water leak sensor advice please

[luv2liv]

my brother's water heat broke down in his vacation home. now he's scared and im scared too if i ever leave my house for more than 1 day.
after reading through, this Insteon water sensor seems pretty good for $24:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009WXZ0O2/
then i need a hub, so this is the cheapest i can find with 2 dimmers for $43.
https://www.amazon.com/INSTEON-Control-Starter-Dimmer-Modules/dp/B01695JNHK/
anything else i should be aware of?
thanks!

 

[Paperdoc]

My son gave me a D-Link Water Sensor, Model DCH-S160. It consists of a small module that plugs into a nearby standard 120 VAC outlet, a sensor about 10" long that is mounted or placed in the floor area likely to receive water when leaks happen, and a common telephone extension cord to connect those two. You download a free app from D-Link to your Android phone. The unit requires access to to the internet via a WiFi connection. Getting it configured was a little tricky, but it works perfectly. When any water is detected (and it does not take much), the unit emits an alarm sound and sends an e-mail to specified e-mail addresses (yes, it can do several) and a message to the app on my phone that alerts me immediately. As an additional unit, my son also gave me a D-Pink WiFi Siren. This is another small module that plugs into any outlet in the home - I put mine on the top floor near bedrooms. It requires a bit of configuration, too, and access via WiFi to the internet. When the water detector is triggered, this unit sets off an alarm sound, just in case you missed the one at the water detector.

Net result is that, if water is detected, four people receive e-mails, my phone alrams me immediately, and a sec0ond alarm module near the bedrooms goes off. Can;t miss those!

 

[mindless1]

This vacation home is frequently used, enough that it makes sense to have a water heater always on and a 365/yr data plan for the site?

If it's that old, I'd replace it, and consider putting a pan under it, piped to the drain (assuming there is a drain nearby, surely?). Sooner or later you're going to have to anyway. Doing so at your leisure you might get a better price on one and have the option to DIY when it's convenient.

Otherwise, how about just draining it and shutting the water off when nobody's staying there?

 

[boomerang]

You might want to take a look at what AcuRite has to offer. I had their base station and two temp/humidity sensors I used to monitor the temperature at our home in cold country while spending the winters down south. I needed a means to know if there was an extended power failure or if the furnace had died.

You've got to dig a bit at their website. They like to bundle stuff together but they do sell components separately.

If the budget is your primary concern, this may not be the stuff for you although personally, I don't consider it expensive. What's nice is that there are no ongoing costs. Buy the hardware and that's it.

 

[luv2liv]

i read about the D-Link before and liked it. having to plug it into an outlet is a bummer for me because i would need to run an extension cord around and around....

the AcuRite system is nice. the price is very reasonable too! 3 water leak sensor and hub for $130 https://www.acurite.com/3-sensor-in...vironment-system-with-my-acurite-acurite.html .
downside is that the hub doesnt use standard smart hub protocol like insteon, z-wave.....

 

[pcgeek11]

What good does it do to know that the house is flooding if you can't stop it instantly there will be damage. I just turn off my water when I am away for longer than a day and maintain good insurance.

 

[bommy261]

http://www.smarthome.com/smarthome-select-electronic-water-shutoff-valve-3-4-inch-12v-dc.html

I have this off my water main coming into my house being triggered by 10-12 water leak sensors located around the house. Works pretty damn good. Even have it communicating with the I/O hub (which is wired to my router), so I can turn my water off using my cellphone. I get a cell phone text message if a leak is detected at any of the sensors. Works pretty good.

 

[luv2liv]

that valve shutoff looks pretty good! thanks!
after reading more about the Insteon sensor in the first post, i find out it is not waterproof! unbelievable.
maybe i will get this instead...http://www.smarthome.com/minotaur-engineering-wsi1-water-moisture-sensor.html

 

[bommy261]

http://www.smarthome.com/minotaur-engineering-wsi1-water-moisture-sensor.html
Unfortunately those sensors are not water proof as well. If they get wet enough they will quit working. I am counting on the sensor relaying the command to shutoff the water before it quits working. In practice, as soon as the sensor gets slightly wet, it initiates the sequence to turn off the water (roughly 2-3 seconds).

Keep in mind, if just the sensing contacts get wet the sensor has no problem working. If any of the internal circuitry gets wet, the sensor may need replaced.