Toto Drake Gmax Fill Valve Issues - stutters as toilet tank finishes filling

**cspackler** · 11-25-2012, 01:28 PM

Any help would be greatly appreciated. The water in my Toot Drake tank would not stop running; I repalced the flapper and that didnt solve the problem. I then replaced the seal inside the fill valve (with a Korky 528 replacement cap) after cleaning the other parts. That stops the constant filling but has led to a new problem. As the tank finishes filling the pipes in the whole house rattle and stutter for several seconds until the fill is complete. I can minimize the nuisance by closing the water supply to almost shut but this is obviously less than ideal as it takes forever to refill the tank.

Any thoughts on what is happening? Could I have missed something when I replaced the inside cap on the fill valve? Thanks in advance

www.terrylove.com/korky

**wjcandee** · 11-25-2012, 02:00 PM

Could be a lot of things, but let's go through it.

When the toilet would not stop running, did the water overflow into the overflow riser? It may be that you did need to replace that flapper and now you are dealing with a second issue.

My knee-jerk reaction is that if the Korky is kind of sticking when it's turning off, then perhaps the float isn't reinstalled correctly and is binding a bit as it shuts off. I would just do the process again. Turn off the water at the toilet. Flush. Pull off the refill tube (which, presumably, is daylighted above the lip of the overflow riser; otherwise that could cause the toilet to continue to run). Pull off the blue cap on the 528. Pinch the float arms like tweezers. Remove the float. Twist off the cap. Pull out the interior tube. Pull the strainer out of the bottom of the tube. Rinse everything. You can even wipe a bit and make sure everything is all clean. Then, reassemble: white strainer back in tube. Tube back in valve. Cap back on. Reinstall float. Make sure that you hook it in so it moves freely. Test that it's freely-moving. Blue cap back on. Refill tube reattached. Turn water back on and see what happens. You might make sure that the water valve at the wall is all the way open, as well.

Have you seen the video from Korky on how to service the valve? It's helpful to watch someone else do it:

**Terry** · 11-25-2012, 05:05 PM

Before you do anything, make sure the fill tube from the fill valve is directed into the overflow tube. If it's pointed into the tank, the waves it makes will rock the water level and cause a stuttering shutoff.

If this is okay, then you may have a bad shutoff valve. Most of the time, those are better left fully open, but that doesn't work, I would replace with a new 1/4 turn.

**Towers Plumbing** · 11-28-2012, 01:51 PM

Would also recommend checking water pressure and changing the Korky out to a Fluidmaster.

**Terry** · 11-28-2012, 01:58 PM

The Fluidmaster overfills the bowl, and they are very noisy.
A bad choice.

The fill valve made for the TOTO would be the Korky MaxPerformance. This one fills the bowl without wasting water.

**GeorgeCT** · 11-29-2012, 07:51 AM

Originally Posted by Terry

The Fluidmaster overfills the bowl, and they are very noisy.
A bad choice.

The fill valve made for the TOTO would be the Korky MaxPerformance. This one fills the bowl without wasting water.

Have to agree, the Korky MaxPerformace is the best replacement fill valve.
I replaced my original TOTO fill valve with the Korky MaxPerformace and find it works better and quieter.

**wptski** · 11-29-2012, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by Terry

The Fluidmaster overfills the bowl, and they are very noisy.
A bad choice.

The fill valve made for the TOTO would be the Korky MaxPerformance. This one fills the bowl without wasting water.

The Fluidmaster overfills "all" bowls or just this Toto?

**muddlerminnow** · 05-09-2013, 09:29 AM

Our unit was installed in 08, it has all original parts, and has worked fine. However, during the last few days we've noticed it is slow in filling and makes a longish "burping" sound, and then a kind of hiss just as it shuts off. Obviously, these are highly subjective terms, but it's the best I can do.

