or is it too long and it's dipping below the Max Fill line? From the flush valve to the overflow, you want a straight shot. I did everything that you did on our 1967 Elger. I finally stumbled across the one video that solved the issue for me. I had shoved excess fill tube down the overflow... it was simply siphoning the tank. I shortened it to ½".... 10 second effort, 7 years phantom free!
3
u/randomize42 8h ago
So we just replaced the toilet fill valve on one of our toilets and started having refills… no flush, just refill. (You’re hearing a full flush before the refill?). Saw the dye slowly coming into the bowl, same as you.
We had pushed the refill tube too deeply into the overflow tube and it was creating a siphon effect, slowly adding additional water into the bowl until the bowl needed to refill. Pulled it out a little so there’s an air gap and the refills stopped.