1. Home
  2. General Home Automation
  3. Experiance with Floodstopper - whole house water leak detection

Experiance with Floodstopper - whole house water leak detection

There have been some questions about these devices - I just installed one. We have been worried about water damage in the house we just moved into. I considered both the "floodstopper"

formatting link
"watercop"
formatting link
I settled on the "foodstopper" since it had both wired and wireless controls (didn't want or need to depend on wireless in all locations - it seemed stupid to put a wireless sensor 15 feet from the valve). The watercop also doesn't allow any number of sensors per transmitter. But, the floodstopper is more expensive (both seem overpriced) and seemed a bit more professional. The entire system was over $600! I ordered from
formatting link
without a problem and the unit operates as advertised, very simple to operate. I used 10 sensors from the controller and 2 wireless transmitters for those hard to reach places. I had a plumber install the valve ($85) and did the rest myself. It did take longer than I expected to install, runtime wires nicely, mount everything, etc. Since the sensors are cheap and can be daisy chained I put them all-over, sinks, toilets, and of course the laundry and hot water. One note - you have to mount the valve horizontally, this worked for me (by remotely mounting the control box) but it could be an issue for some. Issues I have with the system; It doesn't have an audible alarm, I didn't read the model description carefully and missed this. So, you could have a leak, it could shut off your water and you would not even know all night. Since there is latent pressure in the lines water still runs for a while after the shutoff. Also, there is no way to bypass it, E.G. you are going to mop the floor or want the water on even if there is a puddle someplace. I emailed them about this and they just said it is as it is. This is a VERY simple device - one transistor and some relays. It should have every bell and whistle for$600+! So - I do have working leak detection, my wife has one less thing to worry about - it was a lot of work and there are some issues. I frankly don't know if I would do it again, I may use the watercop (it does have an alarm and, of course, has no wires), or, I may just have something make noise if there were a leak.

Reply to
Jax
Loading thread data ...

And there's good reason to. Houses that have flooding claims history can be "blacklisted" and become uninsurable because of the potential for serious mold damage to occur down the line. I'm not sure how one goes about selling an uninsurable home without taking a bath. (Arf Arf!)

Wow! That's a lot of bucks. My current design calls for the plumber to install 3 electrically controlled valves. One is for the main shutoff for the house water and it will be backed up by the original manual valve. The other two valves will control the lines that run to the front and back yards so I can leave the house water on but insure that no one can open up the spigots when I am away. It will also be a poor man's two zone sprinkler control.

It sounds like you made the same choice I would in going for the unit with the most sensors.

Good to know what at least one plumber charged for the call!

That's a bummer. I'll have to go check my supply line but IIRC, it shoot out of the cinderblock basement wall and then heads straight up. Will the unit not operate vertically?

I guess I'm "some" then!

That's an interesting point. I intended to somehow link the sensor net to my HA system to alert me to the shutoff.

Hmmm. I suppose the way to prevent that would be to have a solenoid controlled "dump valve" that drained into a basement slop sink or drain tube. If you hooked it up so that it opened when the whole house valve closed, the remaining pressure and water in the house plumbing would be spilled harmlessly into the sink.

The unreasonably high prices (when compared to the relative cheapness of electrically controlled valves) are leading me to design my own system. That would ensure I'd be able to add the bells and whistles at some later date. Somewhere I read you can make a very cheap (one shot) water detector from a clothespin, some small brass wood screws, some wire and an aspirin. You wire the clothespin so that current flows when the clothespin's fingers touch. Then, you insert an aspirin to keep the contacts separated. When water hits the aspirin, it dissolves and the contacts close.

I don't think it would be too hard to hack into the system you have already and add a sonalert or two that fired via relay when the valve got a "close command."

-- Bobby G.

Reply to
Robert Green

Sorry, but this device sounds pretty lame....

Couldn't you just take waterbug, hookup multiple sens attach it to your automation/alarm controller? All you would need is automated valve.

I propose Honeywell 3/4 zove valve powered by 24v tranformer plugged into x10. So if one already owns controller same thing could be done for $100.

zone valve - $30 WB2k - $40 X10 - $10 Wire, etc

Reply to
Brian

Reply to
Jax

Definitely.

Kind of slow. That may be desirable in some instances.

Maybe a good starting point for a water sensor, Harbor Freight has little battery operated water alarms. IIRC, sale price is about $5. (One of them saved me a big mess last week when water main broke just outside the basement wall at 3am). The unit has an undocumented 1/8" (3.5mm) jack which does not appear to be power. Haven't traced the circuit yet. Maybe remote sensor? Maybe audio or other alarm out...

Darn, looks like they have two now. I have the second:

formatting link
formatting link
sdb

Reply to
Sylvan Butler

Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.