I have a toilet at my house that once every 1-2 hours will run for maybe 5 or 6 seconds but then stops and acts normally. I have checked and nothing seems to be getting under the flapper. The float is the type that travels up and down the tube (not a ball on an arm). What could be causing this?
Plumbing Issues – How to Fix a Toilet that Runs Sporadically
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The overflow tube drains directly into the bowl, not the tank. The only way I can think that it would prevent the tank from filling is if it was cracked or had a hole in it and allowed tank water to drain into the bowl. If this was the case, you would notice the fill valve cycling if it was a slow leak or never shutting off if it were a large leak. The reason the tank fills quickly when you divert the bowl refill tube into the tank is that you are simply not splitting the water from the fill value between the tank and bowl any more.
It sounds like your fill valve assembly is the problem. The fill value has 2 outlets, one that directs into the tank, and the other that sends water into your bowl refill tube. My best guess is that something inside of the fill value got clogged with sediment, hard water deposits, or something else that restricted it. These are relatively cheap to replace and likely not worth the time to clean them out in my opinion.
I've run into this same problem several times, and tried the same things you're trying - adjust the ball, bend the arm a bit to put more pressure on the valve, etc.
Ultimately though I've always ended up replacing the fill valve. The pressure from the float ball and arm isn't enough to close the valve completely, a seal is worn out, or something else is similarly out of whack.
ETA: In my experience, the fill valves that don't have a ball but instead have a sort of integrated float seem to be less prone to this problem (like the one pictured below)
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Best Answer
Probably a leak at the flapper/flush valve in the bottom of the tank. With age the flapper can get stiff, cracked, dirty, etc and allows water to leak into the bowl.
Semi-universal-fit repair parts are available in most plumbing or home centers. Frequently it's sufficient to replace only the flapper, but sometimes the valve seat has to be replaced too. Flapper change is easy; it takes a couple minutes to make sense of the instructions and one minute to do the work.