Replacing WC cistern innards
 

My fairly ancient cistern seems to have failed -
it only flushes when the water level is dangerously high.
This is a low-leve cistern, sitting on the toilet bowl.

I was wondering if there are any clever units now
which one can use as replacements?
(I don't really want to replace the whole unit.)

I'm thinking of something that has 2 (or more)
levels of flushing, to save water.

Also, can anyone point to simple d-i-y instructions
for replacing the inside unit?

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail (80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Timothy Murphy wrote:

My fairly ancient cistern seems to have failed -
it only flushes when the water level is dangerously high.
This is a low-leve cistern, sitting on the toilet bowl.

I was wondering if there are any clever units now
which one can use as replacements?
(I don't really want to replace the whole unit.)

I'm thinking of something that has 2 (or more)
levels of flushing, to save water.

Also, can anyone point to simple d-i-y instructions
for replacing the inside unit?

Sounds like you need a new syphon unit. Have a look at
http://tinyurl.com/crk4b which would probably do the job.

It simply connects to the big hole in the bottom of the cistern, using its
flange, rubber seal and nut - and the flushing mechanism connects to the
wire hook, so as to raise the piston when you operate the handle.

You will, of course, have to turn off the water, disconnect the cold feed
and overflow pipes and disconnect the cistern from the pan to fit it.

I'm not quite sure whether your cistern is close-coupled (i.e. sits directly
on top of the pan) or low-level (i.e. mounted a little way above the pan
with a J-shaped pipe connecting the cistern to the pan. Which is it -
because the detailed instructions are slightly different in the two cases?
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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Set Square wrote:

My fairly ancient cistern seems to have failed -
it only flushes when the water level is dangerously high.
This is a low-leve cistern, sitting on the toilet bowl.

I was wondering if there are any clever units now
which one can use as replacements?
(I don't really want to replace the whole unit.)

I'm thinking of something that has 2 (or more)
levels of flushing, to save water.

Sounds like you need a new syphon unit. Have a look at
http://tinyurl.com/crk4b which would probably do the job.

Thanks, that sounds interesting.
I don't think screwfix has yet reached Ireland,
but next time I am in the UK ...

I was a bit surprised at the small range offered - 6 to 9 litres.
I don't like to be crude, but I would have thought a poo
was worth at least twice as much water as a pee.


I'm not quite sure whether your cistern is close-coupled (i.e. sits
directly on top of the pan) or low-level (i.e. mounted a little way above
the pan with a J-shaped pipe connecting the cistern to the pan. Which is
it - because the detailed instructions are slightly different in the two
cases?

It's close-coupled.
I was wondering if one had to remove the cistern in this case.

Actually, I have got the toiled working -
the overflow was not connected - just an open hole in the cistern.
I've sealed this, and bent the float arm
to let the water rise higher,
and all is working fine again.


--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail (80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 15:51:37 +0100, Timothy Murphy
wrote:

Set Square wrote:

My fairly ancient cistern seems to have failed -
it only flushes when the water level is dangerously high.
This is a low-leve cistern, sitting on the toilet bowl.

I was wondering if there are any clever units now
which one can use as replacements?
(I don't really want to replace the whole unit.)

I'm thinking of something that has 2 (or more)
levels of flushing, to save water.

Sounds like you need a new syphon unit. Have a look at
http://tinyurl.com/crk4b which would probably do the job.

Thanks, that sounds interesting.
I don't think screwfix has yet reached Ireland,
but next time I am in the UK ...

I was a bit surprised at the small range offered - 6 to 9 litres.
I don't like to be crude, but I would have thought a poo
was worth at least twice as much water as a pee.


I'm not quite sure whether your cistern is close-coupled (i.e. sits
directly on top of the pan) or low-level (i.e. mounted a little way above
the pan with a J-shaped pipe connecting the cistern to the pan. Which is
it - because the detailed instructions are slightly different in the two
cases?

It's close-coupled.
I was wondering if one had to remove the cistern in this case.

Actually, I have got the toiled working -
the overflow was not connected - just an open hole in the cistern.
I've sealed this, and bent the float arm
to let the water rise higher,
and all is working fine again.


The overflow not being connected wouldnt have contributed to your
problem..
I thought you said it only flushed when the water was dangerously high
but now you have bent the float arm to raise the level.????

Stuart




--

Shift THELEVER to reply.

There are instructions here on how to change the syphon on a close coupled toilet. I did this for the first time last year following the advice from this site. It could be made better with more pictures though!

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/toilets.htm

Stuart wrote:

Actually, I have got the toilet working -
the overflow was not connected - just an open hole in the cistern.
I've sealed this, and bent the float arm
to let the water rise higher,
and all is working fine again.


The overflow not being connected wouldnt have contributed to your
problem..
I thought you said it only flushed when the water was dangerously high
but now you have bent the float arm to raise the level.????

I didn't explain myself well.
There is no overflow attached to the cistern,
leaving a hole in the side of the cistern where the overflow should be.
I sealed this hole, allowing the water to rise higher.

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail (80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland