Has anyone tried using one of these Smarthome SELECT electronic water valves with a mimolite or Remotec ZFM-80?
It seems to be readily available and a bit more affordable than the $400+ fortrezz option.
Smarthome SELECT Electronic Water Shutoff Valve, 3/4-inch, 12V DC
I like where your head is with this! I’m now curious as well because I want to implement a cut-off valve, but the Fortrezz is expensive.
I have a MIMOLite available, and this is a great idea for that. Sweet! This is very doable, and the price is right! I’ve got to let my credit card cool down, but as soon as I can I’ll be trying this out.
haha, I’m in the same boat here. Do I wait in hopes of a “cyber monday” deal, or just light the credit card up now…decisions decisions…
I checked this out a while ago but was concerned it wouldn’t work on power cycle or alarm condition change. For example, when the valve is shut off, what happens after power cycle, does it stay closed? And when water is sensed and then dry, does it reopen (it shouldn’t in my opinion)? There definitely is a need for a more affordable solution and this seems more reasonable than a FortrezZ.
I like the idea in principle, but I don’t understand how this functions.
Does it turn off when instructed by a sensor,and how would you know where to place said sensors? I mean if I could predict where the leak will flood (and where to place the sensors), I probably could just fix the weak point.
Or, does it turn off after an X number of minutes of running water? So you set the timeout to be longer than your longest shower?
You have a good point. Until you have a water leak it can be difficult to determine where to anticipate it.
Generally, place a moisture sensor at the lowest point in your house. Water will eventually collect there. To catch it earlier, place one at each faucet since jointed connections are more likely to fail. Water heaters and washing machines are also known to leak. Fridge ice makers are notorious failure points.
If you are concerned with a sewer backup, place a moisture sensor near your lowest drain.
Most times you don’t know the weak point until after it is too late.
Oh, I’m well aware of that from personal experience as well as stories. Remember, even with all the correct equipment inside, it still might not be enough.
My last leak (in a brand new house, mind you) was discovered when I leaned back in my office chair and saw the bubble in the drywall tape. The chimney flashing was improperly installed and the rain water was coming right in.
Yep, that’s why all my flexible lines are braided stainless steel. But, I still plan on adding one at each location as I move forward with my ST roll-out.
Can this valve be opened and closed manually when the power is out (or ST cloud issues)??
Years ago I was away for a week and came home to a smelly wet house. The small flexible line going to my ice maker decided to fail and had been leaking for days… I always turn the house water off now when I go away!
It seems to indicate that it does include a manual shutoff, but I haven’t placed the order yet, so I can’t confirm first hand.
I also think that I’ll be leaving the manual shutoffs there inline with this device. While this is a great addition to couple with my water sensors already placed in key locations (water heater, washing machine, kitchen) there is plenty of space, and my existing manual shutoffs are in great shape, so I have no driver to remove them.
In my use case, I will not program any logic to turn the water back on automatically after an incident. I want the opportunity to manually inspect the situation first.
The last use case I have for this is in a rental unit. Timely access is not always easy, and you can’t rely on tenants to always do the right thing. This remote safety feature in case of emergency could save thousands of dollars in damage.
I just also like the ability to shut off it remotely when I need to do some plumbing I don’t have to go to the main and manually turn it off. It gives the flexibility and the safety. I am trying to put together a plan and a pitch to my water company to give rebates for the sensors and more importantly the valve. They give rebates for rain sensors and a couple other things so why not the valve.
Did anyone buy one yet? Can it be installed outside?
They were backordered when I last looked on the smarthome site. I’m working on a source that could supply a similar economical device, but with the signal wires like this example:
http://www.fortrezz.com/index.php/component/jdownloads/finish/3/51?Itemid=0
While the simple valve could just be toggled to force the state, the positive feedback on valve state, even after power outage seemed like a nice feature if it can be had at little incremental cost.
@ben - Once this all gets settled and finalized (although it looks like it is pretty much there), might I suggest adding this as a blog post.
Quick update: I just placed an order with a supplier for 3 sample units. 12 volt motor with 3/4 stainless steel valve, full bore. It will have the IP67 rated enclosure and the manual control to open/close in case of power failure.
7 wire setup. 3 wires for the motor control. Two pairs of signal wires that will allow for feedback on the state of the valve (Open/Closed) to offer maximum flexibility.
This should connect to the mimolite in a similar fashion to the diagram above. Except use a latching setup instead of trigger function. The mimolite itself reports a power failure alert, so we’ll be able to tell if an outtage occurs, and respond as necessary.
I’ll keep everyone posted on progress.
Could you use the Fibaro UBS that has two outputs and two inputs to be able to get both indications from the valve?
Here’s a kit — yes, it’s about a $75 premium over diy, but sometimes a tested system is worth the premium? Certainly cheaper than the fortrez devices & unlike? the mimo diy, I’m fairly certain it supports beaming from zwave water leak detectors?
https://www.leakintel.com/LeakIntel/Products/3AQAAANFnEpsSUJuWEd1RkxsAAA
Thanks. That definitely looks interesting. Anyone have hands on experience with the kit? The valve itself looks pretty much identical. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are all coming from the same factory.
They just came out with the Z-Wave option:
[
][1]
Make sure you don’t replace a manual cut off because this needs power to turn on or off.
[1]: http://products.z-wavealliance.org/products/953
@zuperman4ever The Fibaro UBS seems like it would work with the use of an additional external relay so that the binary output would trigger the state change in the the relay, which would be connected to the valve. Since its a binary sensor, with a limit of 150mA, I don’t believe that it would work directly with any of the valves being discussed in this thread. Most of the valves I’ve found were listed at at least 500mA 12vDC.
