Need help in identifying a faucet knob for this faucet stem (or vice versa)

[William Brammer]

Can you help me find the right stem (or knob) for this 20-year old Symmons Temptrol shower faucet?

My Symmons Model=CA faucet stem broach splines are the wrong size! :(

Details:

• The shower faucet has a circular brass plate stamped "Symmons" "Model CA"

• Naturally I assumed it's a Symmons faucet so I called them for parts

• Symmons kindly sent beautifully machined parts; (almost) all fit nicely:

- The TA-10 Temptrol "spindle assembly" is a gorgeous work of art

- The TA-25B "black diverter spindle kit" was a 100% perfect replacement

- The TA-4 Temptrol "hot and cold seat kit" was likewise elegantly machined

- The TA-35A "cold seat removal tool" fit the larger cold seat perfectly

- The TA-35B "hot seat removal tool" likewise nicely fit the smaller seat

- Even the installation diagram & instructions were perfectly aligned with what I have in my 20-year old shower faucet

The only problem is the faucet stem broach splines are the wrong size:

• The Symmons spline is circular, 12 point, ~0.415 inches in diameter

• My brass spline is circular, 16 point, ~0.360 inches in diameter

Have you run into this problem before? How do you solve it?

[trader4]

Did you try calling them up again and describing the new problem? Or taking what you have to a local plumbing supply house?

[Plumber Bob]

Few plumbers can help you because you have a high end bathroom fixture.

It's probably made by Harden who would take Symmons Temptrol valves and customize the stems making it longer, thinner, and with more splines.

Your best bet is to throw it away because Harden went out of business and I doubt you'll find such high end legacy replacement parts on the Internet.

[William Brammer]

I looked for Harden to no avail in the Master Plumber Bible:

When I called Symmons technical support a few weeks ago, they sent me the "Symmons TA-10" shower faucet flow control spindle but I now realize they should have sent me the Harden TA-10H flow control spindle which is a modified Symmons valve not sold by Symmons anymore.

You can see the difference between the original Symmons and the Harden in this web page which shows the Symmons TA-10 next to the Harden Symmons TA-10H faucet valve.

Now that I know what to look for, hopefully I can find a Harden TA10H in stock somewhere local.

[Godspeed]

Instead of looking for a valve stem to fit the faucet knob, why don't you find a faucet knob to fit the valve stem?

16 point .360" broach - Gerber, Sayco. 16 point .370" broach - Acme, American Standard Cadet & Colony, Barnes, Burlington, Central Brass, Concinnity, Eljer, Glauber, Harden, Kohler Trand, Milwaukee, Newport, Phylrich, Royal Brass, Scoville. 16 point .40" broach - Sterling

[coco]

+1 on finding a faucet handle to fit the Symmons TA-10 stem.

I think your numbers are wrong though. Looking at the URL, he needs the 12 point .415" broach - Symmons

Maybe a faucet handle for the slightly smaller broaches will

12 point .335" broach - Crane Dialeze, Michigan Brass, Wolverine 12 point .375" broach - Arrowhead, Artistic Brass, Harcraft, Glauber, Price Pfister, Scoville, Universal Brass 12 point .39" broach - Bradley, Elkay, Fisher, Sears, Universal Rundle

Or the slightly larger broaches.

12 point .485" broach - Crane, Symmons

[William Brammer]

I'm still stuck.

When I told Symmons customer support at 800-symmons that it was a harden faucet stem, they said they can't help me anymore.

I sent photos to symmons customer support [e-mail] who finally said they have nothing that will fit.

So, now I'm stuck with a Symmons TA-10 stem (12 point, .415" broach) and I need to find Symmons or other hardware to fit. Yet when I go to Home Depot and ACE and OSH, all of them tell me is that I have to replace the entire mechanism behind the wall!

There must be a simple solution out there. Are there any Internet savvy plumbers on this message board?

Note: Here are others with similar Harden / Symmons Temptrol TA10 / TA10H

?t=17268

[Patricia Wilson]

Home Depot Symmons Temptrol Spindle Assembly Model # TA-10-RP Internet/Catalog #100073698 Store SKU #498444 $35.98

Home Depot Symmons Allura Tub and Shower Valve Trim in Satin Nickel Model #S-66-2-STN-LAM-TRM-RP Internet/Catalog #202034958 Store SKU #939939 $83.93

Home Depot Symmons Allura Shower System in Satin Model #S-76-1-STN-LAM Internet/Catalog #100643615 Store SKU #939570 $183.47

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