It is not a good idea to strip out your bathtub faucet knobs over a holiday. While I did manage to round up a plumber to tighten a stem so that the water main could be turned back on, the bathtub really was not in working condition. We could use one good knob and move it stem to stem and manage somewhat, but it was not fun or pretty. My plumber was most certain that I could replace a bathtub stem and could replace the bathtub handles. The handles had been replaced two years earlier, so I was not thrilled that the knobs were shot again. Those Gerber bathtub knobs are junky. I went to Lowe's and got a bathtub stem and knob kit by Gerber, since that's what had been on there. The originals, I don't know. The last knobs were Gerber. Naturally the stems were not the right size in the kit. I know, because I pulled one out and checked. Then, the bathtub leaked in the basement. Water pudlle. Bad news. Back to Lowe's I went and got a stem but not the same as the one I had. It was longer. Seems they do not make my stems these days. They also did not have Gerber knobs which is probably a good thing. The Lowe's lady who is now my friend with my recent frequent visits said to get Danco Universal bathtub knobs. The way they work is that they have this little square piece that hook over the stem end. The square had three screws to tighten with an alan wrench included in the packet. Those fit over most any stem and then adapt the stem so that the Danco knobs just slip over the adapter which has been put on and tighened up. No need to match threads on old bathtub of sink stems. I have now managed to install a bathtub stem and to put on three Danco knobs - hot, cold and shower. We are not running all the shower water in the basement like a couple of days ago on my first try at plumbing. That issue, I think, was that I did not screw things up tight enough. I would call these Danco Universal Bathtub Knobs temporary bathtub knobs. Anything on a adaptor sqaure over threads and only held by mini screws will not hold up forever. There's just nothing to grab. They do work for now, so I'm glad about that. I really, really hate to get up and not shower. Just ruins my whole day. Now I'm looking at a remodel on my old, yucky bathroom. The Danco Universal bathtub knobs buy me some time to think and plan. If they loosen up, I can use the included alan wrench to tighten them up. They should be OK for a while. One note I would make is that the Lowe's lady told me to be sure to check the packages on the Danco Universal bathtub knobs. She said a lot of people, for some reason, come in and slip the adaptors and alan turner wrenches out. Without those, it would be darn hard to fix a knob. So make sure you get what you pay for. You need the knob, screw, pop on cover, sqaure adaptor (unless this one fits your threads) and the mini alan wrench to tighten up the screws in the square adaptor which will make these knobs fit your bathtub stems.  

CyndiA

southern, NC