Water leak sensors & mains shut-off

[walkinwood]

We had a major leak in our house recently that caused major damage. It happened in the middle of the night so it went unchecked for hours. In talking to our friends, it seems that we were lucky so far - almost every one has had a major leak in their homes at some time.

I started looking at the many leak sensors our there to put in a warning & mitigation system.

My requirements
- Sense a leak
- Sound an alarm, alert us on our phones
- Turn-off the water at the mains.

There are a few solutions for this, with Moen being the one that is most mentioned online, but the one I went with is YoLink.

Yolink'swireless communication is designed for long distances and can easily get through home walls. The robotic "Bulldog" manually turns off the water mains, so I didn't need to get a plumber to install an in-line solution. And the solution will work even if electricity & internet are out.

I now have sensors under every sink and near every toilet, near the water heater, under the dishwasher & refrigerator and under the washer. All are directly paired with the valve controller. A rule sends us a notification & sounds an alarm in the house (this last part is not covered in the video linked below)

Here's a video of the solution:

If you haven't got a leak detector, I'd seriously consider getting a system in place. Hope this helps in some way.

 

[CRLLS]

We had a 50 gal pressure tank blow the fitting a few years back. This would not have helped. The well pump would have kept on pumping more into the house had it happened while we were away. If we were on city water, this looks like it might be a good solution.

Sad part is that a lot of water mains shutoff valves around here are not ball valves.

 

[njhowie]

... but the one I went with is YoLink.

Yolink'swireless communication is designed for long distances and can easily get through home walls. The robotic "Bulldog" manually turns off the water mains, so I didn't need to get a plumber to install an in-line solution. And the solution will work even if electricity & internet are out.

I now have sensors under every sink and near every toilet, near the water heater, under the dishwasher & refrigerator and under the washer. All are directly paired with the valve controller. A rule sends us a notification & sounds an alarm in the house (this last part is not covered in the video linked below)

I'm extremely impressed with YoLink. I picked up their motion sensor (with hub) to put in our mailbox which is about 200 feet from our house and outside of wifi range. The YoLink has a strong signal to the motion detector (inside of stone/concrete pillar encasing mailbox) and when the mailbox is opened, I get immediate notification on my phone. Their setup was also extremely easy. Since I already have the hub, I'm sure adding more of their devices is simple.

I did see their water shutoff and other devices. Will certainly consider.

 

[street]

I just installed some about a month ago. They do work and wife was alerted as some a mist of water was mistakenly sprayed near the device.

I figured it can't hurt not to have them and notification would be valuable if a leak occurred.

 

[njhowie]

Well, going down to the basement and testing our main valve, I don't think we could use the YoLink valve shut-off...there is a little bit of resistance turning all the way off at the end. There's a fair amount of rust on it...should probably get it replaced, or maybe I can clean it up with a wire brush and some WD-40?

Anyhow, Amazon had a good deal on a 4 pack of the water sensors with hub, so I just purchased that. The price was basically the same as the 3-pack on a per sensor basis and the hub for free. There was also an Amazon 5% discount on purchasing one of the item. I may do it again tomorrow on another order as 8 sensors would be more useful than 4.

That being said, I'm going to have an extra YoLink hub that I don't need, likely two. If anyone wants one, drop me a message and I'll send to you if you want to try out any of the YoLink devices and not have to additionally purchase a hub or kit which includes a hub.

 

[Ronstar]

I have several Yo links that notify me via email when there is a water leak, but doesn’t automatically shut off the water. Helped out a lot with my recent water heater link.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

We rented a house in Breckenridge, CO for a three family vacation. House had water sensors throughout primarily to detect freeze issues. Temps that week were below zero and making skiing challenging. One morning at 3am the alarm was going off. Weird sound for most of us. Hard to get brain functioning at that time, the unique sound, to know what it was. One of the dad's was all over it, checking various parts of the house and hearing strange noises in the furnace room that sounded like running water. He called the owner to report the issue. No answer, so left a message. As we continued to investigate, we found water on the floor in the master bathroom where his family was staying. I asked him if he had smelled the water. He had not. Turned out it was pee. His 8 year old son woke up, went to the bathroom, peed all over the floor and went back to bed. Mystery solved.

We had a good laugh. Embarrassing leveling with the owner who was trying in good faith to respond to our voicemail.

