Lavatory cistern/valves etc

[Roger465]

This lavatory has been here since the house was built 30 years ago, but I’ve only been here a few years, and am gradually repairing/replacing things.

As you can see, the inside of this cistern is filthy, and my efforts to clean it have failed. It works OK, but I think it smells a bit…

Anyway, do the flush and fill valves look like modern items to you, so I’d be able to pop down to SF and buy more or less identical replacements?

Plumbing is my Achilles’ Heel, but hopefully not too much can go wrong if I were just to replace the fill valve/ballcock.

The flush mechanism is a different matter – I’ve replaced several over the years, and had a lot of difficulty getting them to seal with the bowl, and have had to resort to silicone, which I hate doing. Maybe there are different sizes of the big rubber doughnut, and I’ve got the wrong ones when doing it?

Finally, there is a crack down the right hand side of the cistern, which has been filled with something, I guess many years ago. It doesn't seem to leak, but I wonder about replacing the cistern… can you do that, or can you only buy whole lavatories? The way the floor was made in this place, I’d never get one which would fit with the tiling…

Any advice appreciated

 

[terryplumb]

The bottom entry float valve can easily be replaced.
The flush valve replacement requires the cistern to be removed.
Can't make out the crack you referred to.
Finding a suitable cistern replacement to match the pan may be a challenge !

 

[Roger465]

The bottom entry float valve can easily be replaced.
The flush valve replacement requires the cistern to be removed.
Can't make out the crack you referred to.
Finding a suitable cistern replacement to match the pan may be a challenge !

Thanks Terry. Yes if nothing went wrong I guess I could manage the float valve - think this one looks a bit like one I used in previous houses, from SF...

The crack is behind the wodge of plumber's mate or whatever it is at the top right of the last photo, running down the side of the cistern there.

I guess you either (a) can't buy cisterns separately, and/or (b) they aren't interchangeable?

 

[CountryFan]

I guess you either (a) can't buy cisterns separately, and/or (b) they aren't interchangeable?

You can buy cisterns separately, but it's not easy and not always compatible