Acorn door handle latch keeps breaking.

Question

Hi. I ordered 3 x 82-055K "Keyed Handle Set, Acorn" between two orders. The latch broke on the first one almost immediately. After the first one broke I ordered the second and third (one as a spare). Then, the second broke a week after it was installed... so, now two are broken and I have a third which I reluctant to install.

Three questions:
- given 2 broke under normal, everyday use in exactly the same way, can I send them back to review for quality / refund?
- I'd like to return the third one too. This one is not used.
- Do you have a more robust product that will fit the same size door? Its for a rental property, and I'd like to not have to deal with this for some time!

Tom · Accepted Answer

Sorry to hear you're having trouble! Since more than one lock broke, I would wager these were not defective. There is also not a more sturdy version: Acorn only made this one type, and they are out of business to boot. That said, I've never heard of a problem like this, at least not with this kind of consistency. I think the culprit may be something other than the latch.

First, how is the door rolling? In my experience, when door handles keep breaking the reason is usually because the wheels or tracks are damaged or hung up, with dirty or debris, or even because of dents. I would examine how the door rolls to see if that could be the issue. The door should be able to open with one finger.