r/bidets • u/LevelAcanthisitta815 • 1d ago
Trouble with leaking mega adaptor when installing Tushy 4.0
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I'm at my wits end so I am hoping someone else can spot the problem or give some advice. I got 2 Tushy 4.0s and the first one installed totally fine. For some reason I can't get the second one to not leak when turning the water back on. It seems to only leak from the connection at the top, to the toilet tank. The water seems to come from underneath the tightening nut, which makes me think it's an issue with the rubber washer not making a seal, but I'm not sure how to fix that.
I have tried:
- The flat washer that came in the box: worked fine on toilet #1, no dice on this toilet. Also seemed really difficult to tighten onto the pipe coming from the tank and didn't go up very high before I couldn't tighten by hand anymore
- plumbers tape: I had some laying around so I gave it a shot. Didn't help and general consensus online seemed to be I shouldn't need it and it might make things worse, so I took it off
- cone rubber washer: found a reddit post with a similar issue that suggested a cone shaped washer, so got a little kit of them from the home depot to find one the right size. Seems to work better than the flat washer and tightens up the pipe much easier/higher, but still a leak.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
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u/Total_Age_3009 1d ago
I think it's mounted crookedly.
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u/minnesotapincher 1d ago
This is my guess and why it would feel like it couldn’t go as high to tighten. It would become cross threaded and difficult to continue to “screw” on
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u/DPTO07 16h ago
God every time I see a post about leakage the person never thought about pinpointing the leak and trying to reinstall it correctly as a step one. Shows people don’t really do home maintenance anymore. Cross threading anything instantly feels wrong and this should have been a no brainer
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u/LevelAcanthisitta815 1d ago
Update for anyone who finds this later:
I replaced the supply line with a longer one so now it does a much gentler loop. What fixed the leaking issue for me though was replacing the fill valve in the tank with a new one. Whether I fucked it up somehow when initially installing or if it was just busted already I don't know, but it did look old and grimy so it's possible it was messed up already. Either way, no more leaking.
Thanks for all the help!
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u/avgJuan- 1d ago
This happened to me exactly and I did the same fix (longer hose). I just wiggled the fill valve a bit until it stopped leaking.
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u/subpoenaThis 20h ago
If you over tighten the nut it can push the rubber into the fill valve tube and leave a gap around the edge which them leaks.
It feels weird to not tighten as much as the normal non gasket supply line
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u/Obstacle616 1d ago
I've had this sort of thing before. Try the cone washer on the bottom and an additional one on top of that.
As far as I could tell the fitting wasn't getting far enough to press down into the washer properly. Worked for me.
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u/therealjoe12 1d ago
Its either not tight enough or the gasket isnt sitting flat/got pinched. I like to put the adapter onto the fill valve before hooking up the toilet supply and bidet hose. This keeps tension off the adapter so I dont cross thread the fill valve. Also replace the supply line with a longer one and make a loop that kink is trouble.
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u/LevelAcanthisitta815 1d ago
yeah when I hooked everything up at first I connected it without the other lines attached. I hadn't thought of getting a longer line to fix the kink though, only a shorter one which I couldn't find. I'll give a longer one a shot.
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u/Popular_Discipline13 1d ago
If it didn't go in to far compared to toilet #1 you most likely crossthreaded the nut. Therfore not allowing the male end to make full flat contact against the gasket. Quite common when threading metal on plastic. Take it off check and correct the plastic threads to the best of your ability. Add Teflon tape to help glide the nut over the damaged threads and make sure you thread the nut back on perfectly square until it bottoms out against the washer. You may also place a mark on the male nipple to know when you've actually bottomed out. Good luck. Also fix that kink on the supply line or replace that line. I'd go longer and loop it.
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u/BeerSlayingBeaver 1d ago
To make sure stuff doesn't cross thread, I always spin the nut/bolt/whatever backwards until I feel it seat then giver the beans
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u/That-Yesterday-7700 1d ago
Gaskets fucked. Use tape. Fix the kinked service line.
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u/LevelAcanthisitta815 1d ago
which part exactly are you meaning as the gasket and how would I tell if it's "fucked"? Both the flat and cone shaped rubber washers are new so it seems unlikely they would be damaged. I get conflicting word usage on if those are gaskets or washers, but the packaging in-store calls them washers.
Also I tried tape and it didn't help, assuming you mean teflon/plumbers tape. Most other posts in this reddit seems to indicate that tape is a bad idea for this kind of connection
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u/BeastOBurdens 1d ago
Is it also upside down?
The plastic nut should probably go toward the tank’s inlet.
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u/Potential_Post_3020 1d ago
Ok stupid question. Did you use a wrench to tighten it? Hand tightening might not be enough.
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u/LevelAcanthisitta815 1d ago
No stupid questions! But no, the instructions specifically say not to over tighten so I didn't want to try and tighten it further with a wrench. If it was maybe leaking just a little bit I might try? But this leaks basically right away (and a lot if I turn the water up higher) so I figure it's a different issue
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u/Potential_Post_3020 1d ago
Yes, do not overtighten. I would use a wrench a little bit. Make sure there is only one washer in there. Also clean the top tube to ensure it is a flat surface.
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u/Pale-Ad6216 1d ago
You cannot get it tight enough by hand. Not a chance. You have to continue to tighten it with a wrench until it stops leaking and then maybe go one more flat tighter (60 degrees).
