What causes the level in the toilet bowl to radically change?
 

You flush the toilet and after the water leaves the bowl, the bowl then fills back up until the surface of the water is maybe the size of a dinner plate.

The next day you flush the toilet and the water only fills the bottom neck of the toilet so that the surface area of the water is a tiny fraction of what it was.

The tank on the back of the toilet seems to fill correctly.

One thing did occur, the pressure switch in our well pump died and I replaced it. But it was replaced with the same pressure (40/60) and everything in the house seem to be working the same, except the toilet.

THere's a second toilet in the house, and it's working fine, but it's got a pressure vessel in the tank while the one acting different uses a "kohler canister flush valve"

similar to this
http://mobileimages.lowes.com/produc...e/07759168.jpg

These work great...and are super easy to install.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004A9BQMS?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_ypp_rep_k0_1_24&amp&crid=176RHY6B92JBT&amp&spre fix=plumbcraft+toilet+fill+v

A turn knob controls the water height.

have you checked to see if you have turtles in the tank? One flush they could be in the water, another sitting above the water on a log or something.

^^^ Nah...they only sit above water if the sun is out....not the moon.

A really big "load" could drag the water along behind it when you flush so it doesn't come back to the normal height.
(Think about the water level in the S bend)

Does a further flush bring the water level up to normal?

Nope. I even tried pouring water in and it drained out which seems extra weird to me.

Only the turtles with the laser beams on their heads.

And be careful when you're picking wild mushrooms for culinary purposes.

Is it possible you have a broken sewer pipe that's leaking into the ground? I really hope you don't.

This is strange. The level of water in the toilet should always be the same based on the curvature of the bowl and tube going up and over. It’s like a P-trap under a sink. It always stays the same.

Perhaps there is a crack in the toilet somewhere?

Have you looked in the crawlspace?

From time to time I'd find a low water level. Never figured out what causes it.

my (idiotic) first thought was that a vacuum has formed,

Lasers?, Not on their heads, but they shoot from their eyes. SmileWavy





http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1656200234.jpg

Water. When the toilet fills up higher, it means there is more water in the bowl.

You're welcome. The turtle question is just silly.

Yeah, apparently, all I had to do was post about it, because I just went into the bathroom and the level is back at the norm.

Not silly...turtles know what a full moon looks like.

This. It shouldn't be low. Something is up with the toilet. Check for leaks under there. Does it rock when you are sitting on it, Steve? You do pee sitting down, right?:D rotten support or movements may cause the wax ring to not seal properly. Is crawl space under the toilet accessible? Check for wet spots under there.

got a dog ?

they lower the level by drinking

I can get under and check. I don't want to but I can. I'll check tomorrow.

Not that can reach the toilet

The wax ring may be leaking?

I just had this on vacation in Mexico. After the water was shut off by an unknown party, the toilet was “off.”

A plumber fixed it. I can’t help here. He said something about air bubble and high pressure.

I was on vacation. I ignored him and had another beverage.

I'll check, but i wouldn't think that would cause the tank to be lower. No water on the floor. I'll have to check under the house. We did have the toilet professionally installed back in Feb (part of a whole bathroom deal).

And it's weird that one day it was "normal" and the next day it wasn't. But sometimes coincidences happen and stuff happens spontaneously.

Interesting. That would be a good/possible explanation since our water was "shut off" and the next day is when we noticed the issue.

I'll make sure there's no sewer lake under the house, and give things a thorough check.

Earlier, I took off the tank lid and fiddled with the mechanism, pushed, pulled, twisted, wiggled. The mechanism giggled a little, and I've found the tank back to normal twice since then. Maybe it was a combination of the water issue we had and the hard water causing a mineral build up that my foreplay shook loose.

Only if the water is shut off to not allow the water to flow into the bowl. Once it reaches the upper limit of the ptrap, the level should always be the same. Wax ring was my first guess but it may be unlikely now that I thought about it more. The real problem maybe your fill valve, or fill tube. It may be adjusted to shut off too soon causing not having enough water to fill the bowl back to its normal level. The other long shot maybe your vent is clogged with leaves. If the bowl cracks, you will see water on the floor as well as under the house. They are pretty simple devices, keep at it. Its abnormal to have low water lever like that

This rings alarm bells. There's something clearly wrong.

Do you have two toilets back to back? We do and when one is flushed it will pull a vacuum on the other and pulls some water from the bowl. Or I think that is happening.

On a really windy day, the air blowing over the roof vent can cause the water in the P trap to slosh a bit drawing water out of the bowl. Depends on the direction of the wind, the roof line, pipe lengths and things like that. Has not been very windy lately so I doubt it is that.

I've always wondered about that.

Theoretically there shouldn't be any vacuum in the drain because of the vent stack, but that could be blocked by a chipmunk or leafs.
The flush action does work on vacuum and air being sucked passed the base o-ring would affect the consistent transfer.

There is probably a small tube coming off the valve. Make sure the clip holds the end so that the water goes down the 1" dia. tube coming up in the tank. This is what fills the P trap/bowl to a constant level.

That was my thought.
The whole system was running fine for months after the install, and then literally overnight changed.
See above. Our son-in-law worked for the plumbing place. They sent their best guy to do all of our work, and it's been working perfectly since Feb.
Nope, one upstairs south side of the house and one downstairs north side of the house.
Interesting!
Right, the vent should eliminate any vacuum as long as it's not clogged. Nothing else is acting weird. I suspect the odds of vermin in our vent is REALLY low.

I know you're a DIY type, but since you had a pro recently install it, have you considered calling him and asking about it? Any pro (worth using) should acknowlege something is amiss, and stand behind their work. Good luck!

Problem solved. When I got the water going again, we had to run the water for a bit to get the air out of the system. When there's air in the system, you often get little pressure spikes as you work through the bubbles.

I was looking inside the tank, and noticed that the refill hose was filling the canister, but off to the side, not down the middle, and there was no clip to hold it in place. I thought, if it was pressed into the male flange in the middle, it wouldn't need a clip. I stuck the hose in the hole and flushed and everything worked as expected. I think one of those pressure spikes from the bubbles in the system blew the little hose out of the hole.

Not my pic or notations, just one that I found online. But the part where the refill hose goes into the receptacle in the middle of the red circle is the end that popped out.
https://support.kohler.com/hc/articl...4/mceclip2.png

Ok. Since I added noise to the conversation. Let me give input that could help.

1). Could the shut off have dislodged debris? Maybe small gravel that affects the float valve? I would start here. Replace the valve or disassemble at a minimum to inspect. (There was considerable gravel in the faucet aerator after the shut off in Mexico. )



2) bleed the system. Purge air and junk from the line.


I vote for the shut off dislodging solid chunks that are messing up performance.

Good luck.

Awesome! Next time I have a plumbing issue.... I'm calling Steve :)

The first time I noticed that the water in the bowl was sloshing around I thought I must be really drunk to see things. Then when it happened in the morning and I had been in bed for the night, I knew it was a real effect of the wind. It is weird to stand there about to let go a stream, and see the water moving in a solid mounted bowl on a concrete slab floor.

On a really windy day, it is just normal.

When I drop a big load the water level almost overflows the bowl...

You should go to more salad bars and fewer AYCE buffets. You'll be less full of it. At least you're in the desert, so your nuts don't get cold. I'm sure the water comes out of the tap at 90º.

The reason that the water level changes is because of the C.H.U.D.s, obviously.

Oh man! I'm going to have to watch that again! I vaguely remember seeing it in the 80s.

I think it has to do with the proximity and gravitational pull of the nearby moon.