how to know what size my flush valve is
Last Updated on March 16, 2022 by
How Do I Know the Size of my Toilet Flapper?
Toilet flappers exercise last for a long time but after years of continued usage they tend to warp/curve resulting in a running toilet. To replace your toilet flapper, you must first know its size so that you can replace it with an exact 1.
Unlike in the 1900s when toilet flappers were all universal, today they are not. Toilet flappers vary in size between 2 and 4 inches, have unlike designs and are also made from different materials.
To determine what size of toilet flapper you need, turn off water to the toilet, flush it and remove the sometime toilet flapper. Measure the diameter of the affluent valve opening at the bottom of the tank. Information technology volition be two inches in old toilet models but newer models will have a 3 or 4-inch flush valve.
If y'all get a 2-inch reading, you will need to lodge a two-inch toilet flapper and the same as well applies if y'all a get a 3 or iv-inch reading.
Korky and Fluidmaster industry standard/universal toilet flappers that are every bit good as those made by the original toilet manufacturers. As long as you know the size of the toilet flapper y'all demand, the toilet flappers can exist installed in any toilet.
Since a toilet flapper sits on top of the flush valve opening, I find that measuring the size of the flush valve opening is the best and easiest way to determine what size of toilet flapper you need.
Although you tin still measure the toilet flapper itself, it is usually conical-shaped which makes measuring it a fleck difficult. The flush valve opening is flat and all you need to do is just place a measuring tape on acme of it and read the measurement.
If y'all don't have a measuring tape or don't experience similar measuring the toilet flapper yourself, there is a simple trick you can apply to know if you have a ii-inch or a 3-inch toilet flapper.
Do you have a 2 or three-inch Toilet Flapper?
To know if you have a two or 3-inch toilet flapper, compare the size of the affluent valve opening to that of a baseball game and softball. If it is the size of a baseball game or orange fruit, you need a 2-inch toilet flapper while if it is the size of a softball or grapefruit y'all need a 3-inch toilet flapper.
Another easy mode to know what size of toilet flapper you lot demand is to remove your old one and accept it with you to the nearest home improvement store. Home improvement specialists will not even need to mensurate simply volition give you an exact replacement.
Your toilet's h2o consumption tin can also help yous determine what size of toilet flapper you need. Toilets with a consumption of 1.28 gallons per flush volition accept a 3-inch flush valve. 1.6 GPF toilets may have a ii or 3-inch toilet flapper but iii.5 GPF volition definitely accept a two-inch toilet flapper.
If your toilet was manufactured before 2005 you may have a 2-inch toilet flapper. For toilets manufactured after 2005 (introduction of WaterSense toilets) you most likely take a 3-inch flush valve.
The reason toilets with bigger affluent valves (and hence bigger toilet flappers were introduced is to permit a large amount of h2o to flow from the tank to the bowl within a very short catamenia of time.
The sudden dumping of more water into the bowl creates an fifty-fifty stronger siphon and hence powerful flushing toilets. This allows the manufacturing of potent flushing toilets that uses less h2o at the same time.
Well-nigh modern toilets take a iii-inch flush valve while some like the American Standard Champion iv have an fifty-fifty larger flush valve of 4 inches. A more experienced person can tell the size of a toilet flapper by just looking at it.
How to Measure the Size of Toilet Flapper
In lodge to know what size of toilet flapper y'all demand, y'all will first need to remove information technology from the tank and measure it, or mensurate the flush valve opening.
These are the steps to follow:
1. Turn off Water to the Toilet
You can't remove a toilet flapper without starting time turning off water to the toilet. H2o will continuously run from the tank to the basin via the flush valve.
You lot will see an oval-shaped knob on the wall behind the toilet. That is the toilet shut off valve. Plow it all the fashion clockwise. Push/pull close off valves will demand you lot to pull the knob outwards to turn off the water supply.
Flush the toilet and concord the flushing handle downwardly to remove every bit much water as possible from the tank.
2. Remove the Toilet Flapper
- Lift off the toilet tank lid and identify it away in a condom place where information technology cannot autumn of and break.
- Disconnect the flapper elevator chain from the flushing handle arm. Once disconnected just drib the lift concatenation inside the tank
- The toilet flapper has 2 ears connected to ii pegs on the flush valve. Unhook the flapper ears from the pegs and elevator it off.
- Place it on a demote.
As I had mentioned, there are 2 methods to mensurate the size of a toilet flapper. Y'all can either measure out the flapper itself of the affluent valve opening. I will testify you how to practice both.
three. Measure the Flush Valve Opening Size
- Utilize a measuring tape or a small rule to measure out the inside diameter of the flush valve opening.
- If you get a reading of between 1.8 and 2.iii inches then you take a 2-inch flush valve. Proceed to buy a 2-inch toilet flapper every bit well.
- A reading of plus or minus iii inches indicates yous have a 3-inch flush valve and therefore need a three-inch toilet flapper.
- A flush valve wider than 3 inches is a sign that you demand a 4-inch toilet flapper.
iv. Measure out the Toilet Flapper
Measuring the size of a toilet flapper is a bit tricky so you need to be very careful otherwise you volition cease up ownership the wrong size of toilet flapper.
You can either measure the length of the cone, or the entire width of the flapper from end to end. I find measuring the size of the flapper from terminate to stop to be more precise and like shooting fish in a barrel
If y'all make up one's mind to measure the width of the cone only so the reading is straight forward. Buy a two-inch flapper if you go ii-inch reading or a 3-inch flapper if you go 3 inches in reading.
If you decide to mensurate the width of the flapper from end to finish, buy a 2-inch toilet flapper if you get iii inches in reading and a 3-inch toilet flapper if you become four inches in reading.
After buying the new flapper, installing it is easy. Merely place it over the flush valve opening and claw upwards the ears to the pegs then connect the elevator concatenation to the flush handle arm.
It is of import to get a practiced slack on the elevator chain. If it is as well tight, it may unseat the flapper off the flush valve resulting in leaks, while if it is as well slack it will non lift the flapper completely during flushing and hence a weak flushing toilet.
Ideally, the lift chain should accept a ane/2-inch slack.
The above guide refers to single flush toilets which employ a toilet flapper. Dual flush toilets utilize a affluent valve seal which I hash out in more detail in this mail service.
If you have a mod Kohler toilet, y'all could be having what is called a canister flush valve which too uses a flush valve seal. Read more about information technology in this post.
Equally I had mentioned earlier, there are a lot of things to consider when choosing a toilet flapper. For more information on the same watch this helpful video on You Tube by Tim.
Source: https://toilethaven.com/2021/08/31/what-size-of-toilet-flapper-do-i-need/
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