Non flushing toilet

whatatwit

At work, I have a toilet with an old style, high water cistern. It then has a long pipe which connects to the back of the pan.

When I pull the chain, it is loose and just moves up and down, but no water appears to flush (I've resorted to a bucket of water )

I have climbed up and just about managed to get my hand into the cistern and it's as though the lever has come away from the rest of the mechanism.
But, it appears to be inside an enclosed cylinder. I can get my hand under the cylinder and wiggle a disc around, but still no flush.

So, any ideas on how I can fix this, or is it doomed?

I am tempted to just buy a new close coupled toilet, but it looks as though the soil pipe is ceramic and it vanishes into the floor (I am on the ground floor)

Canucklehead

Hi

Maybe needs a new 'c' link (see page 2)

Other parts relevant to a high level cistern are also on these pages.
You should be able to get all these parts from a good local plumbers merchant (if there are any left in your neck of the woods).



GSR.

WestonDave

We had an identical set up in our downstairs cloakroom in the house - in ours the chain pulled a lever down which in turn pulled up a plunger within the cistern. As you say getting to see what on earth is going on is hard as its so close to the ceiling.

The good news is that we had it replaced with a modern toilet without any problems - same ceramic soil pipe going into the floor as yours so its not a big problem although we did have a plumber doing it.

whatatwit

The 'c' link is intact and the bit that goes into the cylinder through a little hole is there, it's as though something inside the cylinder has come adrift.

I will call at my plumbers merchants on Monday and baffle them as I try and explain :rotfl:

whatatwit

WestonDave wrote: »

We had an identical set up in our downstairs cloakroom in the house - in ours the chain pulled a lever down which in turn pulled up a plunger within the cistern. As you say getting to see what on earth is going on is hard as its so close to the ceiling.

The good news is that we had it replaced with a modern toilet without any problems - same ceramic soil pipe going into the floor as yours so its not a big problem although we did have a plumber doing it.

Thanks for that I did ask OH to have a look at it a while ago when the ball !!!! was playing up and it kept overflowing....there was much sucking of teeth and muttering about it.......I managed to fix that problem with string

ormus

you can repair them with an old wire coathanger.
cut down to size, and then bend/shape it.

Canucklehead

whatatwit wrote: »

The 'c' link is intact and the bit that goes into the cylinder through a little hole is there, it's as though something inside the cylinder has come adrift.

I will call at my plumbers merchants on Monday and baffle them as I try and explain :rotfl:

That would be the syphon washer (AKA diaphragm) page 3.
Syphon will need to be taken out to get to it.



GSR.

whatatwit

Thank you Canucklehead :kisses3:
I will clamber up my steps and have a good look, might see if I can take a piccie or 2 on my phone to show to my friendly plumbers merchants.

My next question...should the siphon come out easily?

ormus

http://www.users.waitrose.com/~ttagrevatt/vlav/works_cisterns.html

shows various types of old wc cisterns.
you can see the bent wire connection between the arm and the bell/plate.

Canucklehead

ormus wrote: »

http://www.users.waitrose.com/~ttagrevatt/vlav/works_cisterns.html

shows various types of old wc cisterns.
you can see the bent wire connection between the arm and the bell/plate.

OP has established 'the 'c' link is intact'

I was hoping someone would come back with some detail on how to laminate a diaphragm out of 50 supermarket carrier bags. Ho hum.
Guess I'll keep using the purpose made item.

Syphon should come out easily enough, depending on the top of cistern to ceiling clearance (which sounds tight by your description.)
Flushpipe to syphon connection can test the patience sometimes.

GSR.

whatatwit

From Ormus's link, mine is like diagram 1.

From my groping around, I think H has become detached from G.

I will have a wrestle with it, I think I will have to bail it out and tie up the ballcock to give me a better view.

Canucklehead, if you require any of my top tips of using string to solve all sorts of mechanical problems.....then ask away, I am also trained in the use of elastic bands