I recently renovated my bathroom and the shower handles were damaged in demo. I replaced the handles with those good old "universal" ones that tighten onto the stem with a little metal piece and an allen wrench.

like this [www.amazon.com]

Bad idea. Now the shower is leaking and What I thought was leaky stems in my shower is actually leaky stems AND stripped stems where the universal handles grabbed on. I found the replacement stems (of course not carried in any local stores and had to be purchased online). The stems I got were Danco 2k-3.
[www.homedepot.com]

It's an american standard set up, but I can't find handles for it besides the universal ones. Can anybody point me in the direction of where I might find handles that ACTUALLY FIT?! Plumbing is not my forte.



Edited 2 times.

Amerian standard stems have a tapered spline. There are "fit all: handles which use an insert made just for the specific stem. They will be easier to find than a OEM handle.

So basically I just buy whatever American Standard I fancy and it works? Why does that seem too easy?

Worth a shot, thanks!



Edited 1 times.

Under 'product description' you'll read: may be used to replace Aqua Seal stems. In my opinion, you would be far better off to convert to Aqua Seal. As far as handles, you will only find after market handles. Basically, American Standard lost interest in the plumbing market in the early eighties.

It would be "too easy", except for the fact that American Standard does NOT make all their stems like that. YOu need a handle or adapter for an "Aquaseal" stem.