Water inlet to cistern leaking

[cegueira]

Hi, I discovered a leak from a nut that connects the stop valve to the plastic section of the water inlet to the cistern of my downstairs toilet.

The arrow in the first image shows where there was a lot of PTFE tape, there was also some on the plastic thread.

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• cegueira
• 9 Jul 2014
• 1

The arrow in the second image points to where I believe the water is leaking from.

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• cegueira
• 9 Jul 2014
• 1

There was no washer, is it just a case of getting a washer? If so how do I find out what size I need and what material it should be made from.

Thanks

 

[Steady]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fibre-Was...DIY_Materials_Plumbing_MJ&hash=item3a7e37c4e4

 

[cegueira]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fibre-Washers-1-2-to-Fit-15mm-Tap-Connector-per-10-Red-Washer-/251225687268?pt=UK_DIY_Materials_Plumbing_MJ&hash=item3a7e37c4e4

Thanks, I have put a 1/2" fibre washer in the correct place but water is still leaking from the same place (in the second picture).

EDIT: It doesn't seem to leak when the water is flowing slowly but as soon as the pressure goes up it starts leaking again.

 

[kidgreen61]

Be aware that those service valves sometimes leak from where the spigot of the connector is screwed into the body of the valve.

 

[Whitespirit66]

I has one the other day that just wouldn't seal and I was scratching my head. Turned out the plastic thread of the ball valve had a crack in it.

 

[Terry7556]

if you go to the screwfix website and look for fliudmaster inlet valve with brass shank.
purchase one , fit it and you will not have a leak like now where the plastic of your inlet valve meets the thread on your isolation valve

 

[cegueira]

I has one the other day that just wouldn't seal and I was scratching my head. Turned out the plastic thread of the ball valve had a crack in it.

I have had as good a look as I can and i'm pretty sure there's no crack.

if you go to the screwfix website and look for fliudmaster inlet valve with brass shank.
purchase one , fit it and you will not have a leak like now where the plastic of your inlet valve meets the thread on your isolation valve

Do you mean this one (excuse the cached link, screwfix is down for maintenance):
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...47792+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=ubuntu

I'm currently leaving it with the service valve off with a fibre washer in place to see if it will seal itself. I will also soak an extra washer overnight.

I think the only other thing I can try is to wrap the spigot in PTFE.

I'm slightly worried about the service valve as I'm damaging the flat head slot slightly every time I turn it. It seems as if the screw is made of plastic!

 

[Steady]

You sure the threads aren't damaged on the inlet valve? Can happen If the nut has been overtightened or slightly cross threaded at some point.
Does the copper pipe pull up enough to fully tighten the nut onto the threads-even 1mm short and this can happen.
You could try a fibre washer AND a bit of ptfe.
Otherwise would fit a new float valve -Fluidmaster type as suggested- and a new service valve or flexi tap connector if you want to take the easy option.

 

[cegueira]

You sure the threads aren't damaged on the inlet valve? Can happen If the nut has been overtightened or slightly cross threaded at some point.
Does the copper pipe pull up enough to fully tighten the nut onto the threads-even 1mm short and this can happen.
You could try a fibre washer AND a bit of ptfe.
Otherwise would fit a new float valve -Fluidmaster type as suggested- and a new service valve or flexi tap connector if you want to take the easy option.

Will have a further check tomorrow. I think I can replace the float valve but I have no experience replacing service valves so wouldn't really know what I was doing. I have noticed that the toilet upstairs has a flexi hose connector.

So if I was feeling really brave I guess I would cut the pipe so the end was closer to the floor, add a service valve (with a tap) and then, through a flexi hose, connect to a new float valve that I will have installed in the cistern!

 

[buck51]

You should not be soaking the fibre washers, fit them dry, and another thing you should check is that there is no remnants of an old washer behind the flange where the washer sits.

 

[mogget]

+1 for the brass shank Fluidmaster idea. I find that (chromed) brass service valves really don't like to seal with plastic shanks, they're a pain to get right. There's a very thin line between doing them up enough, and doing them up so much that it strips the thread.

 

[cegueira]

Well I've had another full check. The leak is definitely not coming from the plastic thread. I wrapped some tissue around that and then some more underneath the nut. It was the lower piece of paper that got wet.

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• cegueira
• 10 Jul 2014
• 1

Above is a picture of the flexi hose used for the toilet upstairs. I would like to connect the downstairs toilet in a similar way, albeit with a new fluidmaster valve.

So the Screwfix shopping list is:

Pipe cutter
Fluidmaster valve with brass shank
Some sort of flexi hose, possibly with an isolator valve integrated to fit onto the cut pipe.
(The distance between where I would cut the pipe to the bottom of the current shank is < 30cm).

Would I need to smooth the pipe after it's been cut?

 

[cegueira]

Could anyone point out any glaring errors in this shopping list to fix? (thanks)

Automatic pipe cutter
Fluidmaster Brass Shank Bottom Entry Fill Valve
Flex Tap Connector Valve 15mm x ½"
Some copper olives

The plan is to cut the copper pipe lower down, fit the flex connector, fit the fill valve and then connect it to the flex connector.

 

[mogget]

Sounds about right - have you got a couple of adjustable spanners to do the compression fitting up? Also a little tip - don't overtighten comp joints, they don't need all your strength.

 

[cegueira]

Sounds about right - have you got a couple of adjustable spanners to do the compression fitting up? Also a little tip - don't overtighten comp joints, they don't need all your strength.

I've got a couple and also some groove joint pliers.