Is there a water leak sensor that accepts external DC power?

I’m looking to add water leak sensors, and I’m wondering if there is one that accepts external power? Possibly either a usb jack, or some sort of doc input. Does anyone know of one? I’m building, so I have the ability to put outlets or usb power sources near toilets, sinks, etc.

The Fibaro flood Sensor has a wired option:

http://www.zwaveproducts.com/shop/z-wave-security/z-wave-water-and-flood-sensors/z-wave-flood-sensor

And the Aeotech flood Sensor uses two AA batteries, which you could pretty easily switch to a dummy pack with an attached cord, as people use,for some electronics where they want an uninterruptible power supply. However, these devices aren’t cheap, and I would think that the Fibaro would be a better choice.

Do you have a link to those battery adapters? Are those adapters good? Are they safe to use?

They’re generally safe to use, but review the specs for any specific one you are considering.

Check with the manufacturer on this when you might be able to use two in one device to get it up to 3 V.

https://www.amazon.com/AA-Battery-to-Electric-Converter/dp/B00BFFTDEI

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I am just curious to why external power for these type of sensors? I have at least 4 different type of leak sensors all on battery and after 2 years. They are still 60%. I test them monthly as well. External power and GFCI plugs are expensive and quite messy.

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Can’t speak for the OP, but a lot of people like mains power for sensors in areas which are physically difficult to get to, and that sometimes means places where leak sensors go.

That said, I just wanted to mention again that if external power is required I personally would go for the fibaro, which has a built-in option for that, rather than trying to use a battery eliminator with the Aeon.

Note that you have to drill your own hole in the housing of the Fibaro unit to get the wire to the terminals inside the device. Once powered, an installed battery acts as a backup if power is lost. I found a 12V power adapter for an old device I was no longer using and clipped the cables (using a multimeter to confirm the positive and negative wires).

The Fibaro also has terminals for adding an external sensor, which can be any wire (I used 18/2 solid thermostat wire). You can send wires off to multiple locations and moisture at any location will trip the sensor. I have a single unit in the basement with wires that go to both the washing machine and hot water heater.

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Definitely do what’s best for your case and in my case. I find it’s a better practice to have battery due to the fact that it forces me to go and do my monthly test/check. I am one of the OCD person that actually have a weekly/monthly/annually check list for my house. I get nervous when my event screen is empty with my leak sensors and some of these sensors stay empty for weeks. Maybe because of battery saving and not hardwired.

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@dama brings up a good point, that if the water leak is caused by something that might shut off the power locally, that is just in that room, then a battery gives you the advantage that the alert can still get to the hub.

So as with many things, different use cases may have different power requirements. :sunglasses:

Does the Fibaro flood Sensor report battery status in ST? If so, and it does so even with external power, that is a great option. I love having the battery back up to a powered solution.

Using the default Device Handler, I’m not seeing battery level while it’s plugged in. There’s a tile, but it shows “–”. I don’t remember if it showed battery level when it’s running on battery.

Before you guys get Carry away. You cannot use non-rechargable batteries in parallel with external power source. It’s a fire hazard and if you are going to put in rechargeable batteries then you need a proper charger and not just any random power adaptor. GoControl is coming out with an AC-power leak detector soon. You can go with Lithium batteries and that should last awhile.

The external power source of the Fibaro is not charging the battery. It’s like a plug-in clock that has a battery backup (think back to when people had bedside alarm clocks instead of phones on their nightstands).

From the Fibaro documentation:

In constant powering mode a sensor may operate without a battery. Installing a battery is recommended though, as it will serve as an emergency power source. When constant power fails, sensor will automatically shift to an emergency mode.

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This is why you won’t get any battery reports while it’s on mains power. It’s the device itself that decides when to shift over to battery power. Until then the battery is out of the circuit.

I have a well, so if power goes off, there won’t be any water leaks, lol.

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The GOCONTROL WF00Z-1 says battery powered on the Amazon page, but the manual I found doesn’t show anything about an ac connection.

Hi dama. Old thread but hopefully still around. I am buying a current year model of this sensor. It has a SENS1 and SENS2 connection. Looks like both have to be triggered to set off an alert? I was hoping each would work independent of the other. How are you sending cables to multiple locations? Are you putting more than one wire into each SENS1 and SENS2 connector?

Also with wiring this thing for power, I definitely want to do this because then the unit will act as a repeater as well. Anyone have any examples of this? Being in the US thought I could take a two plug connector and cut the other end off and use those wires but wasn’t sure.

JR