Toilet Pan Connectors: Straight, Bent or Flexi?
Toilets
Which pan connector you need comes down to one thing: how your toilet’s outlet lines up with the soil pipe behind it. If the two sit dead in line, use a straight connector. If the soil pipe drops away at a right angle or sits off to one side, a 90 degree bent connector or a flexi bridges the gap, with the flexi saved for when the alignment is genuinely out and you can get your hand in to fit it. Sort that geometry first and the rest is just measuring.
Here is the 30-second version, then how to measure up, the honest trade view on flexi, three real jobs, and the questions people actually search.
- Straight, bent or flexi: the 30-second decision
- What a pan connector actually does
- Measuring up before you order
- The honest truth about flexi connectors
- Three real jobs and what to fit
- FAQ
Straight, bent or flexi: the 30-second decision
Look at where your pan outlet points and where the soil pipe opens. That comparison decides the connector, not the price tag. There are only three shapes to pick from, and each has a job it does well and a job it does badly.
| Type | When to use it | When to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Straight | Pan outlet and soil pipe are in a straight line at the same height. The most common close-coupled swap. | Any offset in height or sideways. A straight connector will not pull a misaligned joint together. |
| Bent (90 degree) | The soil pipe turns down through the floor or exits at a clean right angle behind the pan. | The offset is a soft, in-between angle rather than a true 90 degrees. It will fight you. |
| Flexi | Alignment is out and neither a straight nor a bent will reach or line up. You can get access to the joint. | A straight or bent would do the job. The ribbed bore catches waste more readily, so it is a last resort, not a default. |
For the two rigid shapes, the Straight WC Pan Connector at £6.40 is a durable, watertight push-fit for an aligned pan and soil pipe, and the Bent WC Pan Connector (90 degree) at £7.85 handles the offset installs where the pipe drops away at a right angle. Both are the cheapest way to do the job properly, so reach for them before you reach for a flexi. You can see the full range in the pan connectors section.
What a pan connector actually does
A pan connector is the seal between the horizontal outlet on the back of your toilet pan and the mouth of the soil pipe that carries everything away. It is a push-fit rubber part with sealing fins inside, so you push the pan outlet into one end and the soil pipe into the other, and the fins grip and seal both without any glue. Get a clean, square push on each end and it holds.
That is the whole job. It is not a structural part and it is not clever, but it is the one bit that stops leaks and smells at the most important joint in the room, so a cheap rubber part doing its job matters more than the money suggests. If you want the wider picture on how the pan, cistern and outlet all work together, our guide on all about toilets covers the anatomy.
Measuring up before you order
Before you buy anything, get two measurements. First, the horizontal distance from the face of your pan outlet to the mouth of the soil pipe. Second, the misalignment: is the soil pipe higher, lower, or off to one side compared with the pan outlet, and by how much. Those two numbers tell you shape and length in one go.
Rigid connectors, straight and bent, are fixed lengths, so they either reach and line up or they do not. A flexi is different: it concertinas, so it compresses down for a tight gap and extends out for a longer one. That is exactly why fitters keep them in the van. The Viva flexi connectors come in a mini, a medium and a long so you can match the size to the gap:
- The Viva Mini Flexi Pan Connector at £12.99 is the compact one for short, tight gaps where a full-length flexi would sag. Reliable, flexible and easy to line up.
- The Viva Long Flexi Pan Connector at £13.49 is the strong, longer-reach version for bigger offsets and gaps a mini cannot cover. A Viva Medium sits between the two if you need the middle ground.
One rule that saves grief: order a size that reaches comfortably at its relaxed or mid position. Do not buy one that only works if you stretch it out to its full length, because a flexi held at full stretch sags in the middle and that dip is where waste sits. Buy for the gap you have, with a little in hand.