 

[rk911]

Notion Detectors

We have placed a number of Notion detectors around the house. In each batnroom by the toilet and sink shutoffs, by the water heater, in the laundry and by the main indoor water shutoff. They can be used in a variety of wet/dry locations and applications. They form their own network based on your wifi. Inexpensive and EZ to install.

https://www.techhive.com/article/582770/notion-home-awareness-starter-kit-review-smarter-sensors-but-limited-control.html

 

[Sojourner]

I now have sensors under every sink and near every toilet, near the water heater, under the dishwasher & refrigerator and under the washer. All are directly paired with the valve controller. A rule sends us a notification & sounds an alarm in the house

How much did all this cost you, if you don't mind sharing?

 

[njhowie]

How much did all this cost you, if you don't mind sharing?

The valve controller is $125 to $400 depending on the flavor and if part of a package which includes sensors and the hub. On their own, sensors are $16 to $24 each, again, depending on flavor you choose, as there are currently 3 variations which YoLink offers. On its own, the hub is $20 to $25 depending if it's on sale, and there are two variations, one with speaker one without speaker. As I mentioned in my prior post, if you find a sale on a package, you can effectively get the hub for free.

 

[Texas Proud]

What does it consider a leak?


I have a smart meter and it has to be 24 hours of water usage before it says there is a leak... it will tell you how much you used by the minute if you want to look, so a leak has to be continuous...


It does not turn off anything if detected...


But when my sprinkler system is going it will run for 3 plus hours as I have 8 zones... that might look like a leak but it is not..

 

[njhowie]

What does it consider a leak?

If the sensor gets wet, it triggers an event.

Yours is active leak detection, monitoring usage and learning from it. This is more passive leak detection. As WhenIsItTime described - if you peed on the floor and there is a sensor there, it's going to trigger. Obviously there's not a leak, and yours would certainly not have detected one, whereas this one would...call it a false positive.

 

[walkinwood]

Well, going down to the basement and testing our main valve, I don't think we could use the YoLink valve shut-off...there is a little bit of resistance turning all the way off at the end. There's a fair amount of rust on it...should probably get it replaced, or maybe I can clean it up with a wire brush and some WD-40?

Anyhow, Amazon had a good deal on a 4 pack of the water sensors with hub, so I just purchased that. The price was basically the same as the 3-pack on a per sensor basis and the hub for free. There was also an Amazon 5% discount on purchasing one of the item. I may do it again tomorrow on another order as 8 sensors would be more useful than 4.

That being said, I'm going to have an extra YoLink hub that I don't need, likely two. If anyone wants one, drop me a message and I'll send to you if you want to try out any of the YoLink devices and not have to additionally purchase a hub or kit which includes a hub.

Yolink has a solution that is "in line" with the mains. But that would require a plumber to install.

 

[walkinwood]

How much did all this cost you, if you don't mind sharing?

https://shop.yosmart.com/

The 4 sensors + hub + valve contoller/bulldog is about $370
https://shop.yosmart.com/products/x3-automatic-water-leak-protection-starter-kit

Then I bought more sensors including some with the sensor at the end of a wire, so I can sense water under the washer & dishwasher.

All is all - probably around $600.

Compared to what it costs in time, frustration, energy and money to remediate/fix a water leak, it is peanuts.

 

[walkinwood]

We have placed a number of Notion detectors around the house. In each batnroom by the toilet and sink shutoffs, by the water heater, in the laundry and by the main indoor water shutoff. They can be used in a variety of wet/dry locations and applications. They form their own network based on your wifi. Inexpensive and EZ to install.

https://www.techhive.com/article/58...view-smarter-sensors-but-limited-control.html

Thanks - I did not come across notion in my search.

However, I wanted a solution that does not need internet connectivity. Also wanted a solution that would shut off the main water valve automatically.

I also use Hubitat that supports wifi/zigbee/z-wave devices and does all the automation locally - no cloud service required.

 

[RetiredAt49]

I owned a home automation company and in my last home I pulled wire to each water location (sinks, toilets, water heater, refrigerator, dish washer, etc.) throughout my home and installed hardwired leak sensors tied to my ELK security alarm panel.

 

[Fermion]

In our new house build we are plumbing all connections back to a central manifold (that has shut off for each line). It is extra PEX but you don't have any fittings inside of walls. (We also have the benefit of being the ones installing our drywall, so we know we have not put a screw into water lines as is so common in shoddy house construction).

I still might consider a shut off detector for the main line, but as others pointed out, it would need to be smart enough to determine a 3 hour run of the sprinkler was not a leak but a constant 0.5 gal/hr is probably a leak.

When we go off on long trips though, I will simply turn off the main, as we have it in a easy to access location.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

Yolink has a solution that is "in line" with the mains. But that would require a plumber to install.

Hmmm, I'm debating getting this versus the mechanical external device that physically turns the shutoff lever. Each has it's advantages.

