Toilet flushing problem

[wijcc]

I am having problems with a toilet, where I have to vigorously pump/turn the handle fast and many times before the toilet flashes, what could be causing this and how can i fix this please?
Thanks in advance for your help guys

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Very likely the diaphragm on the siphon has failed and needs replacing. It is very often much easier just to completely replace the siphon than the diaphragm.
The work required is very much the same and very little difference in material costs. Maybe £2.00 for diaphragm and £6.00 for siphon.

 

[terryplumb]

take pic of inside cistern ,particularly the siphon. some better quality siphons can be taken apart from inside the cistern to change diaphragm and takes ten minutes.if it is a close coupled WC ,and your siphon does have to come out , its a lot more time consuming and can be very awkward if the nuts and bolts that hold cistern to pan are corroded and will not come apart easily.

 

[wijcc]

Thanks guys... are all siphons the same size/fitting i.e. i can buy a new one without having to take out and compare size with the existing one?

 

[terryplumb]

no they are not ,some are round ,some rectangular and some smaller than others. if you have a very small cistern you need to match. if you have a large cistern you don't need to worry too much about it. the size of the threaded part of the siphon is standard.

 

[wijcc]

Thanks guys

 

[wijcc]

I managed to get the right part.. but have run into the problem of rusted nuts/bolts. I have to take the cistern/tank block off as it is attached to the toilet. I have tried spraying wd40 etc on it with no luck what else can i try?

 

[ianmcd]

and the public moan about how much plumbers charge per hour, welcome to their world

 

[terryplumb]

the thread does not look in too bad a condition , so with a suitable pair of grips and a liberal soaking of WD 40 it should undo. on some cisterns the head of the bolts are visible inside the cistern so you can try to loosen from above. others have the bolts concealed in between the cistern and the pan and are not visible .a last resort would be to use a hacksaw ,but its very awkward to do.

 

[wijcc]

thanks but one of the bolts, the whole bolt actually turns when i grip it and try to turn the butterfly nut. Would getting hold of a angle grinder make it a easier task. the toilet is in a small area so limited area to get hands in and saw backwards and forward?

 

[terryplumb]

is the head of the bolt accessible inside cistern ? I wouldnt fancy using angle grinder ,but if you are confident you can do it safely ,without damaging WC ,or yourself ,you could try.

 

[wijcc]

would trying a blow torch to heat the nut be safer or more likely to damage the toilet?

 

[HERTS P&D]

would trying a blow torch to heat the nut be safer or more likely to damage the toilet?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Use a small angle grinder with a 1mm cutting blade, I do it all the time.

Andy

 

[Madrab]

Or if you have a dremel, cut the wingnut off.

 

[Doggit]

would trying a blow torch to heat the nut be safer or more likely to damage the toilet?

You can do it with a good quality blowtorch, but not if the flame spreads too much; I've never brocken a cistern, but have had to resort to the angle grinder if it's been too rusted.

So does anyone know of after market brass fitting that can be used instead.