Just curious if anyone knows of a quiet toilet flush valve? Our two toilets scream, whistle, and squeal like there's no tomorrow!! I've tried adjusting the levels and the flows through the valve, and I've tried choking down the flow at the shut-off valve (not really the best way, I know) and no combination of anything seems to make it quiet.

In case it matters, they're plain old American Standard toilets with conventional float arm flush valves in them. We're not looking for absolute silence, but it would be nice if the system wasn't screaming and whistling at all hours of the night...

Thanks!

...do you know if you have a pressure reducer valve on your main waterline to the house??? it would be somewhere between your water meter and your water heater...
...these are not required to be installed in most instances but good plumbers will test your water pressure during construction and add these as needed...
...the water pressure can be checked with a regular water guage at your hose bib and should not go over about 70-90lbs. max...the pressure reducer regulates and controls the water pressure at all times with no worry nor maintenance...
...these are very useful in towns with either high water pressure or fluctuating water pressure, sometimes over 200lbs easily...

...this is more likely the cause of your valve failure and will also help save you from busted waterlines...;)

I've got a consistent 70-75 PSI with no regulator. I checked it before installing my sprinklers a couple years ago. Being a small town, and relatively rural where I'm at, the pressure varies very little. I'd be surprised if it was a pressure issue...

Also, the valves haven't exactly failed... they function perfectly; they're just loud. The house is 3 1/2 years old, and the valves did it from day-1.

Any other ideas?

-Joe

...water pressure does and will fluctuate, especially at night, if a main line breaks etc...your valve may even have sand in it from them not blowing the lines before attaching the toilet...american standard is a good unit and the only reasons they would whistle and scream is probs with the diaphram/moving parts due to the 2 items i described...
...here is a link to a replacement if you prefer not to go to the american standard valve...;)
http://contractorservices.homedepot.com/StoreProducts/ProductInfo.aspx?cid=1114013&pid=cde08db9-a964-4c10-a09e-e074c2fa1f21

Joe, there are quiet valves, but they are much slower. I have one and it is relatively quiet, but it takes about twice as long to fill the tank. I'm sure that I got it at Home Depot or Lowe's. Good luck,

I'm not real concerned with the length of time it takes to fill the tank... I'm just tired of the valves screaming. I can take the flush, but the 30 seconds of valve whistling/singing is unbearable.

I'll check out Home Depot... I gotta swing by there tomorrow anyways to pick up a basin wrench to fix the kitchen faucet.

-Joe

70-75 PSI is a lot compared to where I live. Most houses here are between 42-52 PSI. The safety valve on the hot water tank is designed to pop at 150 PSI. If this problem happened suddenly, did it happen to both toilets at the same time? I like the FluidMaster model 400A or 400LS if you want to go with a new fill valve.

...that surge would not be felt in a full water tank...the toilet valve is most subseptable (sp) to this and that's kind of why i mentioned it...when he posted this had been going on since day one my suspetions went to scored inerds of the valve..
...when replacing the valve be sure to remove the old one, put your hand over the inlet opening and blow the line...this will get the sediment and scale out before installing the new valve...;)

Indeed, these were brand new when I moved in. They were loud from day one. The screaming/whistling only got worse with time. I've tried all I know how to do short of replacing them. The valves are Hoov-R-Line flush valves, but I suspect that makes them 'builder's specials'.

I'll check out the stuff at Lowes and Home Depot tomorrow... Hopefully they'll have something quiet.

...the fluidmasters i posted in the above link are at home depot and come with the flapper...10 bucks for both pieces and that is their extra quiet and vari flow set up...good stuff...;)

The link in post # 4 didn't work.

