(Be sure to put the top of the tank back on before you re-open the inlet valve. If you didn’t replace the cap quite right and the valve is still open… well, let’s just say you’re gonna need a lot of towels.)

I recommend a great book called “Shop Class as Soul Craft.” It’s about the spiritual benefits of working with your hands.

@P.M.: you obviously know a LOT more about this than I do. Thanks for the education on the siphon…never used one. Thanks!

There are two moving parts: the float and valve assembly, and the stopper that controls the release of water.

That’s not two moving parts, in most systems. The float and valve assembly – the ballcock – typically has two already, the float on the end of a rotating arm and a valve carrier with a linear travel that the arm moves with a side lug, so that’s at least three rubbing zones (of course, that’s only one type). The “stopper” may or may not exist – that is, the equipment might use a stopper or might use a siphon actuated by a vestigial pump, depending on local practice and legal requirements – but either way there will typically be at least two elements in a mechanical sequence from where you operate it to where it affects the water. So that’s a lot more moving parts.

Also, if the works don’t use a stopper but a siphon, much of the article will deceive and frustrate the unwary because they won’t be able to find the things it says are there and it won’t explain the things that really are there. But, if the works use a siphon, they are far less likely to need work in the first place and they never will leak into the bowl (unless the overflow is directed there). That and a hygienic minimum water delivery are why some laws require siphon systems (at other times and places, laws forbid them so as to minimise water use).