The inline device is about half the price and it looks like a simple install (just requires a little soldering). However, if it were to fail (one day) in the closed position, you're without water until you remove it and solder in a short section of pipe. [In my homeowner experiences, everything breaks eventually, so the KISS principle comes to mind.]

The external device could simply be removed with a screwdriver if it failed. However, it's disadvantage is that over time it could loosen up and fail to open/close the shutoff lever.

 

[Fermion]

Hmmm, I'm debating getting this versus the mechanical external device that physically turns the shutoff lever. Each has it's advantages.

The inline device is about half the price and it looks like a simple install (just requires a little soldering). However, if it were to fail (one day) in the closed position, you're without water until you remove it and solder in a short section of pipe. [In my homeowner experiences, everything breaks eventually, so the KISS principle comes to mind.]

The external device could simply be removed with a screwdriver if it failed. However, it's disadvantage is that over time it could loosen up and fail to open/close the shutoff lever.

While you are soldering (PEX is better!) you could install a mechanical bypass such that if the auto shutoff failed closed, you could simply open up the bypass lever.

 

[DallasGuy]

If I leave my house for more than a few days, I alsays shut the water off at the street. So at least while I'm gone, I should have any flooding.

Other than that, I have several water leak sensors scattered throughout my house with several of them giving me notifications on my phone if there's a leak. They do work...I had a guest stay with me and there was some water splashing out of the shower in the guest bathroom onto the floor and the alarm went off for that....scared the crap out of my guest though! LOL!

 

[njhowie]

Yolink has a solution that is "in line" with the mains. But that would require a plumber to install.

Yes, thanks, I saw that among the different flavors. I wanted the DIY so I wouldn't need to call a plumber or modify anything.

I spent about 5 or 10 minutes with the wire brush and a shot of Liquid Wrench, and it loosened up nicely. I quickly jumped into the app and ordered it.

We have an older home. The water heater is over 10 years old. We have two sump pump holes in the basement. We have a crawl space in the basement which has flooded a couple times in the 22 years we've lived here. Having quick notification, and being able to automatically turn off the main if a serious leak is detected is simply wonderful. Definitely worth the one time cost in my mind considering the potential damage it may prevent.

 

[NewEnglander]

We have a product that is similar to the Yolink, its by Govee. A hub with 3 sensors is about $55, while additional 5 sensors is $45. So for $100 you can have a system with 8 sensors. We have the Hub installed on the main floor of our 2600sqft 2 level home with basement, no issues with the connection to sensors in the basement or on the 2nd floor. This model H5040（1 Gateway + 3 Sensor) & model H5054(5 Sensors Battery Included) doesn't have water shut off ability, although it does activate a LOUD alarm and send messages to your smartphone. I tested the sensors by pouring water on them and the alarm was immediate. We are happy with this relatively low cost system.
It can be purchased direct or at Amazon.

 

[Sunset]

I have wyze camera's , they have a noise monitoring feature and send out alerts for smoke and CO alarm sounds (turns out those alarms are standardized).

Since our water turn off is the wrong type, and we turn it off when we go in trips, I could just buy the under $5 alarms to place around.

Would wake us up at night and when out shopping the wyze camera could notify us of daytime flooding.

https://www.amazon.com/Topvico-Detector-Powered-Battery-Basement/dp/B0978C1JNH/

 

[Donno]

We had a major leak in our house recently that caused major damage. It happened in the middle of the night so it went unchecked for hours. In talking to our friends, it seems that we were lucky so far - almost every one has had a major leak in their homes at some time.

I started looking at the many leak sensors our there to put in a warning & mitigation system.

My requirements
- Sense a leak
- Sound an alarm, alert us on our phones
- Turn-off the water at the mains.

There are a few solutions for this, with Moen being the one that is most mentioned online, but the one I went with is YoLink.

Yolink'swireless communication is designed for long distances and can easily get through home walls. The robotic "Bulldog" manually turns off the water mains, so I didn't need to get a plumber to install an in-line solution. And the solution will work even if electricity & internet are out.

I now have sensors under every sink and near every toilet, near the water heater, under the dishwasher & refrigerator and under the washer. All are directly paired with the valve controller. A rule sends us a notification & sounds an alarm in the house (this last part is not covered in the video linked below)

Here's a video of the solution:

If you haven't got a leak detector, I'd seriously consider getting a system in place. Hope this helps in some way.

Thanks for posting this. I have looked into something like this before a few years ago, but nothing I found did what I was looking for. This fits the bill exactly and is reasonably priced, doesn't require a plumber, and runs off of batteries. Now that I just spent $500 on it, I'll never need it.

 

[walkinwood]

... Now that I just spent $500 on it, I'll never need it.

Hopefully, you're right, and neither one of us will every need it.