Well Water

[David006]

Just a "heads up" for some of us on stored well water:

For the third time in two years now, I have awoken to our pressure pump running and no water.

Problem ..2000l tank empty ( manually filled tank ie we switch on the well pump every day or so)

Reason : Flush toilet arm stuck ''up" and the water continually running until out of water. ( usually happens after a mid night "comfort visit" when the old wits are not into checking all is well with the house plumbing.....)

I have been wracking my brain to discover a simple guard against this potential problem to no avail....any thoughts welcome.

I am gonna add a little weight to the chains on both toilets to force the arm and flapper valve down..maybe it'll work?

So much for the quiet flush/fill Koeler and the like modern units ....cannot hear the toilet "running".....such is progress!

[Beardog]

I am not surprised , it has taken me almost a year & a half to dial in our Kohler. It has stuck a bunch of times I finally machined some parts with my neighbors metal lathe. The flapper nut (the one that holds down the post with the flapper is prone to falling off as well.) Threadlock to the rescue. My neighbors 20,000 Naam throne same problems. Now I don't laugh at the people that post I am bringing my own throne from England. The rubber they have been using here since 2004 or longer(I moved here then & am not sure what year they started using rubber instead of wax) But as Dr. Naam can attest to if you do not watch the workers the trick is to pitch the gasket in the bin & cement the toilet in. <deleted>. The rubber probably last 5-10 years the cement(besides it looking like <deleted> ) who knows.I will use the ceramics for the toilet & pick up the inner workings & pack them in my check in box for the new house in June when I go back to the U.S. At least I know it will work. 2000 liters is a lot of water & will deplete a well quickly-especially in hot season when the water table is low!

[David006]

I am not surprised , it has taken me almost a year & a half to dial in our Kohler. It has stuck a bunch of times I finally machined some parts with my neighbors metal lathe. The flapper nut (the one that holds down the post with the flapper is prone to falling off as well.) Threadlock to the rescue. My neighbors 20,000 Naam throne same problems. Now I don't laugh at the people that post I am bringing my own throne from England. The rubber they have been using here since 2004 or longer(I moved here then & am not sure what year they started using rubber instead of wax) But as Dr. Naam can attest to if you do not watch the workers the trick is to pitch the gasket in the bin & cement the toilet in. <deleted>. The rubber probably last 5-10 years the cement(besides it looking like <deleted> ) who knows.I will use the ceramics for the toilet & pick up the inner workings & pack them in my check in box for the new house in June when I go back to the U.S. At least I know it will work. 2000 liters is a lot of water & will deplete a well quickly-especially in hot season when the water table is low!

Oh good!.. thought it was just me lol.

Just finished f..g around with the offending throne (4500 baht "Karat" everything is nylon or plastic except the arm which is brass and of course the ceramics)..nylon composition cam,cheap little plastic flush handle.. nylon needed a bit of filing off burrs to allow full throw and return..seems okay now..oh yes noticed the little rubber fill pipe was so short it was potentially binding on the arm so put in a longer one ( rubber hose from a broken foot pump).

Yeah gotta get a 2nd tank soon... the well gets a bit low in dry season. Have another well about 200/300 metres from the house which seems to stay full, it would I suppose since it ain't used, but have not got around to plumbing up the hill to the house..bloody pump would have to a biggy.another year perhaps.....

Can just see you going thru customs with a loo bits ..lol probably think they are for a thermo nuclear device..

I brought in wax seals from Canada on my last trip as the units did not come with them.. store people selling toilets told me to use silicone..they had never heard of wax seals...

cheers

[Rimmer]

Turn off or unplug the house pump when you go to bed, and on again in the morning, we did that for years in the old house after one toilet washer gun hose burst and flooded the entire place out into the street.

There is one flush of water in the cistern for midnight runs to the comfort room.

[Hssl]

Cotto or American standard seem to built better IMHO - though i was tempted by the 137,000THB Japanese import complete with adjustable bum gun in home works today

[Rinrada]

Instal a timer on your supply.

[Screws]

David - either or both- turn off pump at night (already suggested by Rimmer)

Also don't flush after a piss on midnight visits, leaving the flush in the toilet tank for 'other'

Whoever gets up in am to cook the sticky rice can turn the pump back on.

I have solved the pump running dry & overheating problem, but that is not your problem here -

[longball53098]

Suggest connecting a programmable timer on the power to the pump. Set it up to turn off the pump for the several hours during sleep and no need to remember to switch it on in the morning to make the coffee or wash a plate.

