How To Change Toilet Fill Valve

Published On: April 6, 20200 Comments on How To Change Toilet Fill ValveTags: , Last Updated: February 11, 20245 min read

A toilet is a very essential plumbing product. The flushing system is the most essential part of a toilet. Nothing is more embarrassing than finding out that the flush is not working after using the toilet. this can happen due to the fill valve of the flush. A fill valve controls the flow of water into the tank of the toilet. on the left side of the toilet tank, you’ll find this fill valve. It is attached to a tailpiece that goes all along to the bottom of the tank. The tailpiece is attached to the tube which connects it with a supply valve. This part of the toilet is also known as the ballcock. It was named after a design which was standard some time ago.

How To Change Toilet Fill Valve

While we flush the fill valve opens and closes many times for just one flush. And in most of our homes, we flush many times. So, this continuous use eventually wears out the fill valve and it needs to change. Generally, we can use a fill valve for five years and after that, it starts to wear out. So, if you are using the fill valve for a very long time and facing a problem during flushing then this is high time you should change it. The changing process of a fill valve is very simple and you can do it very easily by yourself. You don’t need to move the tank anywhere you can do this keeping a tank at its position.

Choose the best toilet fill valve for replacing an old leaky toilet valve in your bathroom.

If you are facing these difficulties like:

  • Water keeps running
  • Toilet won’t flush or flush completely
  • It takes a very long time to refill

Then you should change the fill valve and you’ll get rid of these problems very easily.

To successfully change the fill valve, you’ll need some tools. These are:

  • Sponge
  • Bucket
  • New fill valve
  • Channel-type pliers (Two Pairs)

The process to change the fill valve

1. Turn the water off and empty the toilet tank

First, you need to turn off the water supply to the tank. You’ll find a valve where the water supply is coming out from the wall or floor. Rotate the valve toward the left until the water supply to the tank fully stops. Now flush the toilet and the toilet tank will be empty. Now open the cover of the tank and you’ll see some water on the bottom of the tank. Wipe the water out using a sponge. If you don’t do this, then the water will be there and it could create a water mess on your bathroom floor when you lose the fill valve.



2. Remove the toilet fill valve

Now you need to remove the fill valve. To do so first you need to remove the water supply tube that is attached to the bottom of the tank. You can remove this using an adjustable wrench or use change-type pliers. There are some mounting nuts on the bottom surface of the tank that holds the bottom flange of the fill valve. Now carefully the nuts and remove them one by one. You need to reach the tank from the top to the bottom and pull the bottom of the fill valve through another set of fields to prevent the fill valve from rotating when you rotate the nuts to lose them.

How To Change Toilet Fill Valve - toilet diagram

3. Preparing A New Fill Valve

On that kit, you’ll find a rubber washer. Now slide it upwards from the bottom of the tailpiece. The washer will hold it together and also provides an inner seal that will prevent any sort of leaking. Toilets vary in sizes. So you need to adjust the height of the new fill valve according to your tank height. This is also very simple to do. You just need to screw the stem piece depending on your tank size. Make sure that the top of the fill valve is a bit higher than the overflow tube. You should not be shorter than the overflow tube.

4. Install the new toilet fill valve

Now you need to set the fill valve into the tank. Place the fill valve where the previous fill valve was. The water outlet nipple should face the overflow tube; you need to make sure that or else it won’t work. Now hold the fill valve with one hand and thread the metal washer using the other hand. Now mount the nuts from the below of the tank. First hand-tight the nut then uses channel-type pliers to tighten them a bit further. You need to also make sure that the fill valve’s body does not get twit while you mount the nuts. Now connect the fill valve and tube that supplies water. First tight the nuts using your hand then use channel-type pliers to tighten the nuts bit more.

5. Connect and Make Adjustments to the Fill Valve:

At the top of the filling, the valve attaches one end of the rubber fill tube t its nipple. On the other end of the tube attach the plastic adapter and now clip the plastic adapter on the top of the overflow tube. Now turn the water supply valve on by rotating it toward the right. See that the tank is refilling perfectly or not. Inspect the water level and make sure it’s appropriate for you. There is a mark inside the tank to make sure that the water is not filling over that line.

Now recheck all the fitting and ensure there are no leaks. If you find any, tighten the nuts and fit a bit more and it will stop the leakage. It will now work as well as a new one. You won’t need to worry about the fill valve for some years now. The process was very easy and anyone can do this by following the above mentioned simple steps.


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