...thanks bb...thats from the home depot contractors site...i can see it as i'm automatically signed in darnit...i'll try this...again, thanks...;)


http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/2550/6ec847838104493ca83f2aepy2.jpg

Whisper Fill Valve and Flapper Kit

Model W43CP20
SKU 601921

Fix the two most common toilet problems at once, with Fluidmaster's Whisper Kit. This kit includes a Whisper fill valve, the quietest fill valve on the market, and an Adjust-A-Flush flapper, the flapper that lets you customize your flush. Available only from The Home Depot.

Includes Whisper Fill Valves and Adjust-A-Flush Flapper.
Ultra-quiet Whisper Technology works more quietly than the competition.
Fill valve's anti-siphon design meets all plumbing codes.
Fill valve's water level adjusts easily for best flush.




Price: $9.96

There is another model out now which has a brass thread on the bottom. The rest of it is plastic. The model LS stands for leak sentry. If the flap is bad, it won't keep refilling by itself until you flush the handle to reset it. These new models have a plastic adjusting screw. The old models had a metal rod with a spring metal clip.

...yea, the ls ones are .50 cheaper too...

That's odd. They are more expensive where I live unless you are comparing them to the brass/plastic models. Then they would be cheaper.

... http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/2550/6ec847838104493ca83f2aepy2.jpg

...

This looks like what I have.

This looks like what I have.

Is it quiet? That's the one I'm off to Home Depot to buy today. :)

Oh yes, much better than the old normal style. But most of the noise from one of my toilets comes from the other tube. The water going down into the tube over the flapper valve is where most of the noise comes from. Both of my fill valves look very much alike, they were different models by the same company. The quieter one must restrict water flow more, as i mentioned it takes a lot longer to fill.

Go by the item descriptions, pick the quiet one. Regards,

...here is the info on the leak sentry one for future reference...it is cheaper but i notice it doesn't come with a flapper...i always swap the flapper at the same time as the valve...;)

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/3639/fcdb28056e914154a4d586dir1.jpg

Whisper Fill Valve with Leak Sentry Technology

Model W43LSP20
SKU 601914

From the Most Popular Name in Toilet Care comes a revolutionary fill valve. The Fluidmaster Whisper Fill Valve with Leak Sentry Technology is both the quietest fill valve on the market and a fill valve that keeps your tank from refilling when your toilet is leaking. When you have a leak in your tank, the Leak Sentry keeps the fill valve from turning on, which prevents more water from leaking out and saves you both water and money. Available only from The Home Depot.

Includes Whisper Fill Valves with Leak Sentry Technology.
Ultra-quiet Whisper Technology works more quietly than the competition.
Leak Sentry Technology prevents tank from refilling if toilet is leaking, saving water.
When toilet has a slow leak, Leak Sentry's arm "locks", preventing the toilet tank from refilling automatically. When you go to flush, the arm "unlocks", allowing normal operation and telling you that you have a leak.



Price: $9.49

it would be nice if the system wasn't screaming and whistling at all hours of the night...




Since i think this one has been covered i think i can say this. Just dont flush at night. haha

that was my first thought when i seen this but didnt add cause it wouldnt have helped you at all and still dont

Well, I picked up one of the afore-mentioned ones at Home Depot, and I also picked up a Korky Quiet Fill at Lowes for comparison. I got the Korky Quiet Fill in already and all I can say is WOW!!! It's just as fast if not faster than the one I had in there (probably in part due to having the shut off valve choked down to quiet the old one) and it's truly whisper-quiet.

I'll be putting the other valve in the other bathroom for comparison. The Korky valve was about $1 less than the fluidmaster, but it may have been a better deal. I should know tomorrow. (it's dinnertime now and we've got a party later)

I'll keep ya' posted on the progress. (I know you're all waiting on pins and needles!!) LOL!

-Joe

Since i think this one has been covered i think i can say this. Just dont flush at night. haha

that was my first thought when i seen this but didnt add cause it wouldnt have helped you at all and still dont

LOL!! We actually had that discussion the other day!! We already abide by the 'If it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down' philosophy to help save water, but there's nothing like waking up to a steamy fermented surprise in the morning. Therefore, flushing at night is not optional, it's mandatory. I love my wife, but dayum, that woman can launch some sea pickles that'll bring a tear to your eye!!

