Andrew Emmett

So the royal throne was broken. It only would partially flush and then stopped completely. After some research it looked like we needed to replace the syphon. We are slowly renovating our property and even though we will most likely be replacing the toilet cistern, didn’t want to right now. So here are the steps we took to replace a syphon on an old Fordham ‘Elan’ (low level slimline plastic cistern). I hope this guide helps others, especially owners of old Fordham Elan models to fit a new syphon.

1. Ebay

After doing some research we decided a universal syphon was the answer. Found many listed on ebay. Be careful as there are quite a few different types. A screw wouldn’t be able to properly fix the lid of the toilet to the syphon, but we don’t care as it will be replaced in the not so distance future and the lid fits firmly in place anyhow. In the end we brought a ’9.5 inch Delchem multiflush siphon’ for cheap as chips (well not quite, but cheaper than many other places).

Update 30th June ’10

Now if ebay isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps you prefer to purchase a siphon via amazon? I’ve found a 9.5 siphon there and added a link below. It looks similar to the one I purchased, but I have not used the siphon i’ve found at amazon. You purchase any item I mention on this page at your own risk! I’m not to be held responsible for any problems you encounter, including financial problems!





2. PTFE tape (plumbers tape)

We had some already, but believe me, you will want to purchase this.

3. Stop the water!

Once we had everything we turned off the water using the stopcock and let a tap drain away excess, still in the system.

4. Empty the cistern.

We then used a plastic container to empty the water in the ‘cistern’ into a sink. Don’t worry about the water in the toilet bowl itself.

5. Towels!

Couple of old towels were placed under the cistern, ready for later.

6. Remove the ball float and valve.

These will get in your way, so unscrew the ball first and then the valve. The valve, though I might not be using the correct word, is the rod that the ball float is connected to. It also regulates the water coming into the system, so make sure the water has been turned off already! Otherwise water will pour into the cistern.

7.Release the nuts!

From under the cistern unscrew the nuts. This was tough, but with the help of an old tea towel to protect my hands, they came off. Expect some water at this stage to run through and onto the towels.

8. The Fordham Elan plastic bits!

Now with the Fordham Elan the syphon is a bit bespoke and so is the cistern. We had to break four small plastic notches that fit snuggly with the old syphon, but not with our new one, which had a larger diameter and plastic seal (for inside the cistern). Essentially the new rubber seal wouldn’t be able to be plum to the bottom of the cistern without these plastic parts breaking the connection. So I snapped them off with pliers. Obviously make sure you really need to do this before you attempt the same!

9.Follow supplied instructions & perhaps use plumbers tape.

Now follow the instructions that come with the new syphon. However we added plumbers tape (dried piping first) to the plastic screw area of the new syphon that sticks out from under the cistern. This gives it a tighter fit and should stop some minor leaking. Also we removed one of the syphon bungs (before we fitted the syphon) to give the toilet a 7 litre flush (instead of 6 or 9).

10. Reconnect!

Once finished connecting all the pipe work up, reconnect the ball valve and ball, then turn the water back on. Your system will start to refill and monitor for leaks.

Happy flushing!

I’ve kept the old syphon and the problem was the round thin plastic sheet had broken. So I plan on either making a replacement or buying one. Then we have a replacement ready if we ever need it.