Water leak alarm recommendation - txt / WiFi notification

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timmmay

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#284113 31-Mar-2021 16:44

Can anyone recommend a water leak alarm that will notify us if something leaks while we're not in the house? The standard audio alarms from Amazon look fine, but won't help much if we're not home. Ideally we want to put one in the laundry, one in the bathroom, and one under the kitchen sink and have both a noise go off and a push notification / txt message if water is detected. I can Google it but I appreciate recommendations from people who have used them. No particular budget, might be worth a couple of hundred dollars to us, or we may just get the simple audio alarms. This one on Amazon for example.

We've had two laundry floods in the past year and the tidy up can take some effort / cost. We replaced the whole laundry after the first one, new machines and all, but the plumber didn't do things properly and a pipe came off.

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#2684879 31-Mar-2021 16:45

I have a tuya based one off aliexpress in the basement. It worked fine when I tested it. The app notifications just get lost among all the other crap from apps tho.

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

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#2684882 31-Mar-2021 16:47

Thanks Rich. I don't get many notifications, and I find them less reliable than say email. The Govee one from Amazon I just added to my post seems to send email which would work, and not bad three for US$50 with gateway.

OmniouS

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#2684898 31-Mar-2021 16:57

We have a few of these paired with a Samsung Smart Things hub: https://www.activeautomation.co.nz/fibaro-flood-sensor

I was lucky with pricing - I got the sensors for about $50 off each on special, and the hub for 50% off from Spark.

After 1.5 years of having one placed on a paper towel under our old hot water cylinder, it alerted my fiance and me to a leak (audible alert and app notification) and no damage was caused.

I chose this particular sensor because it had the option of being hardwired to an alarm panel and separate 12V feed - not that I'm using those features at the moment.

I have played around with other z-wave and zigbee sensors using OpenHab etc but since I have a habit of experimenting with different software, I wanted the leak sensors on a separate, reliable system.

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#2684951 31-Mar-2021 17:57

I have just bought a Fibaro Flood Sensor - I bought the Homekit version but it also available in another version for non apple users.

A very neat small unit that when tested with very small amount of water sent notifications to all my Homekit places - phones, iPad, etc. Can also ask Siri what the state of the sensor is or the temperature is in the cupboard or the state of the battery.

My use is in a hotwater cupboard sitting in the tray that is under the cylinder to let me know should the cylinder ever develop a leak - I live in an apartment so this seems important particularly as the age of the cylinder is nearly 20 years.

The unit also is recording the air temperature and also will detect if it is moved - not sure that I need those features. Not particularly cheap ($150 approx.) but available from NZ company Active Automation - shipped immediately.

timmmay

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#2685070 31-Mar-2021 21:51

Thanks all :) The Fibaro looks good, but on the more expensive side. I'm currently looking at YoLink (Amazon, their site), four long range sensors and a hub for US$70. It alerts to app and optionally a siren when it goes off and reviews are really good. About NZ$120 with four water sensors and a loud alarm. I'll likely go for that unless something else comes up.

davidcole

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#2685072 31-Mar-2021 21:55

I think Shelly do one. I got a couple of their temperature sensors. They’re WiFi over zigbee/zwave so need not controller.

Not as cheap as a xiaomi (zigbee). But cheaper than zwave. And unlike zigbee/zwave do not need a controller. I haven’t looked but I’d expect around the 20 euro mark

Took about 10 days from Bulgaria. If there’s an option look at the usb usb addon for it. But I expect it’s battery, possible cr123a like the temperature sensor

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msukiwi

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#2685074 31-Mar-2021 21:58

timmmay:Thanks all :) The Fibaro looks good, but on the more expensive side. I'm currently looking at YoLink (Amazon, their site), four long range sensors and a hub for US$70. It alerts to app and optionally a siren when it goes off and reviews are really good. About NZ$120 with four water sensors and a loud alarm. I'll likely go for that unless something else comes up.

From their site:

PLEASE NOTE:

YoLink products work only in the USA and Canada

davidcole

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#2685080 31-Mar-2021 22:02

https://shop.shelly.cloud/shelly-flood-wifi-smart-home-automation#68

timmmay

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#2685083 31-Mar-2021 22:09

Thanks David, looks interesting.

@msukiwi good spotting thanks. I asked them about it and they said it was about frequency and licensing, and a read of a few websites says using it in NZ it's possibly I might be tracked down and told off.

timmmay

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#2685128 1-Apr-2021 06:08

The Shelly product looks good if you just want one, about $33 plus shipping ($42 shipped or 3 for $115), it connects directly to WiFi. For more than one the Govee water leak detector from Amazon.com is good value at about NZ$65 for three and review well. I'll decide if I want one or three and likely order one of those. Thanks all :)

neb

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#2685376 1-Apr-2021 15:21

timmmay:
Thanks Rich. I don't get many notifications, and I find them less reliable than say email. The Govee one from Amazon I just added to my post seems to send email which would work, and not bad three for US$50 with gateway.

Just a note about those, they'll almost certainly operate on a frequency and/or power level that's not legal in NZ. Depends on whether you're worried about that or not.

I'm using the Smartwares ones, they're pretty good, but again you have to get them from overseas.

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#2685377 1-Apr-2021 15:30

Anyone has tried Oval? I've seen a few ads on US-based TV lately.

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timmmay

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#2685428 1-Apr-2021 16:20

neb:
timmmay:

Thanks Rich. I don't get many notifications, and I find them less reliable than say email. The Govee one from Amazon I just added to my post seems to send email which would work, and not bad three for US$50 with gateway.

Just a note about those, they'll almost certainly operate on a frequency and/or power level that's not legal in NZ. Depends on whether you're worried about that or not. I'm using the Smartwares ones, they're pretty good, but again you have to get them from overseas.

Govee use 433MHz according to this page on their website, which according to this PDF on RSM.govt.nz is ok for short range devices (image below from the PDF). I think the Govee ones are ok for use in NZ, and they're what I'll probably get unless someone finds a good reason I shouldn't. Otherwise I'll look for a WiFi one as that's easy to comply with RF stuff, or just one that beeps if it detects water.

Oval look interesting, good marketing, many features, but a lot more expensive than most others.

Smartwares look good, but they're an audio alert rather than alerting on a phone which would be nice to have.

Bung

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#2685436 1-Apr-2021 16:53

Have you already gone as far as you can with floor drains, catch trays and hose stops? Unless you are next door getting a message is too late to do anything.

timmmay

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#2685438 1-Apr-2021 16:59

Bung: Have you already gone as far as you can with floor drains, catch trays and hose stops? Unless you are next door getting a message is too late to do anything.

Good ideas there. Floor drain might by tricky with a tiled concrete floor, but I might be able to go out through the wall / weatherboard as there's a low point there as it wasn't done quite flat. Catch tray wouldn't work in this situation. Hose stop would work on mains supply but last times things failed were a washer waste hose came off and before that a washer leak.

A message and having to drive 20 minutes home to stop a moderate flood is a lot better than coming home 8 hours later to find a significant part of the house or office underwater! But I get your point that it's of limited use.

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