replacing a cistern lid

[dylanswall]

Hi,
We are just about to move house and I managed to knock a bottle of aftershave onto the cistern lid smashing a corner off (at that point my missus helpfully mentioned how she always thought that might happen!).

Getting a replacement lid seems to be expensive and difficult so my question is, if I buy a cheapo toilet from B&Q, screwfix etc can I just fit the cistern from that to the bowl I have plumbed in.

i.e. is there a generic fitting or are bowls specific the the cistern?

Thanks

 

[Burnerman]

You'll need to look at the means by which the cistern is held to the pan...the 'close couple', if you will.
If yours has the steel bracket type of coupling (i.e no bolts visible from the inside of the cistern) then you are in with a chance. Of course there's the depth of the cistern to consider - the distance from the wall to the coupling.
If yours has the internal bolts then you need a cistern with the same hole pitch as the original.
John

 

[Blagard]

Getting a replacement lid seems to be expensive and difficult so my question is, if I buy a cheapo toilet from B&Q, screwfix etc can I just fit the cistern from that to the bowl I have plumbed in.

With close coupled WC's the cisterns are not generic, they are made to match the pan. Depending on the make and age of your WC it might be possible that the suite is still available so then you could do as you have suggested by buying the same suite.

As Burnerman has indicated there are a lot of variables, so you would need loads of luck to find a cheap one that just happened to fit - it's possible but check carefully first if you can!