Has anyone used SONOFF SNZB-05P for detecting "low/out of water" in a fountain, etc?

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I've got a fountain that has its own 2 gal water reservoir in the base. I currently have a b-hyve hose adapter feeding water to this three-six times/day. I'm in FL so temps go really high and the water empties quickly. Instead of wasting water refilling the fountain when it's NOT empty - and thus having the water run out and muddy the area around the pond, I'd thought of putting a water sensor on a "rock" or "lift" or something about 6" from the bottom of the reservoir, get the REVERSE of what a water sensor is supposed to do (ie: no water sensed) then initiate a fill until the top is reached. (ie: I'd measure how long the average fill from the sensor to the top is, and run the hose for that amount of time).

The designs of all the sensors I've seen do not really allow for me to say "fill it until the alarm is triggered" because of their bulk and inability to mount in a certain vertical level in my fountain's reservoir. It's probably easier to say "Ignore all water alarms. Pay attention to when there's NO alarm sent. I know this is a recipe for recharging the unit a LOT but I have no other options to do what I want to do, do I? PS: ANY solution needs to be Zigbee as I have plenty of strength in my ZigBee mesh, and little to none in WiFi and Z-Wave where the fountain is located.

Ideas?

TIA!
Jann

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For a non-automated solution, I installed a float valve. It's basically a mechanical water level regulator. Bought a stainless steel one from Amazon.for about $12. Works great. I can see the fountain spray go down one day and then the next day it's back at the high level. No automation required.

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If you do decide to automate you could use this style, I have about 12 and they work well, They're cheap and use 2xAAA batteries. Using 2 you could do empty and full. This links to amazon but Ailiexpress is about half the price.

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I am using this exact sensor for my fountain filler.

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I am using the same leak sensor as posted by kuzenkohome in this thread for my fountain filler now.

First thing, the terminals on these form a meniscus on the probe, so they actually take some time to "dry out" when the water level goes below them.

The solution is to solder wire extensions onto the probes, and leave only the wire end in the water at the level you want to detect. Then they will register the water level drop instantly.

I also had the issue where I could not get Zigbee in range on the far end of the deck where the fountain is. I added over 20 feet of speaker wire onto the probes, so I could connect the sensor to Zigbee closer to the house. This works surprisingly well, even with that length of wire, and I just ran the wire under the deck.

I wrote a little app to control filling my fountain with this sensor and a valve. I use a Zigbee water valve (GIEX) to control the water fill. Since I don't need the fountain running when nobody is out there to enjoy it, I use a motion sensor on the deck to turn it on for 30 minutes when there is motion. It will continue to push out the off time until there is no motion for 30 minutes, then the fountain turns off. Much more water evaporates or splashes out when it is on as well, so no reason to run it 24/7.

When the fountain is running, the water level in the tank drops since some water is in the upper bowls, so my fill level is actually deep enough in the tank so that when the fountain turns off and drains back into the tank, it does not overflow.

Because of the water level changes when on, the perfect time to check level is right after it turns on. I do a small delay when fountain power turns on, then check the sensor, and it will fill if the sensor is dry. Filling means filling until the sensor shows filled, and then filling for another 30 seconds to go a bit over fill line. Otherwise the filler will fill much more often, since it is always on the "edge" of needing a fill, so give it a bit of buffer on the fill for the sensor to not go dry right away.

I also have a timer that checks every half hour, while the fountain is running, for a fill. If there are people active for hours on the deck and it never turns off, I want to top it off occasionally as well.

Here is my app if you want to try it or modify it. It controls the on/off from the sensor, as well as the auto filling.

Fountain Controller App

Edit: I just added preferences for the fill check interval for when the fountain is running, and a preference for how long to "overfill" after the sensor shows filled. In case anyone wants to use this app and change those timings.

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@kuzenkohome I decided to return the SonOff and buy this one instead! I want the "low water level" monitoring.

I'm a bit confused tho. Hubitat shows this reads "open" and "closed". By "open" I am assuming it means the circuit is open -- which would mean the water level is low and water is not touching the two sensors, right?

So I'd run the hose until the sensor was "closed" then shut it off 30 secs or so later...right?

TIA!

Jann

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Yes open would mean no water to complete the circuit, closed would mean water is completing the circuit.

But from your question it seems like your hub detected the sensor as a contact sensor not a water "leak" sensor.

Check which driver it selected on the sensor's "device info" tab. Under Type it probably shows "generic zigbee contact sensor".

It should work fine but if you prefer you can install the driver listed in the screen shot of one of my sensors.

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I just installed that driver. LOVE the "wet/dry" instead of closed/open!!!

I'll let you know how it goes!

THX!

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Your welcome, Post a few pictures of the refill setup, I'd like to see that.

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The float valve is exactly what I landed on, auto fills when my flower bed dripper line runs, no issues in an airid climate.

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Will do ... tomorrow.

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I'm not too concerned that the driver I am using reports open/closed, however note that my sensors are open when they are wet, and closed when they are dry, which is not intuitive for a leak sensor. I guess it is based on door being closed is default state, and open is the state that is being checked for. So Open means "active", or water sensed, in this case. I assume the custom driver gets the wet/dry status correct?

I use the contact sensor template on dashboards, but with the wet/dry you would need to use the water template if it reports correctly.

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Reply/Question to others that have a solution in place-

Has anyone had their solution in place for more than a couple seasons, if so which particular type? I ask because I gave up on the sensor or float approach for all the reasons that they tend to fail (or need to be replaced) in a damp outdoor environment in/around a ground level reservoir/fountain.

That being:

  • biological "stuff" and refuse accumulating and causing problems with sensors or floats
  • animals that come to use the water source messing up a sensor or float
  • "shoulder season" when refilling water is still useful but slight icing may "hold up" a sensor or float
  • batteries and wet environment corrosion
  • fear of "runaway filling" (yes a rule could over-rule the call to refill if a sensor or float seems stuck)

So I've taken to just refilling the in-ground reservoir/fountain once a day for the average duration of time it takes to refill based on typical evaporation/animal use. And yes this tends to overfill and spill into the surrounding soil ...but that waters the plants around the feature.

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My non-automated solution using a stainless steel float valve has been in service for 3 months. Even though I am constantly fighting algae, this valve has remained free flowing because the water flushes it clean when filling the sump.
Highly recommend this solution as it just works, no sensors or automation required.

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  • Since I have 25 feet of wire on my leak sensor, it is tucked up against the house away from rain or the elements.

  • The end of the sensor wire is just two stripped wires, spread about an inch apart. I don't know if the wires will eventually corrode, but I can't see anything accumulating on then specifically.

  • Our dogs drink from the fountain, but it has zero effect on the sensor wires that are in the back, under water.

  • Slight icing shouldn't make a difference, unless a solid ice bridge forms between the contacts, then it would not register it needs a fill. At that point, the fountain should no longer be running for the season.

  • My sensor is not in a wet environment, it is not even near the fountain.

  • Runaway filling is solved with multiple safety checks. My app has a max fill time of a few minutes, so regardless of sensor reading, it will turn off the valve. The valve driver itself has a max run time as well, which I set to five minutes. I also have checks for batteries and a sensor not-reporting check.

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