Over the past few days one of my toilets had been giving me a bit of
trouble.

Normally I could just push the handle down and let go. The flap would
stay up until the tank was empty and I would get a complete flush.

Recently I found that the flap was dropping down too soon (almost
immediately) so the toilet wouldn't flush. I had to hold the handle
down for a little while so the flap would stay up and give me a full
flush - not the whole time it took to empty the tank, but longer than
just a single "push and let go."

This morning I shortened the plastic chain by a couple of links and
it's back to flushing with a quick push of the handle.

I checked the plastic rod from the handle - it's straight and tight -
and the handle isn't tilted in any way. As far as I can tell nothing
has changed in the many years since the guts were installed, yet for
some reason I had to shorten the chain to get the flap to stay up.

Any thoughts?

DerbyDad03 wrote:
....
I checked the plastic rod from the handle - it's straight and tight -
and the handle isn't tilted in any way. As far as I can tell nothing
has changed in the many years since the guts were installed, yet for
some reason I had to shorten the chain to get the flap to stay up.
....

Rubber in the flapper stretched/deformed w/ time so in effect the chain
had become longer.

--

On Jan 23, 9:38*am, dpb wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

... I checked the plastic rod from the handle - it's straight and tight -
and the handle isn't tilted in any way. As far as I can tell nothing
has changed in the many years since the guts were installed, yet for
some reason I had to shorten the chain to get the flap to stay up.

...

Rubber in the flapper stretched/deformed w/ time so in effect the chain
had become longer.

--

In that case, I better keep a close eye on things. If that keeps
happening I'm going to run out of chain in 100 years or so.

DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Jan 23, 9:38 am, dpb wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

... I checked the plastic rod from the handle - it's straight and tight -
and the handle isn't tilted in any way. As far as I can tell nothing
has changed in the many years since the guts were installed, yet for
some reason I had to shorten the chain to get the flap to stay up.
...

Rubber in the flapper stretched/deformed w/ time so in effect the chain
had become longer.

--

In that case, I better keep a close eye on things. If that keeps
happening I'm going to run out of chain in 100 years or so.

You know what Twain said about the length of the Mississippi don't
you???

In reality, the symptoms are probably a combination of the deformation
of the flapper and changes in it's hardness, some increase in weight due
to collected sedimentation/lime deposits, etc., and a multitude of other
small, individually, effects.

--

On Jan 23, 10:06*am, dpb wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Jan 23, 9:38 am, dpb wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

... I checked the plastic rod from the handle - it's straight and tight -
and the handle isn't tilted in any way. As far as I can tell nothing
has changed in the many years since the guts were installed, yet for
some reason I had to shorten the chain to get the flap to stay up.
...

Rubber in the flapper stretched/deformed w/ time so in effect the chain
had become longer.

--

In that case, I better keep a close eye on things. If that keeps
happening I'm going to run out of chain in 100 years or so.

You know what Twain said about the length of the Mississippi don't
you??? *

In reality, the symptoms are probably a combination of the deformation
of the flapper and changes in it's hardness, some increase in weight due
to collected sedimentation/lime deposits, etc., and a multitude of other
small, individually, effects.

--- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Try this on your friends, especially the younger ones:

Ask them: Can you spell Mississippi without any i's?

After they struggle through M...ss..ss etc, put your hand over your
eyes and spell Mississippi.

On Jan 23, 9:29*am, DerbyDad03 wrote:

snip

Try this on your friends, especially the younger ones:

Ask them: Can you spell Mississippi without any i's?

After they struggle through M...ss..ss etc, put your hand over your
eyes and spell Mississippi.

groan

Joe

In article
,
DerbyDad03 wrote:

Over the past few days one of my toilets had been giving me a bit of
trouble.

Normally I could just push the handle down and let go. The flap would
stay up until the tank was empty and I would get a complete flush.

Recently I found that the flap was dropping down too soon (almost
immediately) so the toilet wouldn't flush. I had to hold the handle
down for a little while so the flap would stay up and give me a full
flush - not the whole time it took to empty the tank, but longer than
just a single "push and let go."

This morning I shortened the plastic chain by a couple of links and
it's back to flushing with a quick push of the handle.

I checked the plastic rod from the handle - it's straight and tight -
and the handle isn't tilted in any way. As far as I can tell nothing
has changed in the many years since the guts were installed, yet for
some reason I had to shorten the chain to get the flap to stay up.

Any thoughts?

The porcelain god is a mysterious entity, understood by few mortals. You
must become one with it by kneeling before it in meditative prayer twice
daily for six hours, with your head submerged.

The handle rotated CCW when someone flushed it aggressively.

In article , DerbyDad03 wrote:
Try this on your friends, especially the younger ones:

Ask them: Can you spell Mississippi without any i's?

If they're actually *from* Mississippi, they certainly can:

Ayumm, ahhh, ayess, ayess, ahhh ...

On Jan 23, 11:48*am, Smitty Two wrote:
In article
,





*DerbyDad03 wrote:
Over the past few days one of my toilets had been giving me a bit of
trouble.

Normally I could just push the handle down and let go. The flap would
stay up until the tank was empty and I would get a complete flush.

Recently I found that the flap was dropping down too soon (almost
immediately) so the toilet wouldn't flush. I had to hold the handle
down for a little while so the flap would stay up and give me a full
flush - not the whole time it took to empty the tank, but longer than
just a single "push and let go."

