Top positive review
6 people found this helpful
WORKED FOR ME
By FredToo on Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2020
we swapped out an older Toto for the latest 1 gal. per flush model but immediately had the water hammer noise at end of refill. This was not changing from a ball float valve to a non-ball float, so I was surprised. I tried cutting the water flow way down, and this helped, but took a long time to fill, and still a loud irritating "klunk" at the end.I knew I needed a water hammer arrestor, I just wasn't sure in the plumbing system where I needed it. The klunk was happening about 15 ft. of pipe away, not at the toilet. In looking over the types of arrestors and reading the reviews, I ran across this specialty unit. If it would work it would be amazing. No tearing out walls, very affordable unit, and looked like a 10 minute install.From the reviewsI was concerned about 2 things.\:1. It often leaked (but one reviewer suspected it was the hidden threads of the removable seat.)2. Sometimes it just didn't work.For concern #1, I decided to remove the concealed seat and check for any thread sealer before I made any attempt at an installation. You need a pretty large hex wrench for this (don't use a wide screwdriver blade like one reviewer recommended, as the soft brass hex can strip out smooth fairly easily). Most hardware stores will sell a plumber's "seat wrench", but I found that the hex wrench for tightening the jaws on my lathe was just the right size. After removing the threaded seat, I could see a paltry amount of plumbing dope on the threads, with lots of gaps. I cleaned all this off with a small wire brush (much like a tooth brush) and wrapped the threads with plumber's teflon tape. Then reinserted the seat and tightened it securely with the hex wrench (this is where a screwdriver might strip out the hex).The above work actually took longer than the installation of the unit. Mostly looking for the right hex wrench and the teflon tape. But I am certain it was the right thing to do. Maybe it would not have leaked, but it looked suspicious.The actual installation was so quick and easy that it is not worth mentioning.and it worked. I turned up the water flow at the toilet to a much higher flow than it had been, and it STILL worked. No Klunk! I opened the valve 100% and got a small klunk...so I backed off just a little.I have no answer for concern #2 (sometimes it just didn't work for some people). But it worked for me, and it doesn't leak. Truth be told, I would delete half a star for the suspect thread dope, but the system doesn't allow that. And honestly, probably any professional plumber would advise to always check for something like this on any preassembled unit. So I'm pretty darned happy with a $20/20 minute repair.fwt
Top critical review
8 people found this helpful
Not fully/correctly assembled at the factory; almost sent it back
By J. Gwinn on Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2021
Original installation went quickly - it's just a matter of unscrewing the water feed hose, screwing the big black nut to the input to the fill valve, and screwing the feed hose nut to the input (brass) thread of the surge arrester body. The banging is now gone. But it leaked profusely under the black nut, and when tightened did not feel tight. Fiddled and fiddled, gave up and reinstalled the feed hose as it had been before. No leak now. But it still bangs.A few hours later, did some googling on the problem, and came upon an Amazon report about the same problem, and saying that the problem was because the big brass seat/nut that holds the big black nut in place was loose and not fully thread sealed. Bingo! That was the problem. Took it apart, removed most of the useless thread sealer compound and used teflon thread-sealing tape instead (three complete wraps, in the direction of thread tightening)., and seated the brass nut quite firmly using a 5/16" (or 8mm) hex wrench. This worked.Apparently, this is a common problem. Sioux Chief has some work to do.Added 15 June 2021: These units do work well when correctly made, and so I bought a second unit. (Competing units seem to have the same issues.) It turns out that this one is incorrectly assembled as well. While the nut/seat was not loose this time, it was not fully seated either, and was held in place only by dried pipe dope. That would likely have leaked as well, and/or come loose, so I disassembled it, cleaned the threads, and re-assembled with teflon tape as discussed above. By the way, the correct way to install the teflon tape is such that it tightens on the male thread as the seat/nut is installed and tightened.Added 25 June 2021: Given that I'm two for two, I have to assume that all units of this model are affected. So before installing, I would use a 5/16" hex wrench to tighten the seat/nut, and see if it moves at all, even with pretty firm pressure. That's how I discovered the problem with the second unit - the seat/nut broke free with a crack noise and turned maybe 1/8 to 1/4 turn. (The seat/nut thread is 5/8-18, if memory serves.)
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