440 Aprilaire Humitifier small solinoid doesn't open

Hello, first check the strainer on the inlet side of the solenoid valve, if there is sediment built up clean it and reinstall, if the strainer is clean and you are getting 24 volts to the solenoid valve and it is not allowing water thru replace it.

Hello, usually the inlet of the solenoid has a strainer that can be removed and cleaned of the sediment. Also, there could be sediment at the saddle valve where in this case you would have to shut off the water supply and clean the valve.

Hello, check to see that the inlet strainer into the solenoid is clean and no sediment has built up in it, also make sure the outlet of the saddle valve is clear and there is no sediment there.

Check to see if there is sediment built up in the saddle valve. This happens alot and prevents a good stream of water to reach the solenoid valve.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Your Aprilaire Humidifier is designed to operate in conjunction with your furnace blower motor. Most installers wire a humidifier to operate when the furnace is calling for heat. To determine if your Aprilaire Humidifier is maintaining proper humidity, turn up the heat temperature 5 degrees above the current room temperature on your thermostat and set your humidifier control to call for humidity. The humidifier control is located on the cold air return duct. To set your humidifier control to call for humidity, turn the control dial to the off position and slowly rotate the dial until you hear a “click” on the control. You should also hear a click at the solenoid valve located on your Aprilaire unit. The humidifier control will have a click point at the current relative humidity level in your home. If the current relative humidity is 45% or the outdoor temperature is above 60F, the control will only operate the humidifier in the test mode.
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1. No click at the solenoid valve indicates an electrical problem. Contact your heating and air conditioning dealer to further check the electrical components of your Aprilaire Humidifier.

1. The click sound at the solenoid valve indicates there is electricity to the solenoid valve. By turning the dial of your humidifier control to a setting above the “click point” you should see water coming out of the drain line within a few minutes which would indicate your humidifier is working.

1. If the solenoid valve makes a click sound and there is no water draining from the unit, this would indicate the flow of water is being obstructed.

1. To determine if water flow is being obstructed, turn the dial of your humidifier control to the off position. The first location you would want to check for an obstruction would be at the saddle valve located on the water line supplying water to the humidifier. When checking the saddle valve, you want to make sure it is completely open. This can be done by turning the valve all the way to the left. If anything is clogged, it can be dislodged by turning the saddle valve all the way to the right and back to the left. Once this is done, turn the humidifier control dial above the click point and you should see water coming out the drain line.


If water is still not coming out of the drain, check the orifice and in-line strainer to make sure they are not clogged. The orifice is located in the tube on the discharge side of the solenoid valve and the in-line strainer is located on the inlet side of the solenoid valve. You may clear the orifice by inserting a needle through the small opening. Clean the strainer by running it under warm water to dislodge deposits or replace. After clearing and re-installing the orifice and strainer (be sure to double wrench all water connections), turn the humidifier control dial above the click point and you should see water coming out the drain line.

not wired properly or stuck solinoid. check for voltage to soliniod if it has voltage then its not wired properly if doesnt have voltage then its a stuck solinoid and the solinoid valve will need to be replaced. you can get from www.aprilaire.com

do you hear a clicking at the solinoid? grab the solinoid and turn it on to see if its getting voltage, you should feel it energize. you can turn off the water supply and disconnect the water line from the solinoid. there is a black pre screen inside the inlet if you have a tiny flat heat screwdriver insert it into the inlet and turn it out. clean it and retry. you can also make sure the orifice isnt clogged its located on the outlet side of the soliniod. when you remove you will probably have a stream of water come out of the feed tube thru the orifice, even if it has sat all summer. if water comes out you dont have a clogged orifice. donot try to **** out the orifice if its clogged you will need to get a new one fron www.aprilaire.com . you can verify it clogged by after cleaning the prescreen reconnect the water line inlet and turn on humidifier if water comes thru the solinoid with the outlet feed tube not connected then the orifice is clogged. If you clean the prescreen and the orifice is fine ,still no water then you will need a new solinoid you should also be able to purchase from aprilaire. here is links to the solinoid and orifice

http://estore.aprilaire.com/catalog/humidifiers/all-humidifier-parts/299

http://estore.aprilaire.com/catalog/humidifiers/all-humidifier-parts/267

hope this helps,
Mac

first make sure you have water going to it. you can shut off the supply disconnect from solinoid then turn on and see if water is coming out. If so if you have a very small flat head screw driver you can try to remove the pre screen inside the inlet of the soliniod. clean it and reinstall. reconnect the water line and energize the valve if you still have no water then either the valve is bad or your not getting voltage to the valve, if its a voltage problem it can get complicated and you would need the tools and some electrical knowledge to follow me.

solenoid valves dont just burn up just like that you have a recurring restriction due to bad water.Check the saddle valve at the water heater first then check for postive water flow at inlet to the solenoid valve,if you have water flow the valve is clogged with sediment.

Sounds to me like the solenoid valve is your problem and it is likely stuck due to sediment. I beleive Aprilaire has superceeded all of their old valves to the part number 4040 (used on all models of aprilaire humidifiers) - anyone who services these units regularly likely has one in stock usually $60 - 100.