Water Sensor Save

Any water sensor, certainly any HA with a water sensor could have… but this time it was SmartThings…

Have a few water sensors, this one by my basement drain by the HVAC systems. Detected moisture last night, checked it out and it was a A/C coil drain hose that was clogged with sludge, which causes the drip pan to eventually overflow and drip down.

At my old house a overflow of the drip pan eventually ruined the control board in the HVAC, which cost me some money to replace.

In this case a bit of an early warning allowed me to address the clog without doing manual inspections…

Nice…

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I’ve been meaning to put one in the drain pain for my air handler…which is in the attic above the kitchen. So yea having overflow would be bad. Right now my only water sensor is under the washing machine. Good to hear something good…and well that it was just a clog.

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You bet.

As you allude, the attic can be even more costly… I’d definitely put something up there…

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I now have 12 sensors around the house. Slow leak is a killer for sure.

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Only reason I’ve not put more is dang, those water sensors are pricy. Not found a good deal on any…and honestly not looked past the ST water sensors. So I dont even know whats out there to be had lol. Putting one under each sink and toilet would be nice but yea…thats like 6 more sensors. Thats not cheap…I do keep an eye on things tho. Attic…not so much :frowning:

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Same. I order the new Xiaomi one. Hopefully can get it to play nice with ST.

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Please report back. I had a ST water sensor report absurd temperatures - hundreds of thousands of degrees if I recall - and then the battery died shortly there after. Replaced the battery, battery was dead in 2 days. So they are not perfect and would be willing to look at other options.

That said, the one in my basement was rock solid and likely just paid for itself.

So are you all ST water sensors? Just sucks theres like 3 ‘official’ supported water leak sensors.

I only have 2 myself, yes they are ST.

I have one under the kitchen sink, high risk area. Then by the drain the basement another high risk area and catch all for high volume.

Mine is by the clothes washer since those pipes are statistically like the highest leak area. A/C air handler should be the next one I do, but also its way hot up there…like 120* in the summer I think. So yea… After that Id think about the sinks but for the most part I’d think I’d notice before a major issue.

Still grats on the early alert…now you will be checking the condensate line every month :wink:

interesting. My drain is in a cubby built into the wall with the valves and all in there, never had a problem at any of my homes. But good to know, will target the floor behind the machine as the next area for a sensor…

Its the exposed hoses. The rubber breaks down, esp with any vibrations. Also the gaskets inside the hoses break down. If your hoses aren’t like <10 years old you should consider replacing them preventively. Also you should make sure they are the braided steel sleeved types. Its not the drain which fails usually…its the supplies :slight_smile: Go hit any Ask This Old House about leaks to learn lol

around the 1:26 time

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I’ve got 17 water sensors. I figured why not go all out after I added a smart valve. Mostly PEQ, some ST and one utilitech. Pretty happy with all of them.

A few are non plumbing related though.

I’ve got every sink and toilet, one shower, washing machine, dishwasher, several by the AC and hot water heater, water main, damp basement closet, and sump basin covered

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I’d love to hear some of the recommended water sensors people use

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I use the PEQ (the same white-labeled Centralite that SmartThings sells / sold).

I presume they are reliable, but the biggest inconvenience is battery life. Perhaps I’m just buying cheap batteries!

  • The battery cost is not such a big deal - but home automation is supposed to save effort, not add to it.
  • I’d like to put one behind my dishwasher (near its water inlet). That requires uninstalling the dishwasher. Not a big deal if it batteries are only needed once a year, but …?
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Only if you refuse to drill a hole in the kick plate!

But seriously if cabinets surround it you can normally drill a hole in the inside a cabinet to access behind the dishwasher. Though, pulling them out isn’t normally a huge ordeal.

I am pretty sure the ST water sensor in my basement has had good battery life. I do wish AC to battery adapters were more widely available, I’d juice up a number of sensors including my water sensors.

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I have mostly the Peq and battery life is really good with my sensors. I have them for around a year and half and just changed them recently.

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In September I will have had one of my ST water sensors a year. It’s running at 56% battery right now (for about the last three weeks). And that’s after it took a bath :grin:. Yep, it sits in the pans for my water heaters in the attic and one tank took a dump a short time back, The leak sensor saved me a bunch of money.

Every so often they go on sale. When they do I grab them. Extremely fast response.

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My PEQ water sensors have great battery life, a year or more.

My dishwasher water intake is on the underside, so I pulled off the kick plate and put one there. But @JH1 is right, you should be able to access behind the dishwasher from a cabinet immediately next to it. Does the discharge go to a nearby sink?

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I have (2) of the Samsung SmartThings Water Leak Sensors - one under my clothes washer and the other under my water heater. It’s coupled via WebCoRE to a Dome Home Automation Water Shut-Off Valve.

They haven’t saved me yet but I test the sensors and valve fairly regularly and the sensors have been running since May and the batteries are still running strong. My sump also has a sensor and is monitored via my FrontPoint security system. About half of my basement is fully finished and it’s too important not to protect. Anyway, the plan is in place for at least those locations :sunglasses:

Of course, I have three full bathrooms, a kitchen sink, a laundry sink and a dishwasher where sensors could go too…:heavy_dollar_sign:

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