P
Parsimonious
The cisterns in both my loos are Fordham Flush Panels (Model Aquasave AC 2613). They looked quite old when I moved here in 1995 but they continued to work well. The only failure until recently was of a halter unit, which snapped. I replaced this without realising that more important plastic components might also fail because of age. Recently, while turning off a cold tap (mains supply), I heard a loud knock in the pipes and then found water cascading from under the lid of one of the cisterns. The plastic feed unit in between the inlet and the ball valve had split neatly in two, releasing the full flow from the 15 mm copper inlet pipe. The same thing happened yesterday with the other panel (which I use much less often). The currently available Fordham ball valve assemblies can't be used as a replacement. Anyway, this is a warning that old plastic plumbing parts might suddenly fail, with potentially disastrous consequences.