Mudderoy
11-09-2009, 09:48 AM
After 12 years in our "new" house, it is beginning to show signs of wear.
I was using the bathroom Friday evening and I heard a drip drip drip, and it wasn't me! :shocker:
The drip was coming from the valve on the pipe sticking out of the back wall. A metal flexible line runs from this pipe and valve to the filler portion of the toilet tank.
I felt for water from the drip point up the flexible metal hose. Yep it's wet on the metal hose so I must need to tighten up the big plastic nut that holds that "water filling" part I replaced about a month ago.
So I drained the tank and shut off the water at the valve. Yep, drip stopped.
I came back later to have a look, prior to getting the wrench to tighten things up.
I turned the water back on, and this time I heard a little hissing noise. I felt around and the silly flexible metal tube has a pin hole leak!
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/toiletdrip3.jpg
Tightening isn't going to fix this. So without a clue, measurements, or a picture I take off to Home Depot. I figured "how many flexible tubes for toilets can there be?" BUZZ! Wrong!
I got one using my keen sense of mental imagery, and yes, got it wrong.
Taking the 12" hose back to the house and comparing it to what is connecting the toilet to the water supply well it ain't anywhere the same.
Best I can figure I'll have to replace everything that screws on to the water pipe. The water cutoff valve and the hose that runs to the tank.
So this evening I'll be taking a couple of measurements, taking a few cell phone pictures and heading back to Home Depot.
After picking up the parts a Home Depot...
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/toiletdrip4.jpg
I went into the garage and turned off the water.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/toiletdrip1.jpg
To my surprise the water continued to flow until I thought about it and then double checked my suspicions. Yep warm water. The water was still draining from the water heater. I opened up a couple of faucets in the bathroom and let things drain awhile.
Unfortunately the hose that was leaking was fitted to the valve. This meant replacing the water cut off valve at the toilet and the hose. The good news is the next time this happened all I would have to change is the hose.
I went ahead and spent a couple extra bucks to get a 1/4 turn cut off valve. No twisting and twisting, just 90 degrees and the water is off to the toilet.
I got my favorite wrench...
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/toiletdrip2.jpg
And a pair of adjustable hose pliers and removed the hose from the the tank and then removed the valve from the pipe.
This is a pressure fitting on copper pipe. I was lazy so I just reused the cap and pressure sleeve from the old valve.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/toiletdrip5.jpg
Everyone was gone while I was doing this so I crossed my fingers when I turned the water back on from the garage. I hurried back to make sure I didn't have a huge leak. Nope everything was fine. I had left the valve at the tank turned off. When I turned it back on there was a leak from the bottom of the new hose. I had not tightened it all the way. So I did that and I was all done.
I had originally thought that this 1/2 pipe sticking out of the wall had threads on the end. It wasn't until I took off the old valve that I found it was a pressure fitted valve. I learned while at home depot that if it is a copper pipe it is a pressure fitted connection. I think this is due to the copper being very soft. Steel pipe would be threaded.
All in all I made 3 trips to Home Depot before I got the right parts. The best thing to do is to remove the offending parts and take them with you.
I was using the bathroom Friday evening and I heard a drip drip drip, and it wasn't me! :shocker:
The drip was coming from the valve on the pipe sticking out of the back wall. A metal flexible line runs from this pipe and valve to the filler portion of the toilet tank.
I felt for water from the drip point up the flexible metal hose. Yep it's wet on the metal hose so I must need to tighten up the big plastic nut that holds that "water filling" part I replaced about a month ago.
So I drained the tank and shut off the water at the valve. Yep, drip stopped.
I came back later to have a look, prior to getting the wrench to tighten things up.
I turned the water back on, and this time I heard a little hissing noise. I felt around and the silly flexible metal tube has a pin hole leak!
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/toiletdrip3.jpg
Tightening isn't going to fix this. So without a clue, measurements, or a picture I take off to Home Depot. I figured "how many flexible tubes for toilets can there be?" BUZZ! Wrong!
I got one using my keen sense of mental imagery, and yes, got it wrong.
Taking the 12" hose back to the house and comparing it to what is connecting the toilet to the water supply well it ain't anywhere the same.
Best I can figure I'll have to replace everything that screws on to the water pipe. The water cutoff valve and the hose that runs to the tank.
So this evening I'll be taking a couple of measurements, taking a few cell phone pictures and heading back to Home Depot.
After picking up the parts a Home Depot...
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/toiletdrip4.jpg
I went into the garage and turned off the water.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/toiletdrip1.jpg
To my surprise the water continued to flow until I thought about it and then double checked my suspicions. Yep warm water. The water was still draining from the water heater. I opened up a couple of faucets in the bathroom and let things drain awhile.
Unfortunately the hose that was leaking was fitted to the valve. This meant replacing the water cut off valve at the toilet and the hose. The good news is the next time this happened all I would have to change is the hose.
I went ahead and spent a couple extra bucks to get a 1/4 turn cut off valve. No twisting and twisting, just 90 degrees and the water is off to the toilet.
I got my favorite wrench...
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/toiletdrip2.jpg
And a pair of adjustable hose pliers and removed the hose from the the tank and then removed the valve from the pipe.
This is a pressure fitting on copper pipe. I was lazy so I just reused the cap and pressure sleeve from the old valve.
http://xjtalk.com/images/special/toiletdrip5.jpg
Everyone was gone while I was doing this so I crossed my fingers when I turned the water back on from the garage. I hurried back to make sure I didn't have a huge leak. Nope everything was fine. I had left the valve at the tank turned off. When I turned it back on there was a leak from the bottom of the new hose. I had not tightened it all the way. So I did that and I was all done.
I had originally thought that this 1/2 pipe sticking out of the wall had threads on the end. It wasn't until I took off the old valve that I found it was a pressure fitted valve. I learned while at home depot that if it is a copper pipe it is a pressure fitted connection. I think this is due to the copper being very soft. Steel pipe would be threaded.
All in all I made 3 trips to Home Depot before I got the right parts. The best thing to do is to remove the offending parts and take them with you.