piglet john desperate appeal for help

[myoriginal3]

Why is there an overflow pipe from cistern

[graveyardkate]

Not pigletjohn I'm afraid - but the reason they have one is so should the filling mechanism / ballcock fail, the cistern can't flood the bathroom. Any overflow will leave via the pipe. Quite important.

[PigletJohn]

why is it desperate?

Is water coming out?

More modern flush valves don't always need one, they may direct any overflow into the WC pan.

[Alwayscheerful]

I believe Modern toilets have the overflow connected into the toilet bowl rather than outside.

[myoriginal3]

Water pours out constantly between flushes into the sink. It's a 1970 cistern I'd say, because it is plastic and mustard colour. It's using a lot of water.

I've never seen such a contraption before.

Is it normal then?

[myoriginal3]

Desperate May have been an exaggeration.

[myoriginal3]

What would happen if I blocked the outlet?

[DesolateWaist]

If you block it then you will have a flood.

[myoriginal3]

It's really annoying as I can't leave anything on the sink as it pours out beside the tap rather than into the sink.

[myoriginal3]

Why does such a stupid thing exist?

[SoupDragon]

You probably need to replace the whole ballcock thingy that shuts off the water intake when it has reached a certain level.

[myoriginal3]

This is a council flat. Would the council be able to replace it or is it because of other systems in the block that they need this yoke?

[myoriginal3]

By replace, I mean the cistern not the ballcock

[myoriginal3]

No.

1. Because flat was refurbished before I moved in so I presume they would have changed it if they saw the need.
   
2. I don't want to complain.
   
3. I don't want to ring up about water flowing out only to be told that that's what it's there for!

[myoriginal3]

It's certainly not the most eco friendly item.

[myoriginal3]

Plus I pay 10 a week water rates!

[YelloDraw]

Can you look inside the cistern? There should be a ball thing on an arm. The ball thing is a float. The toilet is flushed, water empties, the water fill is triggered and then refills. When the water level gets high enough, the ball/float on arm is meant to trigger the water cut off.

If you press UP on the arm, does the water stop filling?

If so, that is your problem.

Can be replaced by yourself if you are that way inclined, or by a plumber.

[WetNovemberDay]

Your over flow running means somethings wrong. Somethings not stopping the flow of water - probably exactly what's been explained above.
Call the council. They should come and fix it.
You could call a plumber yourself but it won't be cheap IF you can get one out st short notice. In my experience Plumbers are hard to get hold of.

[myoriginal3]

I'm far from that way inclined.

I have rung the council just now and they're coming out 3rd January, so I guess it's not supposed to be doing this.

Feel stupid now. Equivalent of having a tap running all day long.

[myoriginal3]

Will examine inside of cistern now.

[myoriginal3]

It's doing nothing at the moment as I flushed about five minutes ago. There's an orange ball in there which is the ballcock I presume, i'll report back when pipe starts flowing again to see if raising the ball stops it.

[myoriginal3]

If it does stop it, should I prop the ballcock up?

[johnd2]

Worth a try. You might have to UN prop for a short while every time you flush to get it to fill up

[YelloDraw]

If it does stop it, should I prop the ballcock up

Yeah you can do. You might be able to fiddle with the adjustment thing on the arm but (ball further away will make the arm move up higher) but mine was already at the end so I propped it up until it could be replaced. You will need to Remove prop when you flush

[SoupDragon]

ball further away will make the arm move up higher

That confirms something I wanted to ask! I replaced the whole float valve thing in mine and it still doesn't shut off completely. The arm is as long as it will go and I'm not sure I can adjust the other end enough either. It's irritating.