Joker valve re-installation -overthinking subject?

[Ian McGain]

PeggyThanks for the advice. I installed new joker valve this past weekend and the bowl is now longer filling 3/4 way up with backflow.Question for the next time- In thinking about this- I took the old joker valve out and if you looked at the side that goes toward the holding tank- both sides should be together with a small slit showing, as is the new replacement. The old one I took out, if you looked at it on end, it appeared to have a smile (one side staight and the other in a "U" shape.Now, I just stuck the new one in the pipe but should I have installed the slit in a 12/6 o'clock position rather than say a 9/3 o'clock position? Does gravity over the span of two seasons pull one side down? Maybe I am just over thinking this as it was a real pain to remove three screws to get the valve. I had to pull the pump off first to get there.Many thanksIan

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Vertical is the recommended direction...

But it's not a catastrophe if it didn't go in that way...you're gonna replace it again in a year anyway.It's not gravity that pulls one side away...it's which side of the slit has the most pressure on it as waste goes through it that causes one side to "smile" more than the other. If it were vertical BOTH sides would stretch...the opening would still be about the same size.It was obviously long past time to replace the joker valve...but JUST replacing the joke valve is NOT the solution to your problem...it only puts a "band aid" on it that, until you eliminate anything left in the line TO run back toward the toilet, will begin to allow seepage back into the bowl again as the joker valve gets some wear on it. So you've only made the first step...now you need to "mend your flushing ways" if you don't want runback to be a continuing problem.