Talk:Ballcock

Cleanup
Some attempted clarifications that were added in parentheses don't improve the article's clarity. I removed them. I also tried to reposition (and fix) the comment mentioning that the mechanism represented is not common in Europe. Pr. Ultracrepidarian (talk) 01:59, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

Term 'ballcock'
Perhaps add a see also - bollocks for the use of ballcocks as a substitute? "no, i said 'ballcocks' not 'bollocks'!" —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.130.74.104 (talk • contribs).

Nothing to do with a dildo, right? --Damian Yerrick (☎) 18:02, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

What an utterly unfortunate name for such a thing. I love it. Eris Discord | Talk 06:14, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

The only way it could have been funnier was if it was called the Cockballs —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.45.218.100 (talk) 13:46, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

Wasn't the term 'ballcock' in use before 'bollock'? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1700:57F0:4580:DCAA:6281:967D:D969 (talk) 13:20, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

Not all toilets have handles to turn
There are several designs requiring a ballcock without handles to turn - the primary one being one where a rod that is lifted is directly connected to the flapper valve. - Name of no importance.

Image
This is a really confusing image. Any volunteers want to make a new one? Calcified (talk)

I found the article frustrating because it is filled with diagrams of toilet mechanisms but does not indicate the "ballcock" (="balltap"="float valve") in any of them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.67.113.51 (talk) 16:05, 30 April 2017 (UTC)

Serious conflict of Facts
This article is at odds with others on Wikipedia which cite Thomas Crapper as the inventor of the Ballcock. I don't know which is correct but it needs resolving. DickyP (talk) 07:27, 3 October 2012 (UTC)


 * I've looked around, but don't have anything solid.
 * From the Joseph Bramah (1748-1814) article, it looks like Bramah was responsible for the flap valve in a flush toilet. According to our article, Bramah was installing a 1775 Alexander Cumming patent toilet that was prone to freezing. I could not find the Cumming patent. I cannot find a copy of Bramah's GB patent 1778/1177 to see if it says anything else. In particular, I don't know how the tank was filled on these toilets.
 * (Josiah?) George Jennings has an interesting patent description that includes a valve with lever to avoid using some wires. I did not find this patent. See http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/George_Jennings
 * Thomas Crapper (1836-1910) seems to be widely credited with the ballcock. I found 3 Crapper patents, but only one was related to a toilet -- and it was using a pedal instead of a chain. The patent drawing needs a lot of interpretation. See also http://www.jldr.com/crapperloo.html with several pictures and references to valve wc.
 * Glrx (talk) 18:11, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

it is negative feedback, but it's not proportional control
The feedback is not proportional. It is non-linear, with hysteresis. NCdave (talk) 23:46, 17 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Hysteresis implies positive feedback. Valve starts to close normally until a tripping point is reached, and then it snaps closed. Electrical analog: Schmidt trigger. Glrx (talk) 00:27, 18 August 2013 (UTC)

US-only view
This article covers two things, only one of which is a ballcock.

Toilet cisterns have two valves: one (the "ballcock") for filling, one for flushing. It's reasonable to cover both in one article, but it needs to clearly distinguish them.

The ballcock predates 1790. It was used (probably elsewhere too) with Newcomen steam engines at the early part of that century. Nor is the flexible diaphragm valve type illustrated here an 18th century design.

The article here describes only one, late eighteenth century, type of leak-prone flapper valve. It's highly US-centric. In the UK and Europe these went so far as to be forbidden by water by-laws, as they were so wasteful. Instead the UK developed systems like Thomas Crapper's leak-preventing valve, a siphon (the one toilet part Crapper did invent). Bramah also invented several advances. Although these awful US valves have returned, illegally, to the UK market they're far from popular with the water supply industry and their current status was railroaded politically, not accepted on technical grounds.

This is far from a good article for its coverage and accuracy. Andy Dingley (talk) 11:38, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

=Potential for a Merge With / Internal Link to the Float chamber Page = I was wondering what you think of potentially merging the pages into some sort of page dedicated to the concept of valves using this mechanism, rather than specific applications? If not just adding it to the "See Also" section may be of use

--Eric Lotze (talk) 20:27, 26 March 2022 (UTC)

Siphon valve
While a Siphon valve is related to the operation of a flush toilet, it has little else to do with a ballcock. It's function is to allow water out of the storage tank, not to allow water in like the ballcock or fill valve. This section doesn't belong in this article and should be removed.