2nd failed attempt to repair pot handle

[bxdobs]

TFal Pressure cooker has a plastic arm that locks the lid in place while under pressure ... this arm broke when the lid fell on the floor. First attempt to repair involved drilling peg holes for 2 nails to tie the two broken pieces together (added shear strength) ... using standard white glue ... this lasted one use ... upon releasing the steam from the pot the glue joint failed ... second attempt involved purchasing some 5 min Black Plastic Epoxy ... this has lasted for 3 uses ... upon examination of the repair this glue is flexible BUT peels off the Pot Handle ... the nails pulled out with no effort ... thinking of making butterflies out of metal and or plastic but need to find another type of glue that will bond to this plastic

Looking for suggestions for glue ... the surfaces were sanded with coarse sandpaper and then cleaned with acetone before gluing to no avail as the glue simply peeled off

 

[Yorkieguy]

Have you tried e-spares to see if they have a replacement handle. It sounds like a common accident:

https://www.espares.co.uk/search/at1103ma831/pressure-cookers/small-appliances/tefal

You need to state the model in your search.

As you don't specify the model, I've looking through their stock, I can only see this one and it's been discontinued by tefal:

https://www.espares.co.uk/search/at1103ma831/pressure-cookers/small-appliances/tefal

You could also try tefal:

https://www.tefal.co.uk/accessories...s-and-pans/Pressure-cooker/csc/PressureCooker

Hope that might help.

Good luck.

David.

 

[bxdobs]

Thanks David, my Model isn't on their list ... 3215 6L circa 1993 ... this pot has been my pride and joy since day one ... use it to cook almost everything; soups, goulash, rouladen, chili, stew, tacos, stroganoff, Egg Noodles and much more ... as such, my preference would be to repair this handle before trying to find a replacement ... I have looked at newer models and nothing I have seen comes close to the quality of this pot ... took a chance and purchased a look-alike handle from AliExpress but this turned out to be totally unusable (looks can be deceiving) This part was for an Oster https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100....order_list.order_list_main.11.552d1802LJfXG7 which looks like the T-Fal part but unfortunately some major differences
1) the mounting holes are horizontal instead of vertical
2) the vent holes didn't line up
3) the height profile is higher (the top of the Oster must have a larger profile)

 

[Yorkieguy]

That's bad luck, but I guess that at 29 years old, it's a tall order to expect the maker's to still supply parts.

One possibility you might wish to try is a product I've used from time to time called 'Plastic Padding Super Steel Epoxy Weld'. It's a metal-filled, two-component adhesive, which sets like steel . One of the tubes contains grey material - the other, black. When mixed together, after curing it's dark grey in appearance. It hardens in 5 minutes and cures in 10 minutes. It works well up to a maximum temperature of 315°C (<100 continuous). It an be filed, drilled and sanded.

Might be worth a try:

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/p...ic-padding-super-steel-epoxy-weld-434951.html

Regards,

David.

 

[bxdobs]

Thanks David ... unfortunately, this particular product isn't available in Canada ... Reviewing the Product specs it closely resembles another JB Weld product which claims hi-temp and embedded steel particles ... for my third attempt, I first tried some experiments with CA Glue and Baking Soda which totally failed to adhere to this handle material (highly recommended by Adam Sandler of Myth Busters as a fix for everything) ... I have extended the holes I had attempted to use for Nail Dowels ... these holes now extend thru to the outer surface of the handle ... total length around 4" end to end ... this allows me to thread a serrated straightened paper clip through each side of the break (either side of the handle) ... I then created a hook at one end of each wire so they don't pull out when I pull the broken parts togeher ... filled the holes and buttered the breaks on both halves liberally with JB Weld the pulled the parts together using these 2 embedded wires ... finished off by bending the ends of the wires back on themselves to lock the wires in place then clamped and cleaned off any excess JB ... after 18 hours this repair appears to have provided a solid result. I have filed off the excess wire and cleaned up the joints ... for the most part, JB Weld appears to be bonding to the handle (the JB Weld Plastic product just peeled off where as this product takes a significant amount of work to file and or scrape before it lets go) ... will need to subject the repair to steam from a few pressure cycles to see if this stands up to real use. Certainly won't be immersing or using subjecting this repair to a dishwasher ... fingers are crossed that this will do the trick ... otherwise my next trick will be to find some very long small diameter bolts to screw these parts together.

 

[Yorkieguy]

JB Weld is a very similar product to 'Super Steel'. It's available in the UK, but not so commonplace. It's highly regarded, gets excellent reviews, and describe by the maker's as: 'The World's Strongest Bond'.

Here's what the maker's say about it:

"A two-part system, J-B Weld’s epoxy makes strong, lasting repairs to metal and other surfaces, ideal for household, automotive, plumbing, and marine repairs, as well as for arts and crafts, and other projects requiring adhesives. The two tubes are easily mixed at a 1:1 ratio, forming a permanent bond that can be shaped, tapped, filed, sanded and drilled after curing. It takes only 4-6 hours to set in room temperature — with a full cure reached in 15-24 hours — at which point it can withstand temperatures of up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit
J-B Weld epoxy has a tensile strength of 3960 PSI, and cures to a dark grey colour".

The only difference between that and 'Super Steel' is the much longer curing time, but provided the two parts are supported whilst curing takes place, that's not a problem. Temperature wise, it should easily withstand 212 degrees F/100C, and with the embedded wires, it sounds like you've made a very strong repair.

Good luck with it.

David.

 

[piglet11]

Yes, agree with David.
Standard Homebase Araldite might not be good enough.
Devcon used to do a range of specialist epoxies.
Assuming this handle is a thermosetting plastic rather than a thermoplastic type like polypropylene, it should be easy to glue.
If the glue surfaces are already rough, even at the microscopic level, a decent epoxy should work.
One adhesive alternative that I find works really well are the modified silicone types like Sika EBT or Geocel "The Works".
Used them for worktops and fixing leaking plastic water tanks.

 

[Rekusu]

Do you have a photo of the broken handle?

Without seeing it, seems to me that any join is always going to be a shear weak point. Again, without seeing it, my suggestion would be to drill as deep into both parts as is possible, fill with a good, heat resistant epoxy and then insert a stainless steel rod. The epoxy will spill out, but hopefully, all spaces will be filled and the two parts will have a structural strength that a basic butt joint will not.

Alternatively, more or less that same, but thread both holes and glue / screw a length of s/s studding into one, then screw the handle to the protruding part. will be tricky to line up both parts but with a bit of jiggery pokey, you should have a strong joint.