plumbingtoiletvalve
I was replacing a toilet fill valve last night, and after it was all done, I noticed the following item sitting in the basin I had placed underneath:
It looks unused, so I'm assuming it fell out of the new fill valve, but I can't figure out what it is. Presumably it's some kind of aerator, but why would a fill valve need one? Everything seems to be working fine without it. Can someone here identify what this thing is?
After shutting off the water, try adjusting the knob to the open position to see if there's a hidden screw. Otherwise, there may be a cap that just pops off with the right pressure and often with the careful use of a blade (I usually try with a putty knife first before moving down to sharper tools).
It seems as if you have an obstruction that may be floating around in the pipe or valve. Sometimes it obstructs sometimes it flows clear. I would start with changing the water valve. If this is the old style "gate" valve there are several things that can clog the line. I would replace it with a 1/4 turn ball valve. That will give you much better flow than a gate valve. You will need to shut down the water probably at the main. The old valve is probably soldered, but you could cut it off and use a compression type valve instead. "Sharkbite" is one such supplier. Although I have never used their compression valve, I have used their end caps and found them to work well.
If you can have someone hold a bucket under the pipe once you cut off the valve and then a second person turns on the water main to fill the bucket to purge the line of any debris. With cast iron pipes it is common to get clogs from rust build up. The rust may not pass the small opening in the old gate valve when you first purged the line.. Although you did not mention what type of pipes you have, if it's copper than you won't normally find rust obstructions..
Best Answer
Looks like an aerator or flow restrictor. My guess is flow restrictor. Probably was a handy place to toss it, or keep it for later use if need be, by whomever removed it. Or maybe it just fell in after removal and nobody could spot it to throw it away properly.