Is my toilet handle leaking?

My toilet is still leaking from the handle. I know it's because the water fills up too high in the tank.

I tried adjusting the screw on the valve, but this didn't help.

Do you think I need a new valve stem?

Have you watched it fill up with the top off? You should be able to see any problem with the fill valve, drain tube, float etc. since they are all plainly visible. If you aren't sure how it all works together, take the lid off a normally working toilet and watch how it should work properly. This is not rocket science.
If you are still having trouble after that, video it, post it on youtube and post the link here.

It happens randomly, perhaps once every few days. It's hard to watch something for that long.

Have you tried lowering the water level in the tank. That would be accomplished by turning a screw on the fill valve (far left in the picture) to effectively push the float to a lower level, so the water will stop at a lower level than it does now.
Another possibility is that the skinny tube that sprays water into the overflow tube is spraying it wildly instead of as a steady stream into the overflow. If so re-direct that skinny tube.

If you have to replace the fill valve they are cheap (around $8) and simple to replace.

jeffmattero76 said:

Have you tried lowering the water level in the tank. That would be accomplished by turning a screw on the fill valve (far left in the picture) to effectively push the float to a lower level, so the water will stop at a lower level than it does now.
Another possibility is that the skinny tube that sprays water into the overflow tube is spraying it wildly instead of as a steady stream into the overflow. If so re-direct that skinny tube.

Click to expand...

I tried adjusting the screw previously. It didn't fix the problem.

The overflow tube sprays directly into the tube. Technically, there's a little bit that doesn't go in the tube, but I don't think that's what's causing the problem.

Do you think it's the fill valve? I'm going to replace that.

Take that picture with you when you go shopping, buy everything to rebuild the whole thing. The float should shut off the water at a set height. The overflow tub in the center should be just above the full height setting.

If that tube is higher that the flusher, problem #1
Valve not turning water off problem #2
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YMzEgk9e14[/ame]

When water comes out from behind the flush lever, how much water comes out? Is it just a dribble or does it continue to flow? If you take the lid off the tank at that moment, where is the water level?
If everything was working well except for the fill valve, the problem should be consistent and when it goes bad the water flow should be continuous. I'm not sure I'm saying it correctly, but if something was basically wrong, what keeps the water from constantly flowing??

slownsteady said:

When water comes out from behind the flush lever, how much water comes out? Is it just a dribble or does it continue to flow? If you take the lid off the tank at that moment, where is the water level?
If everything was working well except for the fill valve, the problem should be consistent and when it goes bad the water flow should be continuous. I'm not sure I'm saying it correctly, but if something was basically wrong, what keeps the water from constantly flowing??

Click to expand...

This problem is 2 month old, rebuilding will cost less than 40 bucks and take an hour or two.If he gets into trouble almost everyone here can help him.

When in doubt pull the tank and take it to the store and get the right parts.:thbup:

slownsteady said:

When water comes out from behind the flush lever, how much water comes out? Is it just a dribble or does it continue to flow? If you take the lid off the tank at that moment, where is the water level?
If everything was working well except for the fill valve, the problem should be consistent and when it goes bad the water flow should be continuous. I'm not sure I'm saying it correctly, but if something was basically wrong, what keeps the water from constantly flowing??

Click to expand...

It flows in a small stream continuously until it stops. When I take the lid off, the water is almost to the top of the tank.

What does this tell you?

And is the top of the tube above the water level when that happens?

Toilet leaks can be he hardest things to track down so my usual approach is to rebuild the whole bugger and know it's done. That's cheap and easy enough for almost anyone to do, but if you can't, then the best tool for finding the leak is right beside the toilet- toilet paper. It will show the least wetness so wipe everything dry then use the TP to hunt with. Any significant leakage will show up in 15 minutes or less.

After having dealt with too many disasters from the bowl fill tube coming loose and splashing or spraying water which goes outside the toilet I've changed my techniques there. The new tube is always overlong so I stuff the bugger in it's entirety into the overflow pipe. It will hit the tank lid if it tries to come out and I've never had a problem with doing this. The only reason it's normally clipped up high is to prevent backflow into the supply lines (siphon break). If you think about this the only way this could happen is if the overflow tube fills with water and with it being totally above the bowl it can't experience that even if the bowl overflows because you're still above that level. So the only possible siphon scenario would be if the overflow tube were to clog (which I've never seen or heard of happening) and then it would be tank water, not bowl water, involved. And while not recommended, tank water is clean enough to drink in an emergency. Plus once the overflow tube siphons dry you'd only have a few ounces of tank water involved at worst- hardly an issue at all.

