Window cranks keep stripping!!!

[Dave K.]

I'm sick of the cheap casement windows in our house and am slowly replacing them with better Andersen windows as the seals go bad and they fog up. Anyway, the other thing I hate about these cheap windows (Vetter brand) is that, when the window sticks a little when you're trying to crank them out, the crank hardware gets stripped, or they break so you can no longer open and close your windows.

I don't want to replace the cranks with the same cheap original hardware, so I was wondering if there was such a thing as generic heavy-duty casement window crank hardware that will fit most brands of windows. If so, where do I get them?

[Dr. Hardcrab]

Most of the time peeping toms don't disrobe, but in any case I would call the police......

[m Ransley]

Good windows help, but but have you checked to see if window is aligned to frame. Windows shoulnt stick unless put in out of square or the hinge isnt holding the window to align and close right with the frame. Seals get dirty and stick cleaning them may also help. Mine never stick. Find sticking point and try some soap or wax there on the wood. I dont know what to put on seals for sticking, but clean them

[HA HA Budys Here]

I wouldn't throw good money, time, or effort into bad windows. Replace the whole damned thing if the window glass fogs OR the crank strips out.

[Dan Hartung]

Hmmm. The casement windows we have do stick, and the crank handle comes loose, but that's just because the handle is screwed in and the counterscrew sometimes works loose. When it's screwed back in place, the lever system which actually opens the window works fine.

My question is, are you sure the crank mechanism is "stripped"? Have you opened up the crank casing to check things out? (If the crank handle in ours is completely unscrewed, the levers will become misaligned with manual opening and closing, and you'll have to align them again to screw in the handle.)

There's a window parts website that gets posted here all the time. I bet they have something.