I just bought my first ‘smart’ device specifically for use with the ‘smarthings’ hub. I bought the Samsung Smarthings Water Leak Sensor - https://shop.smartthings.com/products/samsung-smartthings-water-leak-sensor .
I got it, I paired it, it works. But it seems such a silly design. First of all, the ‘water sensor’ is simply two terminals on the base of the unit. So you have to place the sensor right where you would expect a leak - which would seem to jeopardize the sensor itself. If just a few drips fall, then it won’t damage the sensor but then it won’t likely trigger the detection either. Once you get enough water to flow under the device, one can only imagine that if you aren’t in a position to ‘fix’ the problem right away, the amount of water could be sufficient to perhaps damage the sensor itself (I bought this sensor to put in my ‘second home’ condo, where I’ve had plumbing leaks in the past; I’m often gone for weeks at a time).
I would have expected, at the very least, a cable that would have the sensor at one end, and be connected to the transmitter at the other end. That way, you could safely mount the transmitter box anywhere, and place the ‘sensor’ part where it could flood.
Further - it seems somewhat silly to have only 1 sensor per device. As I got to thinking of all the places where I could have leaks (have had leaks!), I’d have to buy 6 or 7 of these guys to do the job. It would seem logical that you could have one base ‘transmitter’ unit, with perhaps 3 or 4 cables, each with a sensor at the end, so you could sense (eg) water under the sink, water at the base of the toilet, etc. I’m not sure I want to fork out $40 per location when I can think of 6 or more locations where they could be useful. I’ve had leaks around windows during heavy storms; water heater leaks; under-sink leaks in the plumbing, etc.
Basically, are there better / more flexible sensors out there than the Samsung one?
