Pan Connectors

A toilet pan connector is the short fitting that seals your pan to the soil pipe behind or below it, so waste goes where it should and not onto your floor. Which one you need comes down to the gap and angle between the pan outlet and the pipe: a straight connector for a dead-in-line run, a bent 90 degree one to turn a corner, or a flexible (flexi) connector when the alignment is awkward or you are not sure of the exact measurement.

UK soil pipe is a nominal 4 inch (110mm), which is the standard these connectors are made for. The buying guide and quick answers below cover how to pick one and how to fit it without leaks, with the full range underneath, plus the toilet installation parts like floor fixing kits you will want for the same job.

What to look for in a pan connector

Get the shape and the reach right and the rest is easy. A pan connector is a cheap part, but fitting the wrong one means leaks, a rocking pan, or a return trip to the merchant. Here is how to pick.

Straight, bent or flexible: match the connector to the gap. This is the only decision that really matters, and you make it by looking at where the pan outlet sits and where the soil pipe goes in. If the two are dead in line, pointing the same way with a short gap between them, take a straight connector: the simplest, the most rigid and the cheapest in the range. The Straight WC Pan Connector at £6.40 is the one to grab if your run is straight.

Where the soil pipe turns away from the pan, typically down into the floor or sharply into the wall, a bent connector makes that turn in one rigid piece, and the Bent WC Pan Connector 90 degree at £7.85 covers the standard right angle. If you are searching “bent flexi pan connector”, decide first whether you want that rigid 90 or the flexible option: rigid holds its shape and looks tidier, flexi lets you fudge the angle.

A flexible connector is a concertina that bends and stretches to bridge an awkward gap, an offset, or a measurement you are not 100% sure of, which makes it the safe choice for a swap when you cannot see exactly how the old one was run. The Viva flexi connectors come in different lengths so you can match the reach: the Viva Mini Flexi Pan Connector at £12.99 for a tight, short gap, and the Viva Long Flexi Pan Connector at £13.49 when you need to reach further. With 50p between them, pick on length, not price.

Honest steer: if your run is straight and tidy, buy the rigid straight connector. At £6.40 it costs about half what a flexi does, and there is less to go wrong. Reach for flexi when the geometry is awkward, not by default, because a long concertina connector can sag or trap waste if it is stretched badly or left with a dip in it.

Size and reach. Flexi connectors come in different lengths for a reason: one that is too long has to be looped or compressed, which looks messy and can hold water. Measure the gap from the pan outlet to where the pipe starts before you buy, and pick the shortest one that comfortably reaches. Rigid straight and bent connectors do not bend or stretch the way a flexi does, so they suit a run where the pan and the pipe already line up and sit close together.

The fit: it pushes in, it does not glue. Pan connectors are a push-fit part. The connector pushes onto the pan outlet, the “horn”, at one end and into the soil pipe socket at the other, and it seals at both joins without any solvent cement. That is what makes them quick to fit and quick to swap.

Two habits save most of the grief. Lubricate the seals first, because a smear of silicone grease or even washing-up liquid helps the connector slide home without rolling or tearing a seal, and a dry push-fit on a tight pipe is where most “new connector still leaks” jobs go wrong. Then push fully home at both ends, since half-seated is the other common cause of a weep: check the pan outlet is properly inside the connector and the connector is fully into the pipe socket. The one thing not to do is glue it. These are not solvent-weld fittings, and if you cement a push-fit connector in you will never get the pan off again without cutting it out.

What else you need for the job. A pan connector seals the waste, but it does not hold the toilet down. A close coupled or back-to-wall pan still needs fixing to the floor so it does not rock, which loosens the seal over time. We sell floor pan fixing kits and other toilet installation parts alongside these connectors so you can pick up both in one go. If you are replacing the whole toilet rather than just the connector, start at the close coupled toilets range and sort the connector to suit the new pan’s outlet.

Quick answers

What is a toilet pan connector? It is the short fitting that joins your toilet pan outlet to the soil pipe and seals the two together, so waste flows into the pipe and nothing leaks at the join. It is a push-fit part, so it pushes onto the pan and into the pipe and seals without being glued. They come in straight, bent (90 degree) and flexible types to suit how your pan and pipe line up.

Which pan connector do I need, straight, bent or flexible? Look at how the pan outlet and the soil pipe line up. If they point straight at each other with a short gap, use a straight connector like the Straight WC Pan Connector at £6.40. If the pipe turns a right angle away from the pan, use a bent 90 degree connector. If the alignment is offset or awkward, or you are not certain of the exact run, a flexible connector bends and stretches to bridge it. Flexi is the safe choice when you cannot see exactly how the old one was fitted.

What size pan connector fits a UK toilet? UK soil pipe is a nominal 4 inch, which is 110mm, and these connectors are made for that standard. The thing to size is the reach: the flexible Viva connectors come in different lengths, from mini to long, so you can match the gap between the pan and the pipe. Measure that gap and pick the shortest flexi that reaches comfortably, or a rigid connector if the run is straight.

What is a bent flexi pan connector? People search “bent flexi” when the pipe turns away from the pan and they are not sure whether to go rigid or flexible. You have two routes. A rigid bent connector like the Bent WC Pan Connector 90 degree at £7.85 makes a clean right-angle turn and holds its shape. A flexible connector such as the Viva Long Flexi Pan Connector at £13.49 bends to whatever angle you need, which is handier when the offset is not a neat 90. Rigid for a tidy known angle, flexi for an awkward or uncertain one.

Do pan connectors connect the cistern to the pan? No, that is a different part, and it is worth knowing before you buy. A pan connector joins the pan outlet to the soil pipe, which is the waste side. On a close coupled toilet the cistern sits on the pan and seals to it with a doughnut washer, and a low or high level cistern feeds the pan through a flush pipe. So if you searched “cistern to pan connector” wanting that flush join, this is not the range you need.

How do you fit a toilet pan connector so it does not leak? Push it fully home at both ends, onto the pan outlet and into the soil pipe socket, after smearing a little silicone grease or washing-up liquid on the seals so they slide rather than roll or tear. Most “new connector still leaks” jobs are down to a half-seated push-fit or a dry, dragged seal. Do not glue it: these are push-fit, not solvent-weld, and cementing one in means cutting it out to ever remove the pan again.

What is the best toilet pan connector? The best one is the one that matches your run, not the dearest. For a straight, in-line gap the rigid Straight WC Pan Connector at £6.40 is hard to beat: the cheapest in the range, simple, nothing to sag. For awkward or offset alignment, a flexible Viva connector costs about twice as much, £12.99 for the mini and £13.49 for the long, and earns it by bending to fit. Buy on the geometry first, then size for reach.