Looking for a way to monitor/notify me when a water/wet sensor is dry

[Keener (K)]

I just got into the SmartThings eco system and love it. I have a water sensor underneath every thing that can get wet in my house and it was worked great. My washer leaked a few days ago and SmartThings let me know! Awesome!

Anyway, I’m looking to expand my system now and I would like the reverse of the flood sensors. That is, I have a large vessel of water that I want to drop a probe into (I have seen some of them sold online), and want SmartThings to tell me when that vessel has run dry! Playing around and experimenting with my existing SmartThings water sensor and the NotifyMe SmartAppI can’t seem to find a way to do this. There is only an option to “NotifyMe” when a sensor is wet, not when it is dry. Am I missing something or can this not be done?

Thanks,
K.

[JDRoberts]

Some water sensors use the water itself to complete the circuit between two contact points. They will not be able to report dry. Others can.

Several community members have done various projects which use dry alerts, typically for pet water systems or Christmas tree pots. Here are some to look at.

Pet Water Fountain Sensor and Notifications

As people have probably started to notice I do a lot for my pets… But that kinda just happens when you have to take care of 3 cats and a dog… Having things automated out helps a lot… This project is related to an idea that I have had but am still working on. However I needed something for the mean time while I am still prototyping. It is rather surprising how much water 4 pets can go through and how easy it is to overlook an empty bowl… So we moved up to a water fountain… However that didn’t really help either… I swear that they just kept drinking more… So my solution was to get a water sensor and find a way to incorporate it into their water fountain. While I was working on this I also thought it would be nice if it would turn off the pump if it was empty to keep fro…

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My Christmas Tree low water alert setup

I wanted to get alerts when my tree water was low… I tried the Utilitech water sensor but it beeps when there is water. I picked up a PEQ water sensor from Bestbuy and I made a small bracket on my 3D printer. I connected a wire to the 2 terminals on the water sensor. [image] [image] I then zip tied the bracket to the tree at the height I wanted. Sensor hangs outside the tree. [image] I then used the No water app and I get push and SMS notification when my tree water gets low…works great. I was also thinking about making the tree lights blink…but the Flasher app does not list moisture sensor as an option.

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The Aeon labs model seems to be the most popular for this purpose, for the reasons discussed in the following thread:

Use Flood sensor the other way around!

Hello, I am thinking to use 1 or more Flood sensors like (eversprings) to measure water level in the ground water tank… So I should receive a notification when the sensor dry (whish means the tank %50, %70 or %90 empty!!) What do you think guys?? And any clue how to make it done?? Best,

[bravenel (Bruce)]

If you have the right sensor, as @JDRoberts discusses, you can use Rule Machine to notify you on dry.

[Keener (K)]

Thanks! Those look like they will work perfectly once I get the Aeon water sensor and install those apps.

On similar note, I want to measure the temperature of this vessel of water. I’ve tried google but can’t seem to find any sort of z-wave probe that I can shove into water that will give me the waters temperature. Hard to believe such a thing doesn’t exist?? Or am I looking in all the wrong places ??

[zpriddy]

@Keener

ter. I’ve tried google but can’t seem to find any sort of z-wave probe that I can shove into water that will give me the wat

The biggest issue I have is it seems to kill the battery a little more if its always wet…

[Keener (K)]

Which sensor were you referring to? The wet/dry sensor or the temperature sensor?

I read that the Aeon wet/dry sensors were meant to be wet or dry so they would last long if submerged? I just ordered mine and am waiting for them to arrive. My application is near an outlet though so I may try to rig an AC adapter for it.

[zpriddy]

This is the Aeon Labs sensor

[Lgkahn (Larry)]

I have 10 of the aeon sensors in 2 locations. I had two bad ones that drained the battery within 1-2 weeks. The others are fine and have lasted 4 months already. So you may have had a bad device.