Help! My kitchen faucet handle is stripped.

[Pamela G.]

Can someone please advise me on my problem?

My left faucet kitchen handle recently starting falling off. As you can see in the photo I'm holding the piece in question. I looked at the threading on both pieces and it appears that they are somewhat stripped, and when I try to screw the handle back there's no threading to grip to!

The faucet was bought at Home Depot about 5 years ago. I've had no problems until now.

Would it be alright if I used a product like Liquid Solder to permanently attach the handle back on?

[Pamela G.]

Please, someone has to have had this happen to them or knows how to fix it.

[Jeff Wisnia]

Be a little more specific please.

What is stripped, the flutes, a screw thread ow WHAT?

Jeff

[Pamela G.]

I'm so sorry, not sure what exactly happened. I just realized that my original post with photo never appeared for this group. It shows up for me on my webtv's browser but not for any of you. Not sure why you can read my second post, but not my first?.....Anyway, below is my first post with photo. Hope this shows up!

--------------------------------------------------- Can someone please advise me on my problem?

My left faucet kitchen handle recently starting falling off. As you can see in the photo I'm holding the piece in question. I looked at the threading on both pieces and it appears that they are somewhat stripped, and when I try to screw the handle back there's no threading to grip to!

The faucet was bought at Home Depot about 5 years ago. I've had no problems until now.

Would it be alright if I used a product like Liquid Solder to permanently attach the handle back on?

[willshak]

You can use a waterproof glue made for metal, but it would probably be better to call the faucet manufacturer and let them know about it. There may be others with the same problem and they might have a replacement for it.

[Meat Plow]

I would try epoxy. If there are some limited threads inside the handle (even not enough to grip the handle) it should hold for awhile.

[Jeff Wisnia]

I'd suggest using a metal filled epoxy, "JB Weld" is a excellent pick.

Clean the surfaces of the male and female parts with a grease free solvent like denatured alcohol or acetone on a Q-tip first, to get all traces of soap and such off them.

JB Weld should work just fine, do it at a time when you won't have to handle the handle for at least 12 hours.

HTH,

Jeff

[Jeff Wisnia]

Whadja wanna bet the country of manufacture was China?

Jeff

[Big_Jake]

The picture is a hand holding two types of "JB Weld".

I am guessing that the faucet is junk, like Home Depot's "Glacier Bay" or some other no name brand. Replacing the handle might work, but without a picture, it is hard to tell.

JK

[Pamela G.]

Thanks Bill! That's a great idea! I'll check that out next time I go to Home Depot. I didn't keep the box and have no idea what brand faucet it is, but maybe they still sell the same model/brand today. In the meantime I'll glue the little sucker back on! Thanks again!

[Pamela G.]

Thanks! Will give it a try! Yes, there are threads, a bit warn down and kind of disintegrated :-)

[Pamela G.]

Great! Thanks for the info! Will clean it and glue it tomorrow! Funny thing is a month ago at Home Depot it's as if a ghost tapped on my head and said, "Buy JB Weld"....so I did! Do you know which one would be better to use? One is JB Weld and the other is JB Kwik Weld. Here is a photo below:

[Pamela G.]

Hi Jake, yes I see that. This just hasn't been my day. My pictures and posts seem to appear then disappear. I think they're possessed!.....I'll try to fix it. Yea, it probably was a Home Depot cheapie. I have a 50 year old house with the plumbing coming out from the wall. Home Depot only sold three styles of Kitchen faucets that would work. A gawd-awful cheap looking one for about $40, a medium priced one that I picked at around $65, and an $80 one that looked terrible!!

[Jeff Wisnia]

I'd go with the regular JB Weld if you can avoid handling the handle for at least 12 hours.

Regular setting epoxies have more holding strength that the quick setting types, as tragically demonstrated by the clods who used the quick setting stuff in place of the slower curing type to hold up concrete ceiling panels in the "Big Dig" tunnels here in Red Sox Nation.

Jeff