Not enough space to screw in toilet supply line, what to do?

Question

My existing toilet supply line connection was old and started to leak a little when I messed with it in order to install a bidet.

It started leaking at the connection with the toilet. So I bought a replacement toilet connector, but the screw cap is too big and there's only a small gap between the toilet and the plastic screw hose.

I noticed on the old connector it seems someone manually cut the plastic around to make it fit.

What I find strange is why isn't there enough space? Is the toilet setup wrong? I feel there should be more space?

Anyways, does anybody have an idea what I can do to make it work?

Here's a picture of how small the gap is:

From another angle:

Here you can see how the old connector on the left they had clipped the plastic to fit. And my new connector on the right which I don't think I can fit doing the same:

Answer 1

You can easily remove the tank from the bowl(after draining all water), snugly attach the supply line, trim if necessary, reattach tank to bowl. Should be good for as long as you live there

Answer 2

Problem seems to be the plastic nut being too thick.

Option 1: get a flex line with a metal nut, which will be thinner than the plastic one.

Option 2: get one of these extenders, and screw your plastic nut flex on it.

Option 3: if that still doesn't fit, cut the plastic thread shorter (or add a nut on the other side to push more thread into the tank) so the nut is in a spot where there is more clearance with the toilet. If you cut it, then the end will not be smooth so you have to use the extender and teflon, not a joint.

Option 4: If the extender would fit but you cant' turn it because the angles of the nut bump into the toilet. Separate the tank from the toilet, screw the extender, put the tank back in.

When screwing metal on plastic threads, do it gently.

Answer 3

You can buy a flush valve with a longer threaded connector. They exist. They won't be in the cheap-plastic-toilet-parts department at the hardware store, they will be at the plumbing supply.

I would prefer this solution to ones requiring the tank to be removed from the bowl, because valve replacement is one of the most common maintenance tasks whereas removing the tank from the bowl is usually not needed in the lifetime of a toilet. So why make the latter a requirement for the former?

Another less common maintenance task is removal of the toilet to deal with stubborn clogs. Similarly, why make separation of the tank from the bowl a requirement for that task?

Answer 4

I had this issue and used wire cutters to cut the protruding parts of the nozzle. It worked and I was able to connect without having to get an adapter or remove the tank. Just another option in case there are others having this frustrating issue.