I've gone through most of the posts, and can't find anything that seems to fit. The tank fills to about an inch below the top of the flush valve. The valve itself feels properly seated, though I haven't checked for cracks. There is no sound of leaking water, however. I've pressed down on the flapper to try to make sure there's a good seal while the fill is going on. There's slack in the chain above the "float," but it is taut below.

As for the sound, I saw that you used the term "water hammer" to describe another member's problem. Regarding pressure on the water heater, etc., we did drain the water heater and shut off the water supply to the house for three months during the winter.. Activated everything six weeks ago.

**wjcandee** · 05-09-2013, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by muddlerminnow

Our unit was installed in 08, it has all original parts, and has worked fine. However, during the last few days we've noticed it is slow in filling and makes a longish "burping" sound, and then a kind of hiss just as it shuts off. Obviously, these are highly subjective terms, but it's the best I can do.

I've gone through most of the posts, and can't find anything that seems to fit. The tank fills to about an inch below the top of the flush valve. The valve itself feels properly seated, though I haven't checked for cracks. There is no sound of leaking water, however. I've pressed down on the flapper to try to make sure there's a good seal while the fill is going on. There's slack in the chain above the "float," but it is taut below.

As for the sound, I saw that you used the term "water hammer" to describe another member's problem. Regarding pressure on the water heater, etc., we did drain the water heater and shut off the water supply to the house for three months during the winter.. Activated everything six weeks ago.

Most likely the problem is with the fill valve in the toilet. You might turn the water all the way off and all the way on there at the wall by the toilet just to make sure that there isn't anything sticking that is causing this (i.e. gunk). Then, it's most likely gunk in the fill valve that is causing your issue, based on the fact that you had drained and refilled your water system.

Easy to fix. Here are the service instructions for the fill valve. It's easier than it looks to service it. On the service instructions in the link below, there are pictures of the Type A and Type B valve, so you can figure out which one came in your toilet. The Type A valve is made by Voreto in China to a Toto design. The Type B valve is made by Korky in the US. They are used by Toto interchangeably. If you need a new fill valve, you can just pick up the Korky 528MP Maxperformance fill valve at any Lowe's and many local hardware stores. (HD doesn't carry it, which is odd, since it's the #1-selling Korky product at Lowe's.) It's the one with the silver cap. Don't get the white-cap one because your toilet requires more refill water than the white one will provide. You just run the 528MP with the little refill adjuster wide open in the old Ultramax and you're perfect. (You'll see what I mean if you get to that point.) Your toilet could also take the Korky 528T "Fits Toto" fill valve, which now seems mostly to be sold at local hardware stores.

So here's the instructions on how to service the valves: http://www.bayplumbingsupply.com/ima...ns-rev06-1.pdf

Further, if you have a Type B valve, here is the video from Korky on how to service it. The Toto piece is a little more comprehensive, but the video is helpful in seeing how it's done:

If servicing the valve doesn't fix the problem, and you have the Korky Type B valve, you can just replace that little cap with a new one from Home Depot for like $4. It's Korky Part No. R528. If there are big indentations in the rubber when you take the cap off to rinse it and it's not smooth like in the video, it's probably time to replace it. NOTE: Amazingly, and reprehensibly, Lowe's seems to have stopped carrying the R528 Cap, but HD still has it, as do many local hardware stores and plumbing supply places, as well as Amazon. But really, now, Lowe's. That sucks.

This is a fun, easy project that you really can't do wrong.

If you do end up replacing the fill valve, here's a video by Korky on how to do it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Gw7HvHtaA84

Come back with any questions, and let us know how this turns out for you!

**jadnashua** · 05-09-2013, 05:42 PM

Any time you shut off the water, drain the lines and refill, the inrush of water can dislodge crud that accumulates on the inside of the piping...then, weird things can happen - strainers get clogged, shower heads get plugged, valve seals no longer work perfectly, check valves get stuck. You may just be able to remove, clean, and replace the cap on the fill valve and resolve the problem. But, it is nearly 5-years old and a new cap is less than $3 at Lowes (assuming you have the valve made for Toto by Korky).