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Real Life Plumbing Advice for People Who Don't Want To Call A Plumber

Removing a Frozen Fill Valve Nut !

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So you probably won’t run across this problem to often in today’s world of plastic plumbing parts, so when a you-tube subscriber mentioned he couldn’t remove a plastic coupling nut from his fill valve aka “ballcock” I thought it’s time for a video!

Before we get into removing a frozen fill valve nut here’s a quick history lesson.

Back in the 70’s plastic components were not as popular as they were in today’s plumbing world and the material of choice was good old American made brass. Most of the better companies supplied a brass lock-nut and a brass coupling nut to connect the water supply tube. Eventually and in an effort to save money, some of the companies started shipping these ballcocks with a white metal nickel composite lock-nut and coupling nut.

The problem is that when you connect to dissimilar metals on water carrying components, a process called electrolysis takes place. It would literately fuse the two metals together and make it virtually impossible to break apart. When this happened which by the way was quite often, the only way to separate them would be to cut them off. So whether you were replacing the fill valve or just replacing the water supply tube, you more often than not ended up grabbing the hacksaw and proceeded with the task at hand.

To be honest before I grabbed the hack saw I would always set up a straight 6″ pipe wrench inside the toilet tank and position it at the base of the fill valve with the handle up against the toilet tank. I then would proceed counter clockwise with a second offset 6″ pipe wrench and try to loosen the nut. Bottom line is sometimes I got lucky and sometimes not. The thing is you can’t really put gorilla force on it because you always ran the risk of cracking the tank.

Anyway check out the video and hopefully if you ever find yourself in this position, these tips will help you get the job done with minimal pain.

As always you can send any questions to info@bobsplimbingvideos.com, I’ll be happy to answer them. Until next time,
HAPPY PLUMBING!

How To Install a Toilet Re-fill Valve

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Well folks, this is a pretty straight forward lesson on how to install a toilet re-fill valve. In fact we’re going to cover a modern style plastic flush valve with a self-contained float.

These valves are readily available from any big box store as well as plumbing supply houses.

FYI the one in the video is from a company called Wolverine Brass who only sells to professional plumbers.

A couple of things to keep in mind are:

1. Always shut the water supply off before you attempt to do this.
2. Before you install the new valve, you want to adjust the height of the valve to the proper height.

I like to keep the top of the valve at about 1 inch below the toilet tank and I can always fine tune things from the float adjustment screw.

I try to keep the water level at about 1 inch below the overflow tube as a general rule of thumb.

Don’t forget to set the locknut on the valve body before you set it in place.

Trust me, it’s not going to be pretty if you miss this step, I’ve learned the hard way.

That valve will shoot right out of the tank and hit the ceiling, cool to look at but you better have plenty of towels and a mop handy.

Check out the video and send any comments to info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

Connecting The Water Supply To a Toilet Tank

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In this demonstration I feature two of the most popular methods when connecting the water supply to a toilet tank.

The flexible stainless steel model is most often seen in use today, so here’s my take on both.

The FSS models come in pre-determined lengths, generally 12″, 16″ and 20″ lengths. The 12″ length is the size most often used to connect a toilet and the 16″ and 20 ” lengths are generally used to connect faucets. Because these are of a pre-determined length, you may end up having some slack depending on the distance from the water supply up to the toilet fill valve.

For this reason, I’m not too crazy about the way they look even though they’re used every day. The one tip I can recommend is that when you tighten these be sure to hold back on the crimp rings to keep them from twisting around.

I personally prefer the solid 3/8″ chrome plated copper supply tubes which come in the same lengths but are able to be cut to the exact size you need.

All you need is a tubing cutter and in a pinch you can even use a fine tooth hack saw blade (32 teeth per inch). My tip for these is to always tighten the top first to ensure it’s seated up against the fill valve and then you can finish up and tighten the bottom.

I see all too often when changing a fill valve that when loosening the top nut, the water supply will actually drop a good 1/4″ which creates a downward strain on the fill valve.

Not good in the world of plastic fill valves as they can crack! I also think the chrome plated copper supply tubes make for a more professional looking installation in an exposed application whether it’s for a toilet or an exposed wall hung sink.

In general I use the FSS versions under cabinets where they’re out of sight.

If you’re in doubt about anything covered in this video I look forward in hearing from you! info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

How To Install a Toilet Tank to Bowl

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This is a new video about how to install a new toilet tank onto an existing toilet bowl.

I wasn’t sure if I had mentioned removing the protective plastic wrap around the wax gasket and that’s the reason you see my arm pop up in the opening shot. Yes you have to remove the plastic covering!

Hey I’m just getting started with this video stuff, so bear with me, I promise it’ll get better.

Anyway the biggest tip I can offer you in this video is to use a small ribbon of plumbers putty just underneath the rubber gasket that sits inside the toilet tank.

Over the years I’ve had other plumbers say “what are you wasting your time for, that’s not necessary,” but I always had the last laugh when they got the call back for the leaking tank bolts.

It’s just good insurance against having to go back draining, removing and re-installing the tank. After the bolts are tightened on both sides, install your flush valve gasket and proceed to set the tank onto the bowl.

Tighten each bolt by alternating from side to side while having a level across the tank to check for level.

Once you’re satisfied it’s securely in place, connect the water supply tube to the fill valve and flush away. You want to make sure their are no leaks between the tank and bowl especially when it is flushed, I would do this several times to insure a leak free job.

That’s it guys, not too difficult to do and if you follow the steps in the video I’m confident you can do it. Any questions, feel free to drop me a line at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

Happy Plumbing!

More Toilet Repair Videos
If you need more step by step guidance, check out my free 2 part video series:
How to Remove and Intsll a Toilet Tank and Bowl – Part 1
How to Remove and Intsll a Toilet Tank and Bowl – Part 2

How To Remove and Install a Toilet Tank and Bowl – Part 2

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Welcome to part 2 of this two part series showing you how to remove and install a new toilet tank and bowl.

If you haven’t seen part 1 check it out here:
How To Remove and Install a Toilet Tank and Bowl – Part 1

It’s time to remove the wax gasket and you can do this simply by using a flat blade paint scraper or putty knife. In this video I’m working on a new P.V.C. floor flange, but if you’re working on an old lead or cast iron floor flange I would recommend you inspect it to make sure it’s in good shape before proceeding.
The wax gasket in this demo is in a protective plastic sleeve and not to confuse you; it must be removed from this sleeve before setting it in place. Some plumbers choose to place the gasket onto the male horn of the bowl before setting it into place, but I like to place down on the floor flange. I can see exactly where it’s going to sit and not worry about it accidently falling off while I’m lowering the bowl.

You don’t want to have that gasket halfway on or off the flange, which could happen if it falls off the horn. When I place the bowl down I like to rock it back and forth to set the wax gasket, let me explain why for me it might be a little tougher in the winter months.

I store the wax gaskets in my work van and here in the northeast when the temperatures drop to 30 degrees and below. They get hard as a rock.

A good tip to mention here is that I’ll fill a gallon bucket with some hot water and drop the wax gasket in to bring it back to room temperature.

Once the bowl is securely in place you’re ready to complete the installation. Check out the video for the conclusion and as always if you have questions, you may reach me at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!