Sioux Chief Mfg 660-H 3/4-Inch Female Swivel Hose Thread by 3/4-Inch Male Hose Thread Mini Rester

This review is being written 6/15/2013 for the Sioux Chief Mfg 660-H 3/4-Inch Female Swivel Hose Thread by 3/4-Inch Male Hose Thread Mini Rester sold and shipped by Amazon on their website. Updated 2/26/2014 The Mini Rester continues to do its job superbly. Water hammer has been eliminated in two installations so far. There's no leaks and no maintenance required so far. Excellent product ---------- Original review 6/15/2013 below This is a first impression review based on installation and initial usage. The product was easy to install and cured the water hammer problem that occurred upon replacing an old washing machine with a new, high efficiency unit. In my application, I could conveniently install the Mini Rester on the back of the washing machine. However, I will put spacing blocks behind the washer to prevent someone pushing the machine back against the wall, or the machine moving on its own, and damaging the washing machine connection, as these units stick out from the back of the machine. The overall look and feel of the product is of high quality, and it is made in USA. The design is not a simple air column, but an internal piston with O-ring that ensures that the air column is not filled eventually with water, defeating the purpose. I have not had an issue with the rubber washers yet as one reviewer mentioned. For installation on a washing machine, first shut off the water supply lines. Loosen the connection to the washing machine. I find this is most conveniently done with a Robogrip or similar pliers. Have a rag handy to catch drips. Next, connect the hose to the Mini Rester bottom connection. Hand tighten, then use the pliers to firm up the connection, ensuring that the hose doesn't turn around too much to make orienting the Mini Rester on the washing machine difficult. Next, connect the Mini Rester to the washing machine, being very careful not to cross-thread the (typically plastic) connection. The Mini Rester should screw on very smoothly. Very gently tighten with the pliers, remembering that this is most likely a plastic connection on the washing machine. Finally, turn on the supplies and check for leaks, and check for proper operation by using the washing machine. Time will tell how the unit performs in the long term.

Like many of the other reviewers for this product, we have a new model, front-load LG washer that is plagued by a LOUD water hammer. Running a wash cycle on cold water had a tolerable banging, but using warm or hot water resulted in a repeated, frightening banging against the floor joists that could be felt and heard on other floors & rooms. I was convinced the problem lied with my older basement plumbing not being fastened tightly enough to the floor joists. I had considered bringing in a plumber to replace the piping and place more braces/supports to lock it tighter to the joists. Thankfully, before I brought on that expense, I came across this product. Installation was simple. I moved the washer away from the wall, shut off the hot/cold lines and unscrewed the supply lines from the machine. As recommended, I installed the rester directly to the hookups on the back of the machine. I opted to use a Teflon tape on the threads of the rester before re-attaching the supply hoses, but this probably isn't necessary. The whole process took only a minute or two; if you can detach and re-attach a garden hose to a spigot, you can do this. I ran a washer cycle on both warm and cold to test both resters. The problem has been completely solved! No more banging, no more noise--everything is completely silent. If you have an issue with loud pipes, you cannot go wrong with this product!

My parents have an older house with the original 30 year old utility sink, faucet, and valved connections to a washer. The faucet was so old the brass had started to corrode and the handles would barely turn. In the piping directly above the faucet, there was a set of tees, elbows and short pipes that were supposed to act as water hammer arresters but they stopped working long ago, if they ever actually did anything. When they bought a newer washer, there was a definite water hammer issue whenever the water valve in the washer closed. I recently replaced the sink, faucet, valves, and hoses all at the same time using Sharkbite fittings. I planned to cut out the existing "arrester" piping and use the Sharkbite arrester but then I saw these. They are half the cost of the Sharkbite and since they screw directly to the back of the washer, I can replace them with no issue at any time in the future. Plus, I figured that if they didn't do anything, I could simply remove them. So I installed them. They screwed right on and attached to the hoses with no problems, and no leaks. I tried to pay attention during the next two loads of laundry while sitting in the living room directly above the washer. I honestly didn't hear the hammer in the pipes at all from one floor up. Unlike before when I wouldn't notice that the washer was running until I heard the hammer, I didn't realize the washer was running at all this time until the end of cycle beep. So these seem to work very well. Pros: Easy installation, easily replaceable, good value, reasonable shipping time. Cons: Longevity vs. a more expensive model (but half the cost and easy to replace so not really a con).

These absolutely work as advertised. But their lifespan seems to be 3 to 4 years. But for the price and ease of installation this is not a deal breaker to me.