Replacing a Toilet Fill Valve

Have you ever had your toilet start to run, and never stop? Well if so the reason was more than likely a faulty toilet fill valve. Replacing a toilet fill valve isn't that difficult, and can take the most novice of home plumbers only an hour to complete. All you need to do is follow these guidelines.

Tools and materials:

• Adjustable wrench
• Fill valve
• Coffee mug
• Fill valve gasket

Procedure:

1. Shut off the water. Before you begin working on replacing a toilet fill valve, make sure that you turn off the water to the toilet. Near the base of the toilet there should be a handle that you can turn which will allow you to turn the water off.
2. Drain the tank. Drain the tank by flushing the system several times until the water has completely emptied.
3. Remove the valve. Once the tank is emptied, remove the old fill valve. You may need to disconnect the water line from the fill valve before you can do this. Simply use an adjustable wrench to remove it, and then remove the valve itself from the toilet.
4. Adjust the valve height. Reference the old valve to see where the height of the new valve is the same. Basically, you want to have the top of the valve be at least one inch above the overflow tube.
5. Replace the valve. Install your new fill valve in the reverse order that you removed the old one. Do this by pushing down the valve shank, and tightening the lock nut. Be sure that you have replaced all the gaskets that you removed when doing this.
6. Reconnect the water supply. With the fill valve back in place, reconnect the water supply. Do not turn it back on yet though.
7. Attach the refill tube. Attach the refill tube to the refill valve, and angle the adapter so that it will go into the overflow. If you need to, trim the tube so that you can get rid of any kinks it may have.
8. Flush it. Remove the top of the valve. Place a coffee mug over the top of the valve, and then turn the water back on. This will allow you to flush out the system and get rid of any rust and debris. When the water runs clear, turn the water back off.
9. Replace the top valve. Put the top of the valve back on, and make sure that it tight. Usually all you will need to do is turn it about 1/8 turn clockwise to engage the lugs.
10. Set your water level. Set the position for where you want the water level to be by adjusting the floating cup. When you have it in place, turn your water supply back on.