Spontaneous failure of toilet tank...

[nauticalmike]

I returned home today to find my house flooded because the toilet tank cracked in 3 different locations. None of the 3 cracks is connected to the others. None of the cracks passes through an area where external stress occurs, meaning not through mounting lot holes nor fill connection, note even flush handle. the cracks go all the way through the porcelain, and are as much as 1/8' gap at widest points. the tank is no longer concentric where the cracks are, or to put it another way, the portion of the tank on one side of the crack does no line up any more with the portion of the tank on the other side of the crack. None of the cracks resulted in pieces falling off of the tank, meaning all of the original porcelain that made up the tank is still attached, it just has cracks that have opened up through it. Last night before I left my house I did hear aloud bang coming from what sounded like that bathroom, but I did not notice anything wrong with it at the time. The tank lid was still in place to top of the tank. this tank was manufactured in 1968 he year the house was built and for at least the last 15 years that I have owned the house it has had nothing happen to it that would chip or cause any sort of damage to the tank, I'm baffled myself...

[darkeyed_daisy]

Did you replace the flusher lately?


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/...--finance.html

Your toilet could be a ticking time bomb. A problem with flushing mechanisms that causes toilets to explode has prompted a recall of 2.3 million toilets in the U.S. and 9,400 in Canada.
There have already been 304 complaints of exploding devices bursting, causing 14 "impact or laceration injuries," according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Flushmate, the company that installed the faulty flusher, has established a website for customers to enter the serial number of their toilets to find out if they need to replace their toilet. They can also receive a repair kit.
According to the company, "The affected Flushmate III Series 503 units can burst at or near the vessel weld seam releasing stored pressure.This pressure can lift the tank lid and shatter the tank, posing impact or laceration hazards to consumers and property damage."
Products with the bad flusher include toilets from Home Depot and Lowes, and those made from 1997-2008 by "American Standard, Crane, Kohler, Eljer, Mansfield, St. Thomas and Gerber."
A Las Vegas woman filed a lawsuit earlier this month against Flushmate, the Los Angeles Times reports. The complaint claims that the repair kit failed to fix her faulty toilet and seeks class-action suit status.

[gjnl]

Originally Posted by nauticalmike

I returned home today to find my house flooded because the toilet tank cracked in 3 different locations. None of the 3 cracks is connected to the others. None of the cracks passes through an area where external stress occurs, meaning not through mounting lot holes nor fill connection, note even flush handle. the cracks go all the way through the porcelain, and are as much as 1/8' gap at widest points. the tank is no longer concentric where the cracks are, or to put it another way, the portion of the tank on one side of the crack does no line up any more with the portion of the tank on the other side of the crack. None of the cracks resulted in pieces falling off of the tank, meaning all of the original porcelain that made up the tank is still attached, it just has cracks that have opened up through it. Last night before I left my house I did hear aloud bang coming from what sounded like that bathroom, but I did not notice anything wrong with it at the time. The tank lid was still in place to top of the tank. this tank was manufactured in 1968 he year the house was built and for at least the last 15 years that I have owned the house it has had nothing happen to it that would chip or cause any sort of damage to the tank, I'm baffled myself...

You and I live in N. California earthquake country, and as old as that toilet is, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if over time that toilet developed fissures and cracks (just wondering was it a Crane toilet?) and yes, "spontaneously" cracked and leaked.

All the best,
GJ

[SoFla]

It happened to me several years ago. Heard a loud bang, went to investigate the source, and found a flood. And you can't blame earth quake damage in Florida!

[nauticalmike]

Originally Posted by gjnl

You and I live in N. California earthquake country, and as old as that toilet is, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if over time that toilet developed fissures and cracks (just wondering was it a Crane toilet?) and yes, "spontaneously" cracked and leaked.

All the best,
GJ

Yes it was a crane. However they are mounted on rubber mounts and even so none of the cracks originated nor passed through any of the stress points, so earthquake nor any other stress the tank could be subjected to would affect the places where it cracked.

[nauticalmike]

Originally Posted by SoFla

It happened to me several years ago. Heard a loud bang, went to investigate the source, and found a flood. And you can't blame earth quake damage in Florida!

Exactly what happened to me, except I noticed no leak from that bang.. I'm guessing that after I left my house later that night there were additional loud bangs as the other 2 cracks opened up.

[nauticalmike]

So I guess now I need to contact my homeowners insurance company and have all of the floors in my house replaced and any other damage the water has caused. Does anyone have much experience with these kinds of matters? SHould I call a flood clean up specialist of just a flooring company?

[smashms]

i would think a flood cleanup specialist because if there is more damage than just the floor they can fix it as well, if you call the floor people they will only deal with the floor and you will be left with dealing with anything else and it may get more expensive.

[SoFla]

I only had carpet that needed to be dried and re-streatched after the flood. Hardly enough to cover the deductible. On the other hand, a friend had a major flood from a running toilet. She got $20,000 to replace what got ruined on closet floors, laminate floor, and a few inches of baseboard that showed signs of mold. How you handle it depends on the amount of damage.

[Susqu]

Have you guys seen this? Just heard it the other day and thought of this thread.

http://www.39online.com/newsfix/kiah...,1994958.story