Kohler Toilet

Whatever you call, it a toilet, commode the john, or any other name, the proper name is water closet.

Throughout the centuries, the basic fundamentals of how toilets work, haven’t changed much, the basic are the same. One of the largest changes came in 1992, when the U.S. government mandated that all new toilets had to be “low flow,” using 1.6 gallons of water per flush rather than the previous three to five gallons. One modern twist to the toilet is the dual flush, which changes the water volume depending on the type of waste being, flushed the small button for number 1, and the larger button for number 2. I don’t think you need more detail than that.

Because the toilet is a fairly simple mechanism, there are a limited number of things that can go wrong. But I have to say, there are a lot of subtitles with a water closet though.

• The connection between the ballcock or fill valve and the supply line bringing water to the toilet can loosen and begin to leak.
• The rubber valve seal in the fill valve breaks down, which is like opening a faucet and walking away. You’ll get a big water bill.
• The rubber gasket where the tank bolts into the bowl will loosen over time as people sit, stand and lean back. Which will lead to water on the floor or carpet if you have a house form the 80’s.
• The wax ring seal where the toilet sits on the floor, between the drain and the bottom of the toilet bowl, can break down as people get on and off the toilet. When this happens it can rot out the subfloor. If the wax seal leaks you’ll have to pull up the toilet and replace the wax seal and possibly repair the sub-floor.

If you can hear the leak, that would be the flush valve or the flapper. An easy test for this is putting some food coloring into the tank and not flushing the water closet for a few hours. If when you come back and find colored water in the bowl you’ll know you have a leaking flapper.

Toilet repair kits are available at hardware and home improvement stores.

If you attempt to fix it yourself, the first and most important step is to turn the water off at the emergency shut off valve. The refill valve usually sticks out of the bottom of the tank, and the supply pipe connects the two.

While a leaky toilet may not seem like a serious problem, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that a leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water a day or 1,400 gallons a week. Now that’s a lot of water in any ones books.

How it works:
The chain attaches to the handle and the flapper. When you push the handle, it pulls the chain, which is connected to the flapper or flush valve. The chain lifts the flapper, which then floats out of the way, revealing a 2- to 3-inch diameter drain hole. Uncovering the hole lets water enter the bowl. One and a half gallons of water rush from the tank into the bowl. The flush valve than resets itself. The rush of water activates the siphon in the bowl. The siphon sucks everything in the bowl down the drain. As the bowl empties, air enters the siphon tube, producing that distinctive gurgling sound. Meanwhile, as the water level in the tank falls, the float falls. The falling float turns on the refill valve. Water flowing through the refill valve refills the tank as well as the bowl. As the tank refills, the float rises, and when it reaches an adjusted level, the refill valve shuts off. If something goes wrong and the refill valve keeps running, the overflow tube prevents a flood.

Now you know the basics of how that china commode works, or is it a water closet, a john, a loo, toilet? Whatever it’s called it’s nice when the darn thing works like it’s supposed too.

ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heating & Air Conditioning

4026 Grass Valley Highway, Auburn,

CA 95602-9138

(530) 886-8700 ‎

The Union.com

To view video, click on link above.

The following is information you should know and use to help assure that your Auburn  Air-conditioning is keeping you as cool as possible and working and cooling as efficiently as possible, saving you money. The following should help you decide if you need  ABT Plumbing, Electric, Heat Air to service your Air-conditioning unit.

(1) Air filter(s) MUST be clean. They should be located near the return air duct adjacent to the air handler or in a return air grill(s). Check your air filter every 30 to 90 days to make sure it is clean. Depending of the house, i.e. if you have animals you may need to clean the air filter more often. (Go clean them now!)

(2) Flip the switch on the thermostat for the fan setting to FAN ON, not AUTO. This will run the indoor fan nonstop. The outside A/C unit will still cycle with a call for cooling from the thermostat. The constant air moving will keep you cooler. You can probably keep the thermostat a degree or two higher than normal and still feel comfortable. You will also maintain a more even temperature between upstairs and downstairs. This will SAVE you MONEY because the outdoor condenser will not come on as much!

