Solution: "Cheap" water leak detection and water shut off

[mikuslaw]

Hi,

I think it may be a common topic/question, but I never found anything here that would explain which solution works with Smartthings well and is cheap.

So I was able to setup a water shutoff when water leak is detected and thought I would share. You can see the video here (at least until my google photos are full):

New video by Jerzy Mikucki

I use Smartthings hub obviously,
4 Smartthings Water Leak sensors (maybe other cheaper sensors work as well?): https://www.amazon.de/Samsung-GP-U999SJVLCEA-SmartThings-Water-Sensor/dp/B07XZ833L2/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&dchild=1&keywords=smartthings+water+leak&qid=1602940938&sr=8-2

And what is the most important thing, Zigbee Water Valve actuator from aliexpress. (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001038902712.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.3d134c4dMc4r1U)

Be careful, first time I bought one from “Moes” seller and unfortunately got a wifi “smart life” version, even though description said “zigbee”. From the link above i got a zigbee version.

I added the valve into the smartthing app (it found a “Thing” without any features), and then modified a handler to “Zigbee Valve”:

Now in Smartthings app I get the valve and the integration with Smart Home Monitor as expected.

Also what is important, all sensors and valve actuator is processed locally (didn’t try without internet but I expect it to work). [CORRECTION: According to JDRoberts it’s not processed locally - see below]

Hope it helps anybody looking for a clear solution to water shutoff automation,
Jerzy

[JDRoberts]

Nice write up! I’m sure it will help a lot of people.

One small point: the old Smart Home Monitor (SHM) from the classic app was able to do some things locally. However, it will be going away when the classic app goes away in a few weeks. And the new security feature, SmartThings Home monitor (STHM) does not run anything locally, it’s all cloud-based. in the new V3 app, only some parts of The official smart lighting feature run locally at this time.

[mikuslaw]

Good to know, even though it’s disappointing that it’s not local. Thanks.

[Alwas (#delaytheswitch)]

Jerzy, ignore what was written above, some people are just too clever for their own good and like to complicate life. This DOES run locally, and will turn the valve off without internet. Thanks for sharing

[JDRoberts]

As I mentioned above, the valve controller can be setup to run locally through the official smartlighting feature, but not through SmartThings Home Monitor, which is how the OP did it. So if you want it to run locally, that’s fine, you just have to know where to set up the automation. That will matter to some people.

[mikuslaw]

Yes, I’m running it through ST Home Monitor. So I will stick with what JDRoberts says. It’s a good idea that I could set it up through smartlighting to try to get it running locally. On the other hand I would rather see ST team modify it to run such things locally. I think it’s what every ST user would like to see modified.

I get that lights require internet to switch on/off (although it’s a terrible idea), but alarms, smoke detectors, and leak detectors… come on :). We will see what happens after the local automations are enabled and a shift towards new driver model (it’s supposed to be local oriented) is completed, but right now it just silly.

I have my phone in repair, but after I get it back I need to take a look at new automations.

[Augusto_Geovanny_Mar (Augusto Geovanny Martínez Cortés)]

Thanks for the post, Where can I find the device handler?

[saosinx88 (Andrew C)]

It’s a stock dth called ZigBee Valve.