Toilets are poorly designed devices the plumbing trade stays with as-is for no good reason. The tank and bowl should be cast as one piece (and some have been made that way) which then leaves only one place above the base which can leak- the fill valve gasket. The overflow tube is always the correct length since it's built in so it can't leak at the handle. Only the flapper, fill valve & gasket, and wax ring can leak liquids making for easier diagnosis and repair. More proof of the validity of the K.I.S.S principle and just another reason I generally dislike doing plumbing work.

Phil

Spend $8 and 10 minutes and replace the fill valve. If the overflow tube is above the level of the water you will also need to buy a flush valve for another few dollars and maybe 20 minutes to put it in. After installation, adjust the float on the fill valve so that when full, the water is 1 inch below the top of the overflow tube. Done correctly the water level will never get as high as the handle.

jeffmattero76 said:

Spend $8 and 10 minutes and replace the fill valve. If the overflow tube is above the level of the water you will also need to buy a flush valve for another few dollars and maybe 20 minutes to put it in. After installation, adjust the float on the fill valve so that when full, the water is 1 inch below the top of the overflow tube. Done correctly the water level will never get as high as the handle.

Click to expand...

We've been down this road before, as you can see from previous posts. OP says the problem is intermittent. That wouldn't be the case if the overflow tube was too long, unless there's another factor, like something sticking.

slownsteady said:

We've been down this road before, as you can see from previous posts. OP says the problem is intermittent. That wouldn't be the case if the overflow tube was too long, unless there's another factor, like something sticking.

Click to expand...

Slownsteady - I understand. However, i cannot understand how the water level can get high enough to leak out of the handle unless the top of the overflow tube was higher than the handle hole. If the overflow tube was lower thsn the handle hole, i would expect that, if the fill valve was stuck open, the excess water should go down the overflow tube. I always thought that toilets were designed to not allow any more water into the tank than the overflow tube could handle.

The intermittant could be explained by having an overflow that is too high, but the fill valve only getting stuck open intermittently.

Yes, I think we agree. I was just pointing to the fact that several previous posts mentioned the overflow tube.

New thought: if the fill valve isn't sealed well at the top, it could be spraying water. And maybe that sometimes happens to spray water on the back of the flush handle.

Trying to install the new fill valve...

I can't turn the water off at the toilet because I can't turn the valve closed.

I had to find the meter outside. I can't find how to turn it off there either. I'm hoping it's my meter and not my neighbors. It has two meters that say "gallons" on it so I think the box houses both.

Check at the point that the water enters your house; usually there is a shutoff there. Or follow the pipes wherever they are visible and you may find a shutoff for a portion of the house...hopefully the bathroom is on that portion.
If you have to shut off at the meter, here is the valve handle:

Wow back to this problem. I thought it had taken care of itself, but it started again a day after the hurricane. No idea if the hurricane is related or not. I don't think that it was.

I know it's not the adjustment screw because I turned it all the way high and all the way low. At low, it's slightly below the water line marked on the tank. At high, it's several inches higher than the marking, but not high enough to leak out of the handle.

I found out how to turn the water off to my house without going to the meter so I can do that if needed.

The overflow tube is higher than the handle, so cutting a few inches off the tube would solve the problem. But this isn't really the root of the problem, though. That's not curing the problem, it's just curing the symptoms. Any idea what it might be?

It happens intermittently so it's hard to watch, but I left the lid off so I can see it if it happens.

farmerjohn1324 said:

Wow back to this problem. I thought it had taken care of itself, but it started again a day after the hurricane. No idea if the hurricane is related or not. I don't think that it was.

I know it's not the adjustment screw because I turned it all the way high and all the way low. At low, it's slightly below the water line marked on the tank. At high, it's several inches higher than the marking, but not high enough to leak out of the handle.

I found out how to turn the water off to my house without going to the meter so I can do that if needed.

The overflow tube is higher than the handle, so cutting a few inches off the tube would solve the problem. But this isn't really the root of the problem, though. That's not curing the problem, it's just curing the symptoms. Any idea what it might be?

It happens intermittently so it's hard to watch, but I left the lid off so I can see it if it happens.

Click to expand...

There is a float that turns off the water at a set height, sometime with old brass ones you would get a leak and the toilet would never stop. The overflow is there to protect you from floods so it should be below the handle hole.