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In the morning, early, when my thermostat kicks back up, I hear a banging/rattle sound that I've determined is related to my humidifier. It only lasts about 10 seconds so by the time I get down to the basement it's gone. Turning on/off the humidifier doesn't recreate it either. When I turn off the humidifier completely it doesn't happen at all. I thought it may be the solenoid but still scratching my head. Currently I've been turning off the humidifier at night since it's super annoying to wake up to. Any ideas on how to troubleshoot/fix? The humidifier is the basic bypass type. The humidistat is also basic mechanical.

update Solved with a Sioux Chief 660-TC0 1/4' Icemaker Water Hammer Arrestor Tee from Amazon. Thanks to suggestion from user19919 below

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Andrew
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We got on Amazon and Plumber's Outpost carries Sioux 660-TCO Mini-Rester. It says it is for and ice maker. We have a 550 Aprilaire Humidifier and couldn't believe how easy it was to install! The smallest Home Depot carries is for 1/2 tubing. They gave me info on how to cut the copper pipe and hook the mini-rester to the humidifier. I had to buy a pipe cutter and small box of copper pipe, along with small brass washers for copper pipe (don't know what they are called). It cost me less than $50.00 for everything, and less that 30 minutes to attach it. I couldn't believe how easy it was! Not bad for a housewife!

Tester101
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user19919
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Water hammer is caused when flowing water abruptly stops and the change in velocity causes the piping to shake if it's not secured properly.

Look through the pipes you have access to and make sure they're securely fastened. If not, add some more clamps to secure them.

Contact the manufacturer of your humidifier. I'm not sure of the proper terminology but see if they have a replacement for the valve that controls filling the humidifier that closes slowly. My guess is in the morning the humidifier needs to refill itself, opens up the valve and when it's done it closes the valve quickly, causing the water hammer. Might also be another issue that they may know about.

They also make water hammer arrestors. These devices get installed in the copper lines and absorb the shock to reduce or eliminate water hammer. They will eventually need to be replaced (or if they are the round ones with a rubber bladder may need to be maintained) so install them somewhere accessible. Here's a video on installing a water hammer arrestor.

OrganicLawnDIY
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I have fixed this by adjusting solenoid spring tension to have less tension so the magnetic power holds it in place when the valve is open. Otherwise, if the tension is high, the spring tries to push against the magnetic force and pulls it back by magnetic forces frequently which causes the shock wave and banging noise.

Syed
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