I had a serious leak and bought one of these. I CANNOT Recommend it - you will still have damage AND you will get lots of false alerts. They charge $5 a month for ‘monitoring’ service and will not answer my email questions - they ignored my emails for a while. I want access tor the device to work with Hubitat and my leak sensors and they did not respond until I started posting my experiences and contacting the president of Moen. They want to limit their product to only work with their expensivesensors they are now releasing. If Internet goes out, so does protection. BEWARE!
Here are some Pros and Cons based on my use:
PRO: Detects water pressure, which is invaluable information.
CON: Cannot do anything about it. Since mine was far too high I had to install a pressure reduction valve to protect my home.
PRO: Every night it closes the valve and tests the line for leaks.
CON: If anyone uses the bathroom or turns on water turning the test, it detects it as a leak.
PRO: It watches for excessive water usage and will notify you.
CON: It takes 15 minutes to notify you and then 5 more minutes before it shuts off the water. That is a LOT of water damage if it is a real leak.
CON: They initially had no leak sensors, but mentioned they work with “smart things” using IFTTT
CON: As of 1/2020 they no longer mention “smartthings” sensors and are pushing their own brand that is 2x-3x the price.
CON: Cannot tell legit water use from good. I suggested a sensor on the house drain to detect if the water is going down the drain signaling legit usage, but nothing has been developed.
PRO: Has a nice app to monitor use and notify you of problems.
CON: Several of the features require a $5 month app fee to see the amount of water used by appliances.
CON: We have had the unit shut off the water during showers of several family member in a row. It is not fun to be soaped up and the water shuts off. We did not hear the notification that the water was going to be shut off because we were in the shower.
CON: I offered to develop a drain sensor to help eliminate shutoffs due to legitimate use. At first they were open to the idea, then when I asked for an API or ability to access the device, they stopped answering my emails. I have sent several and they no longer answer my emails, even though I pay for the “concierge” service.
CON: Bug with sensor- I had a “high water use” alert and countdown to valve close and cancelled the alert. After cancelling the water pressure sensor began climbing, reaching 200+ PSI, when normal is about 50-75psi. I closed the valve and opened it, but there was no change. I have a pressure regulator set at 50psi and checked that unit. It showed 50psi on an analog gauge. I turned the water on and everything went back to normal. I looked back at my logs and the same thing has occurred several times. They claimed it was because of “thermal changes” due to the water heater. I installed a 2nd pressure monitor on the home side of the Moen Flo and the next time the Flo showed a high pressure alert after a long shower, I checked and both gauges showed a normal water pressure. There must be a problem with the sensor.
CON: Moen finally offer me a refund. I accepted and requested a refund. I was then told to return it to the store I bought it.
If you can accept damage from 20 minutes of water flow before an auto shutoff, then buy it. Otherwise, you will have a false sense of security from this product.
I cannot recommend this product when the manufacturer stops responding to civil, respectful comments related to improving their product. They need to open up the product API so that it can be controlled locally with sensors without the need for the Internet. The home automation community is vibrant and will significantly improve the utility of their product.