HomeSeer Black May Sale

[Rxich]

I almost went the sponge route , but wanted a faster response when water was present. What I did was take a thin sheet of plastic, like a binder page cover, then cut out a 2.5 inch circle and hole punched about 8 holes in the circle. Once water is around, the sensor responds immediately. I made sure not to punch holes right under the sensor probes, to prevent defeating the purpose of the spacer, since holes near the sensor probes would make them contact the moist concrete.
You could also use a soft drink lid with holes punched in it.

[epj3]

@bertabcd1234

Sure, but it would take a heck of a lot of condensation for the kind of sensor with two "pins" or probes that need an uninterrupted chain of water to close its contacts and report moisture. I'm not sure how the HomeSeer cable works, but presumably moisture along any (or at least a large enough part) of the cable will cause the same, which seems like a much lower threshold--something more likely to be affected by humidity and condensation.

As far as the cable, my reasoning is that if the sensor itself wasn't faulty, the wires themselves were cool enough for water to condense on them, and perhaps the fabric jacket separating the wires just isn't thick enough. This could explain why other cable-style leak sensors work fine.

I have to say, I won't be ordering from Homeseer again. They told me that this was just a fluke because I live in an area with unusual humidity - which isn't true, I live in one of the most highly populated metro areas in the country Simply put, the product page says nothing about operating conditions or limitations. I asked for an exchange or a return if they think the sensor is faulty -- they processed a return and didn't even refund the full $$. So beware, you're on the hook if their products don't work or if you have a problem caused by limitations they fail to disclose.

[bertabcd1234]

@epj3

I have to say, I won't be ordering from Homeseer again. They told me that this was just a fluke because I live in an area with unusual humidity - which isn't true, I live in one of the most highly populated metro areas in the country Simply put, the product page says nothing about operating conditions or limitations. I asked for an exchange or a return if they think the sensor is faulty -- they processed a return and didn't even refund the full $$.

Slightly better than my experience ordering SmartThings sensors/devices directly from Samsung: I ordered a 2018 model outlet, which arrived open, dirty, and broken (would not turn on/off, presumably a dud), and it took me weeks to figure out how to return it (they wanted me to return my entire order, which I couldn't do because the functional devices were already opened and in use, to say nothing of how little sense that makes) and two months after that to get a refund (they said it may take something like 10 days to process, but every 10 days I had to ask again what happened). In any case, I finally got it a week or so ago. I didn't pay attention to the amount, but it looked reasonably close. Maybe even a bit more (there was a promotion at the time), but I can't imagine how long it would take them to correct that.

Anyway, good to know about your experience with HomeSeer. The "cable" sensor (or that entire multi sensor in general) looks like a neat idea, but I might stick with my "traditional" moisture sensors. I don't live in an area with super-high humidity, but I also don't want to deal with having to return a device that might not work for me again. I have a few of their devices, and they can be cheap when on sale, which is probably the only reason I'd consider getting more. The door/window sensors are a bit ugly and hardware-wise probