Help! My ballcock is leaking!
Toilets can leak for a variety of reasons and nothing can be more annoying than a toilet that runs forever. The first step to solving any problem is to determine what the problem really is. In this case, your toilet is running, and it runs forever! This much is obvious, but we need to know specifically what it is that is leaking.
In order to find out what the problem is we need to take off the top cover of the toilet’s tank. Once removed we can start investigating.
Determining the problem:
- Lift up on the float, the big black ball, if the water stops flowing then a simple adjustment to the ballcock will fix your problem. Simply turn the thumb screw on top of the ballcock clockwise.
- If you lift up on the float and the water stops, but then continues flowing after a while while you hold the float up then your flapper may need to be replaced.
- If you lift the float up as far as you can without breaking things and the water is still running then the culprit is likely the ballcock and it will need to be replaced. Continue reading for more information.
9 Step to replace your ballcock
Measure the height of your current ballcock and with this information take a trip to your hardware store. Ballcocks come in two varieties, normal and anti-siphon. An anti-siphon ballcock is a couple dollars more expensive, it prevents the tank water from being siphoned back into your water supply. It also help prevent leaks in low pressure situations. There is no need to buy a complete toilet kit, all we need is the ballcock.
With your new ballcock in hand turn off the water supply valve to the toilet. The valve is generally behind the toilet on the left. Turn the know clockwise until it is completely shut off. Once the water is off, give the toilet a flush. No new water should flow into the tank, if it does then the supply valve is not off yet. With the tank mostly empty sponge out the remaining water. Get as much water out as you can, otherwise you risk spilling toilet water on the floor or even yourself when we remove the old ballcock.
Now we are ready to remove the old ball cock. With an adjustable wrench remove the water supply line from the toilet. Once removed you will have access to the locknut which can also be removed with your wrench. Now simply lift the old ballcock out. Your new ballcock likely did not come with a float so remove the old one by turning it counter-clockwise.
If your new ballcock is adjustable now is the time to set it to the proper height. Refer to the new ballcock’s packaging for instructions on how to do this.
Place the new ballcock into the toilet and make sure that the refill tube connection and float arm connection are facing towards the center of the toilet. Once positioning place and tighten the locknut onto the ballcock, and then attach the water supply line. Make sure both of these are tight or else water will leak onto your floor.
Next, attach the short refill tube to the top of the ball cock and then other end into the overflow tube. Make sure that the tube does not go below water level, or else you will have possible siphoning.
Attach the float arm and float to the ballcock by simply screwing it all together.
Finally turn on the water. The tank should fill up and then stop when the water reaches the appropriate height. If the water level is not correct a simply twist of the thumb screw on the top of the ballcock in the middle will do the trick!