Toilet Flush Valve Tip

[Dontana]

Like many others, after struggling for months with a sticky closing valve at the bottom of the toilet bowl, I tried another approach.

In the beginning, I worked on the inside of the toilet, doing the usual things. For example, I scraped the seal area with a bent nail to remove paper, lubed the valve with sprays and even tried vegetable oil in the bowl overnight, etc. The closing valve just got slower and slower.

In frustration, and not wanting to break the pedal by pulling up on it with my foot like Jimmy, I decided to direct my efforts to the outside, instead of the inside. In other words, the area at the opposite end of the foot pedal where it attaches to the toilet, became my focus of attention.

After lubing this location with silicone spray, the flange started immediately snapping back so hard it would take your finger off. No kidding. My conclusion was that the rotation of the pedal mechanism probably gummed up over time.

Now for a cheap thrill, I sometimes go into the bathroom and depress/release the toilet foot pedal, watching the pill bottles fall out of the medicine cabinet from the force of the valve closing.

Hoping this approach might work for somebody else, too.

[grayghost03]

Good information here, thanks. No issues yet, but now I know where to look.

[DQDick]

Thanks, I'll be giving that a try.

[rohrmann]

Nowhere in this thread did anyone mention the specific model of toilet. Am I correct in assuming this is the Thetford style II model? If so, we had the pedal blow off one night last year when DW flushed it about 3 in the morning. I managed to get awake enough to get the water valve turned to stop the water flow, and manually turned the other part to drain the bowl. I then figured out the pedal was not going back on with the spring, so for the next two weeks, we manually flushed the toilet using the pedal by hand. We managed to get a dealer to order one for us and was able to pick it up a week later in Fargo, ND. Was able to install the new pedal without removing the toilet. We are now also experiencing sluggish pedal action, and have a new pedal, flush valve and gasket, and new water valve. Told DW, this is the last repairs to this unit. Will replace it with a Dometic 320 when this one acts up again.

[01RAMer]

Always wonderful to get good information! Tks.

[1retired06]

quote:Originally posted by rohrmann

Nowhere in this thread did anyone mention the specific model of toilet. Am I correct in assuming this is the Thetford style II model? If so, we had the pedal blow off one night last year when DW flushed it about 3 in the morning. I managed to get awake enough to get the water valve turned to stop the water flow, and manually turned the other part to drain the bowl. I then figured out the pedal was not going back on with the spring, so for the next two weeks, we manually flushed the toilet using the pedal by hand. We managed to get a dealer to order one for us and was able to pick it up a week later in Fargo, ND. Was able to install the new pedal without removing the toilet. We are now also experiencing sluggish pedal action, and have a new pedal, flush valve and gasket, and new water valve. Told DW, this is the last repairs to this unit. Will replace it with a Dometic 320 when this one acts up again.

Just last week replaced the aqua magic style II with a Dometic 320. Better design is obvious. Got mine from Tweety for $229, free shipping, two days. Thanks to whoever on the forum recommended to us the 320 and tweety. Half inch to half inch water line extension from home depot was only other thing needed.

[DQDick]

Thanks again to Don. I did this last month and the valve is still snapping shut better than new. Makes you wonder if the build up of tension, over time, isn't what's causing the parts to fail and the arm to explode.

[jjparker]

Thanks Don. Same problem, your solution worked perfectly.

[Dontana]

Glad it's working for some. It's the little things that come up to grab ya sometimes. Snap on.

[steelpony5555]

There is also a spring pack in there that will sometimes get sprung. New ones cost $20 and most RV places carry then since I guess like mine get sprung or worn out. But silicone works for when they get gunked up and will help keep the rust off the springs too.