The honest truth about flexi connectors
Flexi connectors get a bad name, and it is half deserved. On the good side, they are the fitter’s friend. When the soil pipe is nowhere near where you want it, a flexi bends round the problem and gets you sealed up in minutes with no cutting, no faffing and no second trip to the merchants. For an awkward install, it is often the only sensible answer.
The downside is the bore. A rigid straight or bent connector has a smooth inside, so waste runs straight through. A flexi has a ribbed, concertina wall, and those ribs catch paper and slow the flow, especially if the connector is stretched long and allowed to droop. That is the whole reason for the trade rule: use a rigid connector where the alignment allows it, and a flexi only where you genuinely cannot. If you do fit a long flexi, keep it as short and as level as the run lets you, and support it so it does not dip. Do that and it will serve you fine for years. Treat it as a lazy default on a joint a straight would have handled, and you are building a blockage in.
Three real jobs and what to fit
The theory is simple. Here is how it plays out on the three jobs that come up most.
Like-for-like close-coupled swap
Old close-coupled toilet out, new one in the same spot. Nine times out of ten the new pan outlet lands where the old one did, in line with the soil pipe, so a straight connector is your part. It is the cheapest, it gives the best flow, and there is no reason to complicate it. Only reach for a flexi here if the new pan happens to sit at a slightly different height, which does happen between models.
Moving to a back-to-wall pan
Switching to a back-to-wall pan often shifts where the outlet sits, because the pan shape and depth change and the frame or furniture sets it in a new position. That is where a bent connector earns its place if the pipe now drops away at a right angle, or a flexi if the new outlet no longer lines up cleanly with the existing soil pipe. Measure the new pan’s outlet position before you assume your old straight connector will carry over, because it usually will not. If you are still choosing the pan itself, our guide on how to choose a toilet walks through the pan types.
Awkward old soil pipe
Older houses are where the flexi truly earns its keep. Soil pipes in period properties end up at heights and angles no modern pan was designed around, and forcing a rigid connector onto a joint that does not want it is how you get a slow leak. A flexi bridges the mismatch. Just measure the gap, keep the connector as short and level as you can, and give it a bit of support so the middle does not sag.
FAQ
What is a WC pan connector?
It is the push-fit rubber seal that joins the outlet on the back of your toilet pan to the soil pipe that takes the waste away. WC pan connector, toilet pan connector and pan connector all mean the same part. It comes in straight, bent and flexi shapes so you can match it to how your pan and pipe line up.
Are flexi pan connectors any good?
Yes, for the right job. Where the alignment is out and a rigid connector will not reach or line up, a flexi is the sensible fix and will last for years. The catch is the ribbed bore, which slows flow more than a smooth rigid connector, so you use a straight or a bent where the layout allows and save the flexi for the awkward installs.
What is a cistern to pan connector?
Different part, do not mix them up. A cistern to pan connector is the seal that joins the cistern to the pan on a close-coupled toilet, the doughnut washer and bolts that sit between the two. The pan connector in this guide joins the pan outlet to the soil pipe. If it is the cistern seal you need, look under toilet installation parts rather than pan connectors.
What size flexi pan connector do I need?
Measure the gap from the pan outlet to the soil pipe first. A mini flexi suits short, tight gaps, a long flexi covers bigger offsets and longer reaches, and a medium sits between them. Pick a size that reaches comfortably at its relaxed length rather than one you have to stretch to full, because a flexi at full stretch sags and holds waste.
Can I use a flexi pan connector on any toilet?
On most standard toilets, yes, as the pan outlet and soil pipe sizes are common across the trade. The connector is push-fit, so there is no cutting or gluing. The real question is not whether it fits but whether it is the best choice: if your pan lines up with the soil pipe, a straight connector gives cleaner flow, so only default to flexi when the alignment makes you.
Sorting the rest of the loo
Once the connector is picked, the rest of the fit is straightforward. Browse the full pan connectors range to grab the shape you need, and if you are doing the whole toilet rather than just the connector, our guides on how to choose a toilet and all about toilets cover the pan, the cistern and everything in between.
