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Need Oddball Shutoff Valve Handle

I need to re-pack a sillcock, and the interior shutoff valve for it is missing its handle. I took a look at the shaft, and instead of being square, it's round with two flats at 90 degrees forming a corner. The cross-section looks a bit like a squashed ice cream cone.

I've spent a lot of time rummaging around on-line, and all I can find are various sized square shank handles. At one time, somebody made a "universal" valve handle that used a disk with a variety of holes that you could rotate to the center. I don't recall if it had an appropraite shaped hole, but I can't seem to find one of those anywhere either.

I found one "universal" handle that is just three large setscrews ("Mandle") that might work, but I suspect it will mostly just bugger up the shaft. I could make a round socket with a pair of set screws at right angles that would work better than that.

Does that sort of valve stem ring a bell with anyone, or does anyone have a link/source for one of the rotating disk universal handles?

Thanks!

Doug White

Reply to
Doug White
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We've all been there. A replacement valve is $4 or so, and you'll want the house water shut off (remember to turn the electric water heater off if you need to drain water from the pipes). Finding a fairy handle will only get you a functional fairy cutoff valve.

Personally, I like the rotating-ball valves.

Reply to
whit3rd

How about taking a square hole handle and seeing if it will fit. Clean any paint or crud out of the square hole, mix a small chunk of metal filled epoxy or JB Weld. coat the stem with some oil and pack the epoxy in. Run the screw down tight, remove extra epoxy and call it done.

Reply to
Steve W.

I have a freezeproof outdoor faucet with a nonstandard stem that I had to make a handle for when the original zinc one stripped.

It's an aluminum tube with an elongated slot to fit the double-flatted stem, with a brass cross shaft to turn it. I filed the corners to better fit the half-round from the end mill to the chord on the stem. The aluminum corrodes where it rubs on the valve stem but not at the brass handle, despite grease.

Perhaps you could machine a tube in two halves, one with a round bore and the other with a vee, and press a sleeve over them to hold them together, then cross-drill for the pressed-in handle shaft that keeps it all together.

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-jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

Adjust the universal handle to a slip tight fit and use some JB weld in the bond. Iffen it works, it works. Iffen it don't the hard JB weld should be easy to clean off the valve stem.

Reply to
nobody

Drill a hole that matches the round area through something (metal, aluminum...) that looks like a handle and then use a file to make the flats.

Or buy a pair of Vise-Grip type pliers, clamp on and forget. Tacky, but I've noticed them doing that job in other peoples basements ;-)

My Dad would probably know the brand if they were ever sold in my area but alas, lost him several years ago...

Reply to
Leon Fisk

+1 for a buck's worth of Vise-Grip clone from harbor freight. It'll work great and we've already spent more than a buck's worth of time thinking about it.
Reply to
rangerssuck

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