(3) Make sure that you wash the outside condenser coil once a year. If it’s dirty, the A/C will run hot and inefficient. A sign of the coil being dirty is the small exposed copper (pipe) (tubing) line, usually 3/8″ O/D connecting the inside unit with the outside unit will be HOT to the touch.

(4) If the small exposed 3/8″ copper pipe connecting the inside unit with the outside unit is hot to the touch there can be several reasons why;

(a)    A/C is low on refrigerant.

(b)    The outdoor condenser coil is dirty. Those are the two most common reasons for it to be hot to the touch.

(5) “Warm Rooms” on the lower levels of the house where it is cooler cut back or cut off some vent registers (Diffuser) and make sure that all the ones on the upper floors where it is warmer are open all the way! Also, see paragraphs #2 & #9.

(6) “Doors” if you close the door to a room make sure that there is about a 3/4″ gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. You may have had carpet put down on the floor and now there is no gap. This is necessary if you have a central return air duct in the hallway. The return air ducts need to pull the warm air from the room.

(7) Never leave the house and turn OFF the A/C. then come back home and turn it on and expect it to cool the house anytime soon. Doing this will not allow the unit to cool down the house for several hours. You can set the temperature up five to ten degrees but NOT OFF. This is because of Latent heat buildup in the walls and furniture in the house and will make the A/C work harder to remove the heat, this takes a long time.

(8) Never turn the A/C off than back on in less than five minutes, this will short-cycle the compressor and can trip breakers, blow fuses, or cause permanent damage the compressor. You should have a time-delay install on the A/C to prevent this during power outages! Some setback thermostats have a time-delay built-in. Having a start capacitor and relay is a good idea. This will increase the life expectancy of the compressor by starting faster thus keeping motor temperature down, using less electric to start.

(9) Keep blinds closed, curtains drawn, window shades drawn, a working attic fan would be a good idea, plenty of insulation in the ceiling & walls, air tight storm windows, keep outside doors and openings close, etc.

(10) “Icing of the indoor coil or the large insulated covered copper pipe “There are two main reasons for this, lack of air flow or low on refrigerant. Lack of air flow can be a dirty air filter, dirty indoor evaporator coil, dirty fan blades, damper in duct restricting air flow.

(11) “Water inside around air-handler” see paragraph 10. The condensate line is a drain pipe coming from the indoor evaporator coil to a indoor drain or to the outside. This can become clogged and cause water to backup and can produce about five gallons of water an hour. This is where all the humidity and moisture from the house goes.

(12) You should NEVER need to add refrigerant to a system, if you are adding refrigerant this means that there is a refrigerant leak in the system that SHOULD be fixed! “Why KILL the Ozone layer?”

(13) Checking the cooling with a thermometer. There should be a 15-20 degree temperature drop across the indoor coil at the air handler. Check the temperature drop in the duct close to the coil, if air coming into the coil is 75 degrees than the air leaving the coil should be 60-55 degrees. If it is higher or lower there is probably something wrong. Too high of a drop, IE more than 20 degrees drop, could mean lack of air flow or low on refrigerant. Less than a 15-degree drop could mean too much air flow, dirty outside coil or low on refrigerant.

(14) Never cover the A/C with plastic or an air tight cover; this will cause it to rust.

(15) Do NOT let animals (Cats) (Dogs) etc. Urinate on the outside coil. This will cause it to corrode (rust) and then leak refrigerant.

(16) Keep grass & weeds from blocking air flow on outside A/C.

(17) Do NOT build a deck close to the top of the outside A/C or anything else that could cause the warm discharge air to re-circulate back to the unit.

(18) Fuses, Circuit Breakers or wires should never be hot to the touch; if they are hot you may have a sizing problem or a loose or bad electrical connection.