Turned a 2Gig window/door sensor into a leak detector by attaching wires to the screw terminals and inserting the other ends into a thin sponge.
I tried different water and leak sensor device types with no luck.
I can leave it as a Open/Close sensor and use Notify Me to be alerted of a leak but I’d like have it work with Smart Home Monitor.
Any ideas? Know if any custom device type that may work?
Thanks in advance
you have have to create a custom devicetype based off the zwave open/closed sensor with the capability "Water Sensor" added.
Did you try this one?
Pretty sure the 2gig and monoprice are both actually linear devices, so give it a shot.
Success! Thanks Toasty. Going to mount this in the pan under the water heater. Now off to HD for a couple more
So wetting the sponge is enough to show the contact as closed? I would not have expected that.
Works wells. I just tried it with green 3M ‘Scrubbie’. Works ok. I plan to make a longer trigger surface to cover a bigger area. Bare wires sandwiched between some thin absorbent material?
I lick my finger and touch the sensor to test. Moisture seniors are pretty simple, by default it’s an incomplete circuit like a light switch turned off. When water completes the circuit it’s like a light switch being turned on. The difference is when it gets turned on it lets you know there is a problem.
Tthis is the thread where I linked the device type for you. He used a piece of rope… Made a Water Leak Sensor
Floral wire! wrapped in cotton and comes in different gauges. 2 5ft lengths now monitor the sink base and dishwasher. I’ll attach some to a furring strip and slide it under the clothes washer and h2O heater. 4 areas monitored for leaks with 2 sensors for under $35. 
Now time to save for a shut off valve.
Can you give a little more detail on the wrapped in cotton portion? Any pics? Thanks
This is the wire I used.
You’ll need to tape/glue the cut ends to keep it from unraveling.
Well, I got the wire you suggested, and I got the switch, and drilled a couple of holes in the end, and loosened the screw terminals… but… really, where does the wire go in… I can not seem to find a spot to insert it and tighten the terminals down… what am I missing? can you help? thanks
I know this is a couple months old, and you most likely figured this out a while ago, but just in case anyone else reading here wonders the same thing…
If you’re talking about the GoControl ones from Home Depot, the openings where you can put the wires into the terminals are pointing out toward the opposite end from where the battery is.
If you’ve identified where the terminals are on that green plastic terminal block (terminology = ?), the holes are on the only side of that green thing that you can’t see very well (um…not the side that’s connected directly to the circuit board), because it’s pretty close to the plastic housing.
For anyone that hasn’t actually drilled the holes yet, take the circuit board, etc out first. If you try to drill in with it all together like that, you may very well slip and drill right into the terminal block. Once you have the circuit board and all that out of the plastic housing, you’ll quickly see where the holes are on the terminal block, and you’ll be able to drill your holes in the plastic housing without worrying about the terminal block.