*crack* ... What was that? ... Why, it sounded like a toilet tank cracking didn't it?

Indeed.

This evening I was chatting with my wife and her sister when I heard an unusual sound out in the hall. I popped open the door and checked to see if one of the kids had come upstairs, or if a cat had knocked something over.

Then I heard a gentle drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip and discovered a small puddle forming under the toilet tank.
Upon further inspection I found a hairline crack extending from one of the bolts up the side of the tank.

It did it all by itself.

Now, after a quick trip to Home Depot, I have a new toilet sitting in the living room. Guess I know what I’m doing tomorrow. Boy I’m sure glad it happened when we were home and when I could hear it.

I came home one day, and as I walked down the hall, the carpet went “squish.” I though “uh oh,” and started looking for the leak. I found one of my toilet tanks had developed a crack in the side, spontaneously. It was a hairline crack, and wasn’t leaking much, so I drained it and used Silicone rubber to repair it. I never did replace that tank…

Well, the new toilet is in, and I’m totally whipped.

I actually did consider trying to patch it with some silicone, but since it was an original fixture from the Sixties I figured it was time to replace it anyway. I figured that this was just the beginning of the whole thing cracking to bits, and possibly injuring someone.

My teenaged boy once came screaming out of the bathroom, holding his pants around the waist, hollering “Where do I shut the water off!?”

He’d shattered the tank. The bottom of the tank was still bolted on, he’d just decimated the rest.

Of course if you ask him it’s “I dunno, it just broke.” I’m guessing either he forgot it’s not a rocker-recliner version, or he’s seriously lacking in fiber.

Yep, between the trips to go get the stuff, getting the old one out and new one in, we were whipped too.

Why would a toilet tank sit there for 40 years and then decide to crack?

It’s a piece of china that is constantly emptied and refilled several times a day. But the glaze is only on the outside - the part contacting water is unglazed. How long is it supposed to last? Do you have any other piece of china in your home that gets the same level of use/abuse that has lasted anywhere near this long?

Also, people insist on putting various caustic chemical dispensers in the tank, which inevitably causes the china to become more brittle.

My advice is to wonder and marvel at a piece of technology that has done a very difficult job for far longer than any other appliance in your home. When you replace it, get a pressure-assist toilet (I prefer Gerber which has a Sloan pressure system). The reduction from the typical 3 to 5 gallon tank of 40 years ago to the 1.6 gallon ones of today will have an impact on your water bill. And make sure you change the shut-off valve at the same time. Get a 90 degree ball valve.

Unfortunately, any advice, though welcome, is late. Considering that this was our main toilet (the other is in a cramped half bath), I had to replace it immediately.

This is the one I got (both tank and toilet).

It seems to be working very nicely.

I was just thinking to myself the other day how amazing the toilet is. It does it’s job many times a day, taking all your crap (lol), doesn’t need electricity to do it, and rarely breaks.