Toilet - Fluidmaster Pro fitting terrible

[jmkgreen]

Hi,

Got a Fluidmaster Pro to replace and old ball cock thing with a leaky valve. Trouble is the inlet hole is at the bottom in the corner and quite frankly the fit is terrible and leaks water like crazy even when hand-tight.

The instructions say (in bold) not to use any plumbers putty. I had to remove a large amount of the stuff from the old installation (the stuff is a nightmare to remove). The inside is now relatively smooth for the sealing washer but the unit fits at a bit of an angle when tight and has quite an uneven gap between cistern and "self-centering back nut".

So what's the trick here? Additional rubber seals or something?

 

[kidgreen61]

If, when you fit the fluidmaster in your cistern, the valve is forced on to the side of the cistern, it will not seal correctly at the bottom.

i
In that case you will need a different type of valve that will fit.

By all means use a smear of silicone on the rubber seal, just don't get any in the valve.

 

[jmkgreen]

OK I have it fitted just about as good as the old ball cock was fitted but without the large amount of plumbers putty.

It leaks between the centering nut as the sealing valve just as before.

I've looked and the old and new units appear pretty identical in size and shape so I doubt the Fluidmaster is just not suitable for the space.

Any ideas why the instructions say not to use plumber's putty? Is there something else a plumber would use instead? This is frustrating!

 

[TicklyT]

It is far from unknown for ceramic products to distort during firing when made, and the quality control from some manufacturers seems to leave 'a little to be desired' !

If the hole the valve assembly fits through is seriously out of round or at an angle I would consider building up the problem area with an epoxy repair putty and re- finishing the hole and faces once it has cured before re-fitting the valve.

The plasticisers present in plumbers' mait may eventually leech into other plastics in fittings and cause premature failure.