Toilet flap

[whizbyu]

Is there any product that can be hung inside the water tank that will increase the lifespan of flapper valves? I use the red ones from Lowes and H.D. I think they're called corky.
The flap valves in our toilets work fine when new but leak over time.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Is there any product that can be hung inside the water tank that will increase the lifespan of flapper valves? I use the red ones from Lowes and H.D. I think they're called corky.
The flap valves in our toilets work fine when new but leak over time.

As long as you're not using an in-tank toilet bowl cleaner not really.

 

[Kira]

A silicon vs. nitrile debate in the looming.

 

[hrv]

A silicon vs. nitrile debate in the looming.

Burn baby burn....Then check it out with a flash light.....

 

[BigCahuna]

Have you cleaned the area where the flapper seats ?. Make sure you don't have any calcium buildup there. Another solution would be to buy replacement flappers from a real plumbing supply house, instead of Home Depot or lowe's.,,

 

[johnmyster]

A silicon vs. nitrile debate in the looming.

No chlorine in my motor oil.

 

[skyactiv]

How long are they lasting? I assume you're not popping bleach tablets in the tank. You have city water? The amount of chlorine used and maybe the PH level might be flapper friendly in one municipality and hard on flappers in another. If they are lasting you a few years, who cares, they are cheap and take no time to replace.

 

[Urshurak776]

I replace the fill valves and flappers every year to year and a half. Otherwise, I get a large water bill all of a sudden. A slow leak by adds up and you can't hear it standing in bathroom. Water here in Charlotte area is tough on fixtures. Not Georgia water tough, but tough.

 

[SHOZ]

I've never had to replace a flapper in 45 years. I did get a new toilet 10 years ago or so. Softened well water though. No chlorine. I do run some iron out in the tank once a year or so to get rid of the red slime.

 

[eljefino]

I just changed mine out yesterday, it was hard like a 15 year old valve cover gasket, LOL. Mine was hanging up in the full-up "flush" position randomly.

The makers say they have a 1-2 year expected life. I'm on pretty normal, unchlorinated well water BTW.

 

[KrisZ]

If the flapper is wavy then it’s done. That’s how mine fail anyways on city water and wife using chlorine tablets.

 

[Nukeman7]

Is there any product that can be hung inside the water tank that will increase the lifespan of flapper valves? I use the red ones from Lowes and H.D. I think they're called corky.
The flap valves in our toilets work fine when new but leak over time.

Next time, try a black (nitrile) flapper from Korky. The red (silicone) flappers are advertised by Korky (and other brands like Fluidmaster) as being more durable and chlorine resistant, but in my experience, the black Korky flapper valves last longer than any other flapper valve. As an added bonus, they are slightly cheaper than the silicone flappers.

I actually learned about the black Korky flapper's superior performance from a BITOG flapper valve thread 10 years ago!

 

[Elkins45]

Toilets are a mystery for such a simple mechanism. The factory flapper in ours lasted probably 12 years. I installed an exact replacement and for some unfathomable reason it doesn’t flush nearly as well. When the fill valve went bad I removed the tank and replaced the whole flapper assembly. Now with the new one it randomly seals incompletely and cycles the fill valve until someone hears it and jiggles the handle. I bought another new flush valve assembly from a different maker and will eventually get around to installing it.

I’m thinking about attaching some brass washers to the top of the flapper to see if they will help slam it shut.

 

[Pablo]

Seeing some of the food in the Wad ya et thread, maybe some need a new flap every week.

 

[vwmaniaman]

My deceased BIL always said Corky was the best. That's what I buy.

 

[eljefino]

I’m thinking about attaching some brass washers to the top of the flapper to see if they will help slam it shut.

There are hydrodynamics in play. Flushing "flips" the stopper vertically and in my case it would flip "more than vertically" and get stuck there. My new one is more rubbery and the flex in the arms, so far, flips the flapper shut reliably.

I tried putting a 1/2-13 nut on the end of the chain, on top of the flapper, for more weight like you're thinking of doing. No help, maybe even hurt things by adding inertia to the "vertical flip" when a kid hit the flush lever aggressively.

The hydrodynamics of water running by that flapper do strange things (probably by design) that you can't simulate playing with the mechanism in an empty tank.

 

[Elkins45]

There are hydrodynamics in play. Flushing "flips" the stopper vertically and in my case it would flip "more than vertically" and get stuck there. My new one is more rubbery and the flex in the arms, so far, flips the flapper shut reliably.

I tried putting a 1/2-13 nut on the end of the chain, on top of the flapper, for more weight like you're thinking of doing. No help, maybe even hurt things by adding inertia to the "vertical flip" when a kid hit the flush lever aggressively.

The hydrodynamics of water running by that flapper do strange things (probably by design) that you can't simulate playing with the mechanism in an empty tank.

Weight on the bottom side might avoid that…but I can’t help but think if it did then someone would already be selling weighted flaps.

 

[KrisZ]

The weight is not going to help, but likely hinder the flapper operation. When the flapper is closed, there is already 3-4 gallons of water right on top of it. That’s quite a lot of weight already and adding a metal washer, even a few washers, will not make a difference.

 

[Nukeman7]

There are hydrodynamics in play. Flushing "flips" the stopper vertically and in my case it would flip "more than vertically" and get stuck there. My new one is more rubbery and the flex in the arms, so far, flips the flapper shut reliably.

I tried putting a 1/2-13 nut on the end of the chain, on top of the flapper, for more weight like you're thinking of doing. No help, maybe even hurt things by adding inertia to the "vertical flip" when a kid hit the flush lever aggressively.

The hydrodynamics of water running by that flapper do strange things (probably by design) that you can't simulate playing with the mechanism in an empty tank.

eljefino is 100% correct about the role of hydrodynamics in closing the valve. The flapper bulb is hollow to retain water until the toilet tank nearly empties before the flapper drops. One common mistake by DIYer's is to set the flapper chain too taut which will cause it to close prematurely. When the flapper is seated in the closed position, the chain should have ~3/4" of slack to operate correctly. A bit of trial and error testing may be needed to fine tune the optimal amount of chain slack for a particular configuration before cutting off the excessive chain links to preclude binding.

 

[walterjay]

None of the flappers seem to hold up well. Have had dismal experiences with Korky.

I have installed thousands of Plumbmaster flappers over the years. They usually last 5-7 years. They are sort of a commercial product.

Go to Plumbmaster.com