This morning I shortened the plastic chain by a couple of links and
it's back to flushing with a quick push of the handle.

I checked the plastic rod from the handle - it's straight and tight -
and the handle isn't tilted in any way. As far as I can tell nothing
has changed in the many years since the guts were installed, yet for
some reason I had to shorten the chain to get the flap to stay up.

Any thoughts?

The porcelain god is a mysterious entity, understood by few mortals. You
must become one with it by kneeling before it in meditative prayer twice
daily for six hours, with your head submerged.

The handle rotated CCW when someone flushed it aggressively.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Oh, trust me...I've spent my share of time praying to the porcelain
gods.

The handle rotated CCW when someone flushed it aggressively

Nope, the handle and chain rod are as level as always, all connections
are tight, etc. I half expected to find the rod angled downward or the
mounting nut loose thus putting slack in the chain but that's not the
case.

I'm going with the weak rubber theory. A weak rubber can cause all
sorts of problems.

On 1/23/2009 6:16 AM DerbyDad03 spake thus:

Over the past few days one of my toilets had been giving me a bit of
trouble.

Normally I could just push the handle down and let go. The flap would
stay up until the tank was empty and I would get a complete flush.

Recently I found that the flap was dropping down too soon (almost
immediately) so the toilet wouldn't flush. I had to hold the handle
down for a little while so the flap would stay up and give me a full
flush - not the whole time it took to empty the tank, but longer than
just a single "push and let go."

[...]

Any thoughts?

Yes. My present toilet has always worked that way. Rather than even
bother to open the lid and look inside, I've chosen to treat this as a
feature rather than a bug; I can regulate the length of the flush by how
long I hold the handle down (so long for #1, longer for #2, etc.). A
true variable-flush commode.


--
"I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon."

- Former President Gerald Ford to his golf partners, as related by
the late Hunter S. Thompson

"DerbyDad03" wrote:
I checked the plastic rod from the handle - it's straight and tight -
and the handle isn't tilted in any way. As far as I can tell nothing
has changed in the many years since the guts were installed, yet for
some reason I had to shorten the chain to get the flap to stay up.

Any thoughts?

You know that little guy in the boat inside of your toilet tank?

Sometimes he gets bored and tinkers with stuff.

Jon

On Jan 23, 3:42*pm, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
"DerbyDad03" wrote:
I checked the plastic rod from the handle - it's straight and tight -
and the handle isn't tilted in any way. As far as I can tell nothing
has changed in the many years since the guts were installed, yet for
some reason I had to shorten the chain to get the flap to stay up.

Any thoughts?

You know that little guy in the boat inside of your toilet tank?

Sometimes he gets bored and tinkers with stuff.

Jon

I don't have a little guy in a boat inside my tank. The last time I
had the tank open I capsized the boat and held the little guy under
the water until the bubbles stopped. Luckily he was small enough to
flush.

The boat makes a nice tray for jelly beans.

On Jan 23, 2:28*pm, David Nebenzahl wrote:

Yes. My present toilet has always worked that way. Rather than even
bother to open the lid and look inside, I've chosen to treat this as a
feature rather than a bug; I can regulate the length of the flush by how
long I hold the handle down (so long for #1, longer for #2, etc.). A
true variable-flush commode.


I just replaced both my screwed up Al Gore toilets with Toto brand
toilets. The tank-to-bowl opening (plus flapper) is twice the area of
the removed ones. The tank empties in about 2 seconds. With the
water moving that fast, it sucks the flapper right back down if you
don't hold the handle. But that is a very minor inconvience for a
flush that works with the force of a garden hose.

Red

On Jan 23, 8:16*am, DerbyDad03 wrote:
Over the past few days one of my toilets had been giving me a bit of
trouble.

Normally I could just push the handle down and let go. The flap would
stay up until the tank was empty and I would get a complete flush.

Recently I found that the flap was dropping down too soon (almost
immediately) so the toilet wouldn't flush. I had to hold the handle
down for a little while so the flap would stay up and give me a full
flush - not the whole time it took to empty the tank, but longer than
just a single "push and let go."

This morning I shortened the plastic chain by a couple of links and
it's back to flushing with a quick push of the handle.

I checked the plastic rod from the handle - it's straight and tight -
and the handle isn't tilted in any way. As far as I can tell nothing
has changed in the many years since the guts were installed, yet for
some reason I had to shorten the chain to get the flap to stay up.

Any thoughts?

Remove the flapper you dont need it, put in a clapper

On Jan 23, 8:34�pm, Red wrote:
On Jan 23, 2:28�pm, David Nebenzahl wrote:



Yes. My present toilet has always worked that way. Rather than even
bother to open the lid and look inside, I've chosen to treat this as a
feature rather than a bug; I can regulate the length of the flush by how
long I hold the handle down (so long for #1, longer for #2, etc.). A
true variable-flush commode.

I just replaced both my screwed up Al Gore toilets with Toto brand
toilets. �The tank-to-bowl opening (plus flapper) is twice the area of
the removed ones. �The tank empties in about 2 seconds. �With the
water moving that fast, it sucks the flapper right back down if you
don't hold the handle. �But that is a very minor inconvience for a
flush that works with the force of a garden hose.

Red

so you enjoy the noise of the totos jet takeoff?

not bad if you live alone, horrible if you have a 3 year old...