[Beardog]

I would just keep on trying to get it right. I just got a 2000 baht Kohler, But from what I have gleaned the price does not matter it is the half ass way they build them here. It has taken a year & 1/2 of patience but I got the throne working right. That would be a real pain in the ass to shut off power every night & have some one lay a heavy load & not clear with the 6 liters flush. Just keep on adjusting the float & flapper settup. I will be armed with 3 U.S. kits. No problems ever with their toilets. Laugh if you want, but enough things are a pain in the but without having to worry about the toilet overflowing or flapper not closing.

[katabeachbum]

Cotto or American standard seem to built better IMHO - though i was tempted by the 137,000THB Japanese import complete with adjustable bum gun in home works today

American Standard, inexpensive but sh-t. Got 12-15 of them, and most of them the flush arm is stuck sometimes

Cotto, got 12-15 of them too. Never a problem. 3-5k models.

OP, a 350 baht timer on your pump allowing to fill up the toilet once a night is the easy solution.

[Rimmer]

Suggest connecting a programmable timer on the power to the pump. Set it up to turn off the pump for the several hours during sleep and no need to remember to switch it on in the morning to make the coffee or wash a plate.

I like that idea, turn off at 12 and on again at 7, timers are cheap enough and dead easy to wire in the pump lead.

Beats playing around with the ball valve and flapper for 1 1/2 years

I'm gonna buy me one tomorrow.

[David006]

Turn off or unplug the house pump when you go to bed, and on again in the morning, we did that for years in the old house after one toilet washer gun hose burst and flooded the entire place out into the street.

There is one flush of water in the cistern for midnight runs to the comfort room.

Great.... simple and effective thanks ..how come I didn't think of that..lol

cheers

david

[David006]

David - either or both- turn off pump at night (already suggested by Rimmer)

Also don't flush after a piss on midnight visits, leaving the flush in the toilet tank for 'other'

Whoever gets up in am to cook the sticky rice can turn the pump back on.

I have solved the pump running dry & overheating problem, but that is not your problem here -

Thanks Scews..."in the land of sun and fun we never flush for number one" in my mates cabin in the wilds of Canada...good philosophy me thinks..

cheers

david

[wpcoe]

I will be armed with 3 U.S. kits. No problems ever with their toilets. Laugh if you want, but enough things are a pain in the but without having to worry about the toilet overflowing or flapper not closing.

I've been disappointed with the lifespan of the various toilet tank kits (flapper, chain, etc) that I buy here and have wondered about "importing" a kit from the USA. I've wondered though: are toilet tank kits universal around the world? i.e. Would the size of the fittings and screws (e.g. at the bottom of the tank) be metric here, but non-metric in the USA?

[Beardog]

I will be armed with 3 U.S. kits. No problems ever with their toilets. Laugh if you want, but enough things are a pain in the but without having to worry about the toilet overflowing or flapper not closing.

I've been disappointed with the lifespan of the various toilet tank kits (flapper, chain, etc) that I buy here and have wondered about "importing" a kit from the USA. I've wondered though: are toilet tank kits universal around the world? i.e. Would the size of the fittings and screws (e.g. at the bottom of the tank) be metric here, but non-metric in the USA?

It should be the same. the nut holding it down would be standard not metric but I am pretty sure with the rubber gasket it would seat fine. besides they are either copying U.S. Europe or Australia & the parts inside are made to fit all. If not a rubber gasket for 20 baht would seat any type of fitting. The Kohlers her look identical in the casting ., Although come to think of it we rented 2 houses that had Cottos & only had a flush valve (top push type flush.)go out & it was an easy fix. next thrones will be a Cotto"s.

[Greenside]

I could be wrong but there is a device in the water tank of the house we are renting that looks as if it is designed to cut off the power to the water pump if the level falls too far. It seems to have a part that floats and a part that is near the bottom of the tank and I can't imagine what else it could do since it is connected to the pump.

[stgrhe]

I could be wrong but there is a device in the water tank of the house we are renting that looks as if it is designed to cut off the power to the water pump if the level falls too far. It seems to have a part that floats and a part that is near the bottom of the tank and I can't imagine what else it could do since it is connected to the pump.

You are probably right as it is likely the flow switch cuts off power to the pump through a power relay to prevent the pump from running dry. Some pumps have built-in protection against dry run but not all.