...^^^^that just changed my dinner plans, lol...:D

LOL ah now thats great haha

Got the Fluidmaster unit in after dinner... For the record, the Fluidmaster is not as quiet as the Korky Quiet Fill. The Korky doesn't pour as much water down the overflow and into the bowl as the Fluidmaster, but it's no less than the one that was in there before. The Fluidmaster leaves noticeably more water in the bowl than the old one did. The Korky gets 2 enthusiastic thumbs up.

The Fluidmaster is a pain to set up. I got the one with the Water Sentry, and the overflow is right in the way of the chain, so that was a pain to adjust. Also, it doesn't always completely shut off, almost like the float is sticking ever-so-slightly. I've played with the level in the hopes it would help, but to no avail. It may be coming back out for that reason alone. It does that about one time in 10, and there doesn't seem to be any easy adjustment for it... After 15 or 20 seconds of the valve dribbling, the water level comes up enough that it shuts of completely. It doesn't stick on and overfill, it just doesn't quite shut off all the way.


Maybe I can do some quantitative testing and do a write-up? :P

-Joe

...that's why i don't recommend the water sentry one myself...;)

There is a little water in the overfill hose. If it's going into the supplied adapter with the small plastic spout, it will completely shut off. If it goes straight into the black plastic hose, it will run if the Fluidmaster is the same height or higher than the overfill tube on the Douglas valve. The only one which didn't have that water trickle/siphon problem was the discontinued, orange/tan colored Fluidmaster model 200A. It had the tube come out at the bottom instead of near the top.

I'm not using that adapter because I have the water going through a Fluidmaster toilet bowl cleaner system... But even so, the top of the valve is about an inch below the top of the overflow, so I don't think that's the problem. It's not siphoning the water off the tank when that happens... It just never actually completely turns off the water flow, as though the valve sticks ever-so-slightly.

I think I'm gonna yank it back out Wednesday and return it for the Korky. The Korky's quieter anyways...

...now if you are really going to do a write-up, you need to also test the other one i posted, just to be fair...:D

Well that's productive at least. I know that you have helped quite a few people, I won't go after the same Fluid Master again. Thanks Joe, Happy New Year!

...now if you are really going to do a write-up, you need to also test the other one i posted, just to be fair...:D

I did. See post #25 above... :)

I wonder if Rick will extend my Elite membership for it? :P Should I test it with Synthetic Water to see if I get faster fills from it? Maybe I should run some tests and see which one removes more soybean paste like they test toilets in the national toilet testing database? We could do some leading-edge testing to determine which valve removes the most junk quietest!! Who's with me? :P

...lol, not the water sentry one, the regular one...what matters most is that you are happy...:D
...just please, no pics of sea pickles, floaters, or sinkers....:p:

...lol, not the water sentry one, the regular one...what matters most is that you are happy...:D
...just please, no pics of sea pickles, floaters, or sinkers....:p:

ROFLOL!!

I think the only difference between the Water Sentry and the standard FluidMaster volves is the little catch that comes with the water sentry unit. It latches the float in place so that if the flapper leaks, the float can't drop until you hit the flush lever and release the float. They appeared to be identical in every other way, but the standard one didn't include the extra 35 cent plastic piece with the chain and clip that locks the float. I would think that the fill rate and audible volume should be otherwise identical.

-Joe

...that's why i don't recommend the water sentry one myself...;)

I don't recommend it neither. You should try something else but not this.

I don't recommend it neither. You should try something else but not this.

I did. The Water Sentry came back out and I went with the Korky Quiet Flush in both toilets. It fills fast (I think mainly because I can leave the shut-off valve wide-open) and it's WAY quiet! I don't loathe flushing the toilets at night anymore! (Does that make me weird??)

-Joe

...yes, yes it does...:p: