Troubleshooting a Weak Toilet Siphon: Tips for Fixing the Issue

[Pengwuino]

Ok our house has a little problem at the moment. The toilet lol. As far as i can tell, the siphon is not powerful enough to get the... stuff.. to where it needs to go. How can i fix this lol. I am about ready to go find a bucket and just force flush it and hope for hte best... (mind you, the thing is not clogged up as far as i can tell becuse it still fully flushes)

 

[Danger]

Ok our house has a little problem at the moment. The toilet lol.

You might try running some CLR through the tank a couple of times. If you have mineral deposits in system, it can restrict water flow enough to lower the flushing power without actually having a clog. Also check to make sure that the valve float is set properly. Having a too-low level in the tank can do the same thing. The valve itself could be closing too soon, and thus not letting enough water out. A partial clog in the sewer pipe could give the same symptoms.

 

[Pengwuino]

Come to think of it, i think the water level might be too low in the tank because its just started not worken all of a sudden and it use to be quiet good at flushing as early as a few days ago.

 

[brewnog]

I think you should eat more bran.

 

[kentbrockman]

definitely...sounds like you need more fibre in your diet.

 

[Integral]

I am not sure which would be our plumbing forum? Is this may be engineering?

 

[FredGarvin]

Crappers are a gravity feed beast. Pretty easy to figure out. Either your float is not permitting enough water into the tank or you've got a clog in the drain line. No magic here.

If you have flow problems in other parts of the house I would also recommend looking at the main vent pipe for any blockages.

P.S. I'm not so sure how happy I am that this thread got moved to the Engineering forum...Why not the biology forum?

 

[brewnog]

I'm not so sure how happy I am that this thread got moved to the Engineering forum...Why not the biology forum?

Yeah, or Bran Teasers...

 

[Danger]

Yeah, or Bran Teasers...

If it were anyone but you, I'd think that was a typo.

 

[Integral]

Crappers are a gravity feed beast. Pretty easy to figure out. Either your float is not permitting enough water into the tank or you've got a clog in the drain line. No magic here.

If you have flow problems in other parts of the house I would also recommend looking at the main vent pipe for any blockages.

P.S. I'm not so sure how happy I am that this thread got moved to the Engineering forum...Why not the biology forum?

Forgive me I am feeling pretty down about engineers right now (work related) and some how putting this here was bit of statement. That, and I couldn't figure out where it belonged! Sorry

If Russ or Enigma can find a better home I hope they will but it there... Maybe the Political forum would be more appropriate?

 

[BobG]

Ok our house has a little problem at the moment. The toilet lol. As far as i can tell, the siphon is not powerful enough to get the... stuff.. to where it needs to go. How can i fix this lol. I am about ready to go find a bucket and just force flush it and hope for hte best... (mind you, the thing is not clogged up as far as i can tell becuse it still fully flushes)

Water level is too low. Adjust the float in the storage tank.

Modern toilets use less water per flush, so you don't have much margin. Actually, from a water conservation point of view, if it takes two flushes, it's working great. Most of the time, you're just flushing urine, and maybe a little bit of toilet paper. Having to flush twice for solid waste is a pain, but it still conserves water over the long run.

(The second paragraph is added just in case you don't really want to have to fix the toilet and need something good to convince the rest of the family that you're concientious, not lazy.)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

You also might want to check that the float isn't leaking. I had an older style float do this once.

 

[enigma]

If Russ or Enigma can find a better home I hope they will but it there... Maybe the Political forum would be more appropriate?

Meh. It works here just as well as GD I guess.

 

[Artman]

If the toilet is a newer model on older piping the problem could be the radius of the pipe. Older homes often used larger pipe, 4" for toilets. Newer homes properly designed for the lower flow fixtures use 3" diameter sanitary sewer connection. The 3" pipe has a shorter radius so solids have better carry on the lower gallonage. the 4" doesn't raise the solids enough until you get more water behind it. Too large piping could ultimately be your problem.

 

[russ_watters]

I am not sure which would be our plumbing forum? Is this may be engineering?

Yep. We design crappers. The worst is when some too-creative architect wants to try something like waterless urinals... can you imagine?

My guess would be low flow too. If you have an adjustable float, you can raise the stop so it fills up more before switching off. If its a ball on an arm, you can bend the arm up and it'll let more water in.

 

[Pengwuino]

I think something broke because its worked well before... i think, I am nto sure actually. We're getting our bathroom remodeled upstairs which is the one i always use so I've been stuck using the dowsntairs one and this problem may have always been the case :-/ i dunno.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I'm telling ya, check your float for water inside.

This is probably the most scrutinized toilet in history. How many times do you get engineers and physicists to troubleshoot your toilet?

 

[Chronos]

I would say you have a flow problem. It could be a float, but, my best guess is an obstruction. Run a snake through the line and see what happens [aside from pulling up unspeakably disgusting gelatinous substances].