how can i repair a crack in my toilet cistern, with out having to take it all apart.?

Question

it runs undeneath all the internal stuff and i cant get to it with out taking the whole thing appart. i cant do that with out turning off the water for the whole block of 12 flats b/c the bathroom water system has no internal stopcock.

Answer 1

I assume that when you say cistern you re talking about the tank on the back of the toilet that holds the water used for flushing.

If so let me give you the bad news from when I tried. Mine was easy to shut off but the leak repair was worthless. I shut off the water and tried all kinds of plumbing epoxies, goops, superglues, aquarium cements, and industrial grade waterproofing glues and epoxies. None really worked. At best they got the water to drip more slowly for a while.

I think unless you want to buy a whole new toilet fixture you are going to need one of those replacement tanks ("cistern" in your world).

After much effort like that I found a company (Gilberit) that sold a replacement tank. Those tanks are easy to attach (only 2 connections and two bolts) but they don't match the style. I even tried calling plumbing salvage yards but was not able to get a good match (American Standard fixture so I thought it would be easy).


Here is my suggestion. Buy the replacement tank, a flexible water feed line, a pipe wrench, and a toilet tank wrench. Also take a look at the pipe that is going to the toilet. You need to measure it and be able to describe it well enough to the guy at the plumbing place so that he can sell you a cap that fits the end of it. I am guessing that it is a 3/8 pipe and if you are lucky it has either a union or a flexible section in it. Buy the cap that he tells you will fit on it.

Now negotiate with your neighbors for when in the evening you can shut off the water pipes for about 5 minutes. Their toilets will each flush once with the water shut off. Now use the wrench to unscrew the top of the pipe and then screw that cap onto it. Now turn everyone's water on again. With the pipe capped you can do all that tank work without bothering anyone.

Take off the old tank using the pipe wrench and the tank wrench. Put on the new tank as per the instructions that came with it.

Last step will be removing the cap on the pipe and attaching the tank to the water feed. That means going back to shutting the water off during another evening for the time it takes to unscrew that cap and put the pipe onto the feed inlet of the tank. Again it is just another few minutes.

I have never seen a toilet that lacked a shutoff for an individual bathroom (it's against building code around here) so I can only guess what the plumbing is like in there. One other possibility to keep in mind instead of a cap is to get one of those shutoff valves and attach it to the pipe that is coming up. Then you can close the valve and do all the rest at your leisure and never have to worry again about asking everyone if you can shut off their water.

Answer 2

You need a cheap propane torch, some solder and flux, some steel wool, a tubing cutter and a new 'stopcock' ('shut-off valve' in US). Go around nine a.m. and shut off everyones water. Thats a good time because everyone getting ready for school or work is done and you won't bother too many people. Find the lowest faucet to drain the water. Cut the supply line with the tubing cutter, polish the end with the steel wool, fit it together and heat it up. Brush the joint with flux and flow solder into the joint from the top. Do a good job...you don't want the soldered joint to be bad. The whole procedure will take less than fifteen minutes. Now you can turn everyones water back on and fix your toilet properly.

Answer 3

Cistern Repair

Answer 4

You can try this, first empty the tank of all water and clean spotless , around the crack, then use Superglue in the crack. let it dry before filling, you will have to shut off the water one way or other, you might try to tie the Float valve, up, to stop water from coming in, but you need a dry surface. Who is the moron who failed to install a water stop valve.

Answer 5

Home Depot has a plumbing cement that is water proof. It is call Goop for plumbing.
I have glued things with it that go through the laundry.

Answer 6

Silicon caulk for kitchens and baths might work.

Answer 7

your in a spot there bud. call the owners and tell them to get some one out there to fix it

Answer 8

rubber cement

Answer 9

no clue.