Water use - hissing G-Max Korky 528 fill valve - Quiet Fill

[jadnashua]

Pick one up at Lowes or a plumbing supply store and put it in yourself. My 80+ year old mother did one on hers...unless you're a real clutz, you can do it. The instructions are on the package. Should be done in about a minute - well, maybe a bit longer the first time you do it, but not much.

[xanthippe]

Hi,

I realize this is an old thread, however I found it very useful for diagnosing and repairing my Korky 528 valve in my 4 year old Toto. I too had an intermittently hissing valve and no apparent leakage which stopped if I shut off the supply valve. I replaced the valve cap after confirming the old cap gasket had failed. It appeared to do the trick...then 2 days later the valve began hissing again. I took it apart, reassembled and it still hissed. I thought I was going to have to replace the whole valve when it occurred to me that it might have something to do with the float. I noticed when I connected the float on the new cap it was very loose compared to the way it fit on the original cap. It's held onto the cap by spring tension of the two plastic hinges on the either side of the float brace. I found that I could affect the valve action dramatically by jiggling the float while it was assembled. I took the float off and (gently) spread the plastic hinges away from the sides so it fit tightly when placed on the valve cap. The valve is now working perfectly. I hope this little tidbit of information helps if someone is still experiencing a leaking valve after replacing the valve cap.

[davidlachnicht]

Read the lower part of this page,
The simple fix is replacing the assembly cap

If you hear hissing, it's water.

www.terrylove.com/korky

n/c n/c n/c n/c n/c

[DanMcD]

I read the below on the Web Site "Toilets That Work" and wonder if others on this site have experienced similar problems with the Tota Drake over the long term (4-5 years or more)?


Date Purchased: 12/2005
Overall Rating: 6/10
Flush Rating: 6/10
Ease of Installation: 8/10

" When I built my home I put in Drakes(5 in all). Initially, I was so impressed with the performance compared to the toilets in my last home. Toward the end of the 3rd year I started having to replace the flappers. So far I've fixed 4 of the 5. Now they're having a new problem. 3 of the 5 are now having a long delay before they begin to refill after a flush. I'm not so impressed any more. One would expect a longer, problem free product from a higher price toilet. By the way, my in laws also have 3 drakes and have been having the same problems. "

http://www.terrylove.com/korky/

[wjcandee]

How fast flappers deteriorate depends almost entirely on the quality of the water in your area and whether chlorine in-tank bowl cleaners are used. That the flappers are failing around the same time both for him and his inlaws indicates that this is a water (local condition) issue rather than some defect in his Totos. The poster on the toilet web site mentioned above should just get the Korky "Fits Toto" Red flapper as his replacement to maximize the time between changes. They are guaranteed 5 years if you don't use an in-tank bowl cleaner. As to the fill issues, all they would have to do is follow Terry's link above to learn how to service the valves and be good another 4 years. Again, a local water issue.

In particular, if the valve is taking a while to "start" refilling as opposed to just refilling slowly, then the little drain in the bottom of the float housing may be partially-blocked due to water quality and just needs to be rinsed.

The Drake uses good, straightforward simple parts that usually last a reasonable period of time, and, most importantly, are simple for the homeowner to fix.

The poster on that web site is off-base. I would say it differently, but I will behave myself.

[jadnashua]

Assuming it has the Korky valve made for Toto, the refill delay is fixed by changing the seal - it takes all of about 60-seconds and a few dollars. If it doesn't bother you, just leave it and change it when it stops working, either by leaking or never opening. The only time it really becomes an issue is if the toilet needs to be flushed in quick succession by the next user, and it may not have refilled.

[wjcandee]

Actually, if it takes a while to begin to refill after water has run down in the tank, it's likely that the the water isn't draining out of the float chamber fast enough (and so delaying the movement of the float and resulting opening of the valve), either due to a dirty little white check ball (if it has one) or a narrowing of the little hole at the bottom of the chamber. Cleaning that should get the thing started without needing to mess with the seal, although if the float chamber has crud in it, rinsing off the seal cap probably would help, too.