Cistern flush pipe/siphon question

[cheezemonkhai]

Any use:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194275910284?hash=item2d3bbf228c:g:dosAAOSwVsRhDqvU
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273058014526?
 

 

https://www.tapsempire.co.uk/product/armitage-shanks-salona-low-level-cistern-side-supply/?msclkid=c23e6e84cfc51c4c4a890fe478b693eb

 

[@Lee]

1 hour ago, MikeTheThinker said:

Buy some sealant that can be applied to damp surfaces (gutter sealant) and seal yoiur crack with that. 

I beg your pardon 😂😂😂

[Lady Elanore]

1 hour ago, cheezemonkhai said:

Any use:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194275910284?hash=item2d3bbf228c:g:dosAAOSwVsRhDqvU
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273058014526?
 

 

https://www.tapsempire.co.uk/product/armitage-shanks-salona-low-level-cistern-side-supply/?msclkid=c23e6e84cfc51c4c4a890fe478b693eb

 

 

Ooh maybe   It's still plan 2 though

 

So, tomorrow I'm going to prep the 'fault' in the porcelain, apply the waterproof Epoxy,  smooth it down, apply further coats probably etc. Then I'm going to stick a tyre (visually that's what it should look like I reckon) of Plumbers Mait to the underside of the siphon washer (carefully avoiding blocking the flush pipe) and when it's all clamped together hopefully a little putty will squeeze out underneath the cistern, showing I have totally plugged any air gap - a sort of belt and braces approach.

 

 

If it all fails, tear the lot off the wall and get a new cistern. I've already checked the screws that hold the cistern on the wall turn, so hopefully it should only take an hour or so to change the cistern and internal gubbins if it comes to it. I'm quite experienced at taking flow valves and siphons out of cisterns it seems  I think I have some sort of SCD problem - Stubborn Compulsive Disorder. 

[mac11irl]

i also have SCD... it is very useful sometimes, but can result in many pointless battles too..

[Lady Elanore]

5 hours ago, mac11irl said:

i also have SCD... it is very useful sometimes, but can result in many pointless battles too..

 

It turns out there is Option 3!

 

"Don't touch anything".

 

I was surprised to find that this morning, my leaks appear to have stopped. The underside of the cistern is still slightly damp, but that seems to be just the un-enamelled underside having had a good soaking over the last few days. Perhaps the washer has moulded itself into the small crack in the enamelled surface?

 

I'm going to give it the weekend before I decide what to do. Although my bathroom floor looks like a shelf has collapsed in the plumbing section of Homebase at the moment   But as they say, "if it ain't broke..."

Edited 9 October, 2021 by Lady Elanore

[cheezemonkhai]

Well fingers crossed.

 

I will add mind, that if that goes whilst you’re out, you have the contents of the cistern and an essentially open tap running on the floor until you get back and isolate the water.

With that in mind maybe turn off the isolator then flush if you’re away overnight?

[john999boy]

This could all be a ploy on Amanda's behalf to justify calling a plumber. I've heard there's quite a few films out there using just that scenario! 😊

[Lady Elanore]

The water has never poured out of the cistern via the crack. It has a tiny fracture in the enamelled surface to creep out of and only very occasionally drips. It evaporates almost as quickly as it falls. Looking at the crack, it has been there for a considerable length of time  and is definitely not a fresh on. It is only in the top coating of the enamel, not in the ceramic of the cistern.

 

I had a burst pipe in my kitchen once and was away for over a week with the water pouring out at mains pressure. My neighbour said afterwards, that he thought it odd that water was spraying off the inside of my kitchen window for a week  

[Lady Elanore]

3 hours ago, john999boy said:

This could all be a ploy on Amanda's behalf to justify calling a plumber. I've heard there's quite a few films out there using just that scenario! 😊

 

 

I have to be careful, they might find George in the cellar. Then the plumber would have to stay as well... 

 

 

 

.

Edited 9 October, 2021 by Lady Elanore

[cheezemonkhai]

Ahh my bad, I thought it was a hairline crack through, not in the glaze only.

 

As for the plumber…..

[Lady Elanore]

Small update. The underside of my cistern is very slightly damp, it doesn't reach the drip stage however and I'm no longer losing sleep. In fact I improved matters further last night by doing something a bit left field. A virtual bag of Jelly Babies if you can guess what I did...

[skomaz]

1 hour ago, Lady Elanore said:

Small update. The underside of my cistern is very slightly damp, it doesn't reach the drip stage 

 

is that just condensation though?

[Lady Elanore]

9 minutes ago, skomaz said:

 

is that just condensation though?

 

Perhaps, but it's not the ultimate cure I have effected. 

[Liger1956]

3 hours ago, Lady Elanore said:

Small update. The underside of my cistern is very slightly damp, it doesn't reach the drip stage however and I'm no longer losing sleep. In fact I improved matters further last night by doing something a bit left field. A virtual bag of Jelly Babies if you can guess what I did...

Did you fill the cistern full of Radweld? (other sealants are available 🙂)

[Lady Elanore]

Well not full of Rad Weld. But good guess

 

[olduns]

Eggs? 

[NJRJ]

Put some potted ferns underneath as they like damp and shade?

[mac11irl]

a good coating of silicon over the the bottom of the cistern crack?

[Lady Elanore]

As suggested above...Radweld. The crack is in the enamel on the bottom of the inside surface of the cistern. I've cleaned it, plumbers mait'd it, new washered it, tried epoxying it and there was still the slightest suggestion of dampness getting out  of the cistern. Anyhoo, Radweld seems to have finally nailed that badger. I suspect it's simply the microcrack finally gave up and let me win really. It was a shame it took me so long to notice the ruddy thing though. I would have saved myself an awful lot of buggering about in the first place   Getting old and middle aged eyesight is a bit of a pain tbh