This will work. I know as I came up with a similar solution years ago. I used a milk shake straw. Cut it to the proper length and ran the chain through the straw.
Started noticing something with my flapper. Thanks for sharing!!! I've had these problems for decades! Found another reason the go to harbor freight lol!
I'm trying this today. As a hobbyist/tinkerer of electronics I have used a Bic lighter to shrink the heat-shrink material since the 80s and as long as you don't hold the lighter on it too long it works great. Also, bleach tabs in your tank will cause the rubber components like the flapper to degrade exponentially faster. I recommend not using them. Thanks and keep posting great tips!
Interesting that you just mentioned this about the bleach tabs. I used some of those this year and found the same thing. I'm all done using those. Thanks!
Bleach tab warped and destroyed my flapper. After replacing flapper, tank keeps running and the sound is driving me crazy! I had to shut the valve off because I can't locate the source/cause
Good video..thanks for posting. I just implemented a fix based on yours. I had the same problem...1 time of of 10 the flapper would not fall back into place due to the chain binding up, I guess. Not having a heat gun or shrink tubing, I took a piece of leftover tubing from a Fluidmaster repair kit and cut a piece about 2.5 inches long. The chain is too big to slide through the tubing so I cut a slit in one side and popped the chain into it. If the chain stays inside the tubing, which I placed just above the flapper, I think it will work. Cheers!
Don't forget that rubber flappers get old and start to warp over time. You should get a few years out of a flapper before it warps enough to cause slow leaks that you can quite often hear. Usually how it manifests itself first is when you can hear the water turn on in your toilet to top off the tank every so often.
@@carlosamorin7989 I posted this video 3 years ago and I haven't had to replace the flapper. I live in AZ and the water here is pretty harsh, but the lifetime of a flapper will be related to the kind of water it is sitting in all the time. My house has hard water. That might make a difference. Is your bathroom on soft water? Soft water is slightly more corrosive than hard water.
@@DoctorFixMaster very possible difference. Im in Texas and the water is not terribly hard but not too soft either. I will give your method a try. It worked for you, so my hope is that it will work for me. Thanks for posting your solution.
This is a good suggestion but many times the hook at the top gets caught up and does not allow the flapper to seat right. I simply replace that hook at the top with a zip tie and secure it tight to ensure no snags at the top. You can always cut and use a new zip tie when it is time to replace the flapper if you want.
Thanks for the video, but why can't you just replace the chain with a nylon cord or something? Anything that will lift the flapper and that won't fall apart in the water. I replaced the chain in mine with an old shoelace. Works great. Much cheaper than buying shrink wrap tubing.
My problem is the rubber toilet flapper is similar to yours in this video, but the clamps are stupidly designed, they’re like old style clothespins and they keep coming off of the flush valve posts. I’ve tried twice to rig it, from wrapping pumber tape over the clamps to using twist ties to keep them pressed towards the flush valve. Renting is the worst, especially corporate landlords who hire clueless maintenance staff that take 2 or 3 visits over days to fix one simple problem.
If you're motivated and you don't mind spending a few bucks to make the problem go away, you might consider just replacing the whole valve assembly. Most of those fit standard sized holes in the tank. Then you can pick a value of your choosing that goes with a flapper that you know works, and be done with the crap valve and flapper you have now. Good luck!
I’m having a problem with our toilets leaking water around the flapper. I have installed new flappers, made sure the right size, any suggestions on how to fix my problem ? Thanks
You can by kits for the tank that will provide a hole for the new flapper to rest on that you mount into the tank hole and seal with silicone. If you have new flappers and it still leaks, it has to be the tank/flapper interface and those kits will usually fix those problems. They are available at most hardware stores like Home Depot or Lowes. Good luck!
I'd rather replace real rubber and soft silicon than waste water with this Fluidmaster. The model you showed slow leaks all day and tops up the tank every hour all day and night. It's too hard a material for a flapper.
It's the only one that has ever worked for me, because rubber expands when it is wet for a long time, and those crap Korky flappers made of all rubber get longer arms on them and start to misalign, until they won't close reliably at all. I've never had the slightest problem with this flapper other than the chain issue addressed here. The solid plastic arms are the only way to go as far as I'm concerned, and this model is the only one I've seen that has that feature.
Excellent video and good discussion of all rubber vs plastic frame. I was going to get the all rubber Korky replacement but then saw this was highly rated and the design looks better so got this instead and works great. No leaks. But I think the all rubber one works fine too as the rubber is durable. I think by the time the rubber arm warps the overall rubber has hardened and lost its suppleness so the seal around the mouth is long gone. In other words it's gonna start leaking long before the arms warp. I didn't know anything about flappers until today when I wondered why my water bill was $500 higher than usual. So I took a look at my toilet and noticed the original Kohler all rubber flapper was still there and in use for probably 8 years or longer. That's when I bought the house. That's amazing longevity. The arms haven't warped yet but the overall rubber construction has hardened and slightly warped around the rim. It didn't even feel like rubber anymore but plastic. That was one hard working all rubber flapper. The longevity of the flapper will depend on the rubber chemical formulation but it's a lot cheaper than my $500 increase in water bill so don't mind replacing these every couple years.
@@carlosamorin7989 I used marine shrink tubing which came in a kit of different sizes. I just used the slimmest one that would fit over the chain. I usually do use sturdy wire cutters to clip of extra links you don't need. A lot of excess will probably increase the likelihood of a bind up.
Mine seals flawlessly and has worked perfectly for 3 years since I posted this video. You might have something else going on, like an issue with corrosion where the flapper seats. You can buy kits that will not just replace the flapper, but also provides a silicone sealed seat for the flapper that will probably address your issue. I hate the Korkys. They are all made out of the same material and over time they stretch and warp until the flapper arms cause a misalignment between the flapper and the flapper seat. You're lucky to get one year out of those, and then you're back fixing it again.
ummm...if you've ever observed flappers doing their job, when they are lifted they float for a time after releasing the lever, and you end up with the same issue no matter how short you make the chain. Also, if you make that chain too short, it will never close.
The binding of the chain happens no matter how short it is. It's an intermittent problem, so it might only bind up once in a while, or you might get lucky for a long time and it won't bind up at all. The solutions I've put forth are the most reliable I've found so far. I haven't had a single problem with it since I posted this nearly a year ago.