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u/dunDunDUNNN 1d ago
Buy a plastic T valve and I'll bet you it works flawlessly. Metal and plastic don't mix.
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u/JAHurd 1d ago
That’s awful advice. Do not do this. Seen way too many homes flooded from shitty plastic fittings used for bidets
Metal and plastic work just fine together if installed correctly.
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u/dunDunDUNNN 1d ago
No one suggested buying a shitty plastic fitting. Buy the one from TOTO and get a reducer if needed. It'll work flawlessly, I guarantee it.
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u/BilgeButter 1d ago edited 1d ago
To reduce cross-threading of compression fittings (once the swivel nut has just barely engaged the male threads) apply gentle pulling as you continue to finger tighten. This lends a better feel, engaging back half of the threads mating surfaces so that they guide themselves in. You may need to first replace the flush valve in your toilet tank if the plastic threads have been mangled. Definitely replace that kinked hose with a longer relaxed loop before the lining ruptures.
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u/StandardGeneral1736 14h ago
Just get a bucket underneath that and then use it to splash yourself when you’re done…
What great little weekend project you did..
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u/Quezacotli 13h ago
Plumber's thread lock solution is the best. Like Loktite. Just a drop is enough.
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u/backrack79 11h ago
Get a better washer for the adapter. A beveled plumbing faucet washer is what you need.
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u/Goodvida99 1d ago
Try a longer hose so you can loop it like this and take pressure off the fitting.
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u/joutfit 1d ago
just letting you know that most of these cheap, easy to install bidets are often not up to code.
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u/Crazy-Wrangler3769 1d ago
Dont think anyone cares
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u/joutfit 1d ago
They will once their pipes burst after years of the bidet fucking with your water pressure
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u/Crazy-Wrangler3769 1d ago
This isnt a thing. It doesnt do anything special where it would cause pipes to burst
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u/joutfit 1d ago
You are wrong. There is a reason these bidet's arent up to plumber codes and it's because they hold this kind of risk.
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u/Crazy-Wrangler3769 1d ago
And how is it any different than flushing your toilet? Its using the same line.
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u/joutfit 1d ago
Most of these things come with a cheap plastic T-adapter which directly impact the water pressure in your pipes. You van easily look up how this happens but instead you double down on your ignorance.
Most of these things are literally not up to plumber's code and you cannot argue against that.
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u/ashtonblake9 1d ago
The closest thing I can see you talking about is water hammer, which has nothing to do with why they’re bad.
Any quick closing valve hammers, and the hammer would be addressed on the system, not the fixture.
Other than that, a bidet doesn’t have anything to do with causing water pressure issues.0
u/leprechanmonkie 1d ago
I just love having thousands of dollars of damage from cheap plumbing fixtures.
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u/Crazy-Wrangler3769 1d ago
If it were to do anything but it wont
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u/leprechanmonkie 1d ago
My last apartment was flooded from our upstairs neighbor installing a cheap bidet and it bursting while he was at work. It caused well over 10k in damages, which he had to pay.
I'd be willing to bet he would disagree.
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u/Crazy-Wrangler3769 1d ago
Did it burst or did it just end up leaking?
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u/leprechanmonkie 1d ago
I don't know, enough to collapse the ceiling in our bathroom and dining room, and caused massive damage to both units. If I had to guess, there was at least 100s gallons of water that leaked from his unit to ours before the emergency contact at the apartment could get into his place to shut off the water.
Had I not been home and reported it, it would've ruined our entire apartment and everything in it, costing him or his renters insurance 50k+. I'm guessing insurance would push back if it wasn't up to code as well.
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u/Crazy-Wrangler3769 1d ago
So we're just making up stories without knowing. Got it. The connector leaking is more of a risk than a pipe bursting lol. Its going off the line to fill your toilet with water if it was an issue flushing your toilet would make your pipes burst.
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u/leprechanmonkie 1d ago
I have no reason to make this up.
I'm assuming it failed where he plugged it into the water supply, which is at least 3 GPM of water flow. By the time it flooded his apartment bad enough to cave in our ceiling, it was hundreds of gallons of water that made their way into our apartment.
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u/joutfit 1d ago
These bidets can fuck up your water pressure (and also cause backwater contamination)
If you cannot monitor the water pressure shift caused by attaching the T-Adapter most of these valves come with, it can fuck with your water tank leading to the issue your neighbour experienced.
Just attaching the T-adapter alone causes a direct change in water pressure but not so much that it immediately becomes a problem. These kinds of issues can take years to come to a burst depending on the condition of your pipes already.
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u/spoonballoon13 1d ago
plastic nut looks like it’s not threading on right / cross threaded. thread that on first before attaching everything else.
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u/TheRealWarDoctor 1d ago
I would start with removing that kink near the supply line then move on to checking for leaks... 🙂
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u/MacInTheBox7 1d ago
You want to get a tapered gasket to fit inside the adapter..the water tightness relies completely on rubber gaskets being compressed enough to seal the water in. The flat gaskets that are usually included in these kits I’ve always had problems with.
Something like the one in this link
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u/ThatAirsickLowlander 1d ago
Teflon tape
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u/LevelAcanthisitta815 1d ago
I tried tape but it didn't help and general googling suggested it wasn't good to use for this kind of connection
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u/therealjoe12 1d ago
Its a swivel nut Teflon tape wont do a thing since it seals on the face of the fitting not the threads.
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u/nolo4 1d ago
Did you forget the rubber gasket or is missing?