removing a Macdee Kalya siphon

[ashdale]

My upstairs lavatory is continually flushing. It's a dual flush cable operated one with (according to the bathroom installer's invoice of two years ago) a Macdee Kayla flush unit. I understand that to remove the siphon and clean the sealing washer, I have to turn it an eighth of a turn and lift. My first picture shows that I have no visual access to the siphon and am going entirely by feel.

I've turned it anticlockwise by about an eighth turn and it won't lift nor will it turn any more. My other two pictures show the original position and the final position. There's no point between these two where the siphon allows me to lift it up.

I don't know (and I certainly can't see) what's preventing the siphon from lifting. Do I try and force it round more in the anticlockwise direction? If I do use force, what am I in danger of breaking, the siphon or the base? If the siphon, I can get a new one mail order for about £15-20 quid and there's no problem. If the base, then that's a cistern-out job involving dismantling the casing round the loo, which hopefully isn't glued together.

Help please....

Untitled

• ashdale
• 13 Dec 2013
• 1

Untitled

• ashdale
• 13 Dec 2013
• 1

Untitled

• ashdale
• 13 Dec 2013
• 1

 

[ashdale]

Right I've moved on a bit. By turning it CLOCKWISE (forcing it a bit more) I found a lifting position and the siphon came out. I wiped the seal dry but it wasn't dirty. There's no way that I could reach whatever the seal pushes against--my arms are normal length!

It took me quarter of an hour to get the siphon back (working just by feel) but once it was in, I turned it fully anticlockwise, which I now deduce is the home position. I did a flush and heard the cistern filling up. Just when I thought it was all OK, as the water started slowing down to a trickle, water began coming down the flush pipe into the loo. I've repeated this several times with the same result.

Could it be that the cable is faulty and its rest position is now holding the plunger up allowing water to seep past? (I had it hanging free from the chrome push button during this test and used a pencil to do the action)

 

[ashdale]

All sorted, finally!!!! After Xmas I took the siphon unit out again and found it wasn't the cable that was sticking, it was the plunger itself. It wouldn't drop to the extent that it would when I pulled on it manually. So I flushed the whole thing through under the mains tap, checked with my finger that the plunger was now dropping fully, reinstalled it, and ho, ho ho, all was well again.

Perhaps the fault was caused by some limescale (this is a very hard water area) that had got caught up in the sliding path inside the cylinder. Anyway, it's a relief to get it fixed/