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

How To Remove and Install a Toilet Tank and Bowl – Part 1

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This is part 1 of this two part series I walk you through the process of removing and installing a close coupled toilet tank and bowl.

Whether it’s to make a repair, clear a stoppage or install a new tank and bowl the process is the same.
Always start by shutting the water supply and then to keep the work area safe, remove any residual water from the tank and bowl. To do this I’m using a good old turkey bester and sponge which is the quickest way to get this done.

The next step would be to remove the plastic flange bolt covers and loosen the flange bolts. I’ll caution you here by saying that in most cases these bolts will have to be cut off with a hacksaw. If this happens to you just follow my instruction on how to accomplish this.

Next step is to disconnect the water supply tube from the fill valve and proceed to remove the tank and bowl.

Let’s continue in part 2, don’t go away.
How To Remove and Install a Toilet Tank and Bowl – Part 2

If you have questions, you may reach me at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

How To Install a Plastic Flush Valve

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In this video I just wanted to walk you through the motions should you decide to replace one of these old style brass flush valves. Its the same steps you’d take to install a plastic flush valve on your toilet tank.

These flush valves were generally found in the old style wall hung tiolet tanks which used way too much water.That’s why I always recommend upgrading to a modern water efficient tank and bowl combination when faced with this type of repair.

Back in the day this was a standard repair that we would run across every day, but removing the tank from the bowl was not an easy task.

The bolts in those days were made of white metal as opposed to brass and in most cases had to be cut off. Now, I will cover that procedure in a separate video, but for now we’ll talk about the flush valve.

The key here is that the large 2″ metal nut that holds the valve in place in most cases will have to be cut in a few places and then pried off with a thin blade screw driver.

If the hack saw was to awkward to get down to the porcelain, I would remove it from it’s frame and using the blade alone get down as close as I could to the surface of the tank.

I would start with a blade that’s 24 teeth per inch and end up with a 32 teeth per inch blade. When the Lennox close quarter saw became available I found it to be most useful for this task.

The next tip is to always use a 2″ metal or even plastic friction washer to place between the new 2″ locknut and the bottom of the tank.

They may not always come with the new flush valve, but using one will keep it from binding against the bottom of the tank.

Not too difficult a task and if you take it slow you shouldn’t have any issues at all.

Again, in todays world, if you’re faced between changing out an outdated flush valve or installing a new water efficient tank and bowl, go with the new equipment. You won’t be sorry.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

How to unclog your toilet with a plunger!

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As you can see in this video, I stuffed so much paper in the bowl that I had to muscle-up to get it to go down.

Now on the surface you might be thinking “it can’t be that difficult to plunge a toilet?” Think again!

I can’t tell you how many times throughout my career I was called in for what seemed to be a routine clog only to end up having to use my toilet auger (another video) or worse yet, having to remove the bowl (another video) to find out what was causing the problem.

I’m getting ahead of myself so let’s just concentrate on the art of the plunger for this article. Plungers come in several shapes and sizes: tall ones , short ones, big and little alike. Heck they even make power plungers that you can pump up!

Generally when plunging a sink wether it be a kitchen, bathroom, laundry sink or even a bathtub I like to use a softer rubber plunger with a flat bottom. You can generally find these in the big box stores, they’re red in color and are just what I would call your good old basic plunger.

A different story when it comes to clearing a toilet, as you can see in this video I like to use a plunger that has a flexible male end on it so I can insert it into the opening of the bowl. This allows me to get a good tight seal around the base of the bowl so I can get maximum power while pumping away.

This plunger is also constructed of a harder rubber which in my opinion is the best choice for clearing toilet bowls. These are also available in the box stores as well as plumbing supply houses.

Look you’re going to be faced clogged toilet or sink sooner or later and in a pinch, a good old plunger can save the day. Now although you can use the plunger featured in the video for sinks as well, I own both styles because I feel the softer flat bottom version works better on sinks and bathtubs.

In the video I mention a way that you can prevent the bowl from overflowing if all of a sudden you see the water rising in the bowl.

Simply stay clam and remove the toilet tank cover, reach inside the tank and push the flapper down. You just prevented the tank from emptying into the bowl thus preventing a mess.

Hey my wife and kids do this when they see the water in the bowl start to rise.

If you still have questions about this or any of my videos, shoot me an an e-mail to info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

Toilet tank to bowl installation (table top demo)

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I wanted to do this video on my bench top to give you an idea of what the view looks like from behind. Now, I just finished installing a new flush valve inside the tank and as you can see I have my flush valve gasket in place as well as my brand new brass tank bolts.

I buy my tank bolt kits from a company that sells only to professional plumbers so you would expect all the components to be brass. I couldn’t believe when I was shooting this video, they supplied me with galvanized steel wing nuts, go figure!

Guys, for the record, if this happens to you please go find some 5/16″ brass wing nuts or just plain old 5/16″ brass nuts. If you mix the two different metals together in a damp environment I guarantee that in less than 6 months those galvanized nuts will corrode and they will not come off.

Once you set the tank onto the bowl, start with your brass back up washers followed by the brass wing or conventional nuts and start to tighten in an alternating fashion until the tank comes to rest on top of the bowl.

You’ll want to place either a two foot or torpedo level across the tank while you’re doing this to make sure the tank sits level. Once in place, you can connect the water supply tube to the fill valve and emergency water shut-off valve and turn the water on.

Flush away, check for leaks and you’re done. Not too difficult!

If you’re unclear about any steps in this video I invite you to e-mail me at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com, I’d love to hear from you.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

How To Determine What Size Toilet To Buy

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Most homeowners don’t realize that toilets come in three sizes. They are 10″,12″ and 14″ and are determined by the distance from the center of the closet bend to the finished wall. In this video I explain the process I use in determining what size to use!