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I’m installing a water gun/bidet to my toilet. In the step where I’m screwing the T valve to the toilet and then the water line, it does not screw.

i.e - I can screw the T valve to the toilet first, but the water supply line cannot be attached to T valve - it won’t turn beyond one turn causing a leak.

Or I can screw the supply line to the t valve first, but then the T valve will not screw on to the tank.

I do notice that the supply line is a bit hard to bend and I don’t want to bend it too much causing a break in the pipe.

In essence, line is a bit hard to screw with the added length of the T valve.

Should I get a flexible extension hose between the water line and T valve so the inflexible water line doesn’t bend so much?

It’s a rented place so I don’t want to break the water line. In my old place the water line had a bit of play to install it without any issues

T attachment inflexible hose not bending to accomplish the extra length of t valve

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    Typically you would screw the T valve unto the tank first - usually easier that way. The mounting nut on the flexible supply line should turn easily. Check it before screwing it on. An old one may have corrosion. It sounds as if you may be cross-threading the mounting nut onto the tee valve. Make sure it's going on straight or you may damage the threads. You might want to buy a new supply line of the correct length and try that.
    – HoneyDo
    Commented Nov 15, 2022 at 18:13
  • @HoneyDo no matter how much I try holding down the supply hose, it does not want to bend and hence results in cross threading. Hence I thought of getting a hose extension so I can bend it at will without having to worry about damaging the original supply line.
    – rsn
    Commented Nov 15, 2022 at 18:25
  • Get a new one. It shouldn't be that hard to bend. Hard to tell length from the pic but you could probably use a shorter one requiring less bending. I'll post all this as an answer.
    – HoneyDo
    Commented Nov 15, 2022 at 19:02
  • I think you just need to use a little more force/finesse to get the supply line to line up correctly with the t valve, so as not to cross thread it. Is there enough length to put a full 360 degree loop in it? If you get a longer one that is what you will have to do.
    – Glen Yates
    Commented Nov 15, 2022 at 19:32
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    You need a longer or a shorter hose. Probably less than $10 each at a BigBox store. Return the other one.
    – gnicko
    Commented Nov 16, 2022 at 0:11

3 Answers 3

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Typically you would screw the T valve unto the tank first - usually easier that way.
The mounting nut on the flexible supply line should turn easily. Check it before screwing it on. An old one may have corrosion.
It sounds as if you may be cross-threading the mounting nut onto the tee valve. Make sure it's going on straight or you may damage the threads. You might want to buy a new supply line of the correct length and try that. The flexible supply line shouldn't be that hard to bend. Hard to tell the length from the picture but a shorter one will require less bending.
When you install the new line make the attachments to the tank and T valve first so there is no lateral pressure to cause cross threading - then attach the supply line to the shutoff valve.

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  • Cross threading is what is going on. Unfortunately the original supply line is a bit rigid, and bending it to screw on the T valve exerts pressure on the screw causing cross threading. I wanted to leave the original supply line intact without adding anything. Hence I was looking to get a more flexible extension hose that I can bend at will and don’t have to go through the hassle of replacing the original supply line. Ideally I would replace the supply line, but I’m only staying temporarily and don’t want to touch the original install. Is the extension hose a viable method?
    – rsn
    Commented Nov 15, 2022 at 19:13
  • You can add an additional supply line to the existing one but I wouldn't recommend that approach. You will have one more connection for potential leaks and it may not gain you anything - it's a jerry-rig. Replacing the supply line is less hassle than what you are trying to do but it's up to you. The supply line simply unscrews from the shutoff valve. Before you add a second supply line, using your old supply line, try disconnecting from the shutoff valve, make your top connections and then reconnect to the shutoff valve. You may have a little more leverage for a straight connection.
    – HoneyDo
    Commented Nov 15, 2022 at 20:37
  • Best bet would be to get a longer flexible line. That will give much more room to work with it to get it bent into the direction needed. Make it long enough to do a full loop. Don't try to make an S-bend out of it - they like larger curves better and the full loop will be easier than the 2 bends in opposite directions necessary for an S.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Nov 16, 2022 at 1:15
  • HoneyDo and @FreeMan I tried to get a 7/8 to 7/8 extension but that isn’t very common. I guess I’m replacing the entire supply line ¯_(ツ)_/¯
    – rsn
    Commented Nov 21, 2022 at 15:42
  • @rsn the other option is to find adapters to accommodate the threads/sizes you do have. Of course, a single flex hose, nicely looped will look better than a kludge of 3 adapters, a flex hose, then 2 more adapters, but, if properly thread taped, the kludge will work.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Nov 21, 2022 at 15:52
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Screw the supply line nut to the T-valve first, but not all the way (or screw it all the way, then back it off a turn).
Then screw the T-valve (with supply line attached) to the toilet. The fact that the supply line nut is not tight should allow the T-valve to turn on the end of the supply line while you tighten it to the toilet.
Lastly, tighten the supply line nut onto the T-valve.
Doing it this way should prevent cross-threading of the supply line nut onto the T-valve.

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It sounds like you already have the right idea.

Get a extension hose, to avoid damaging the tread due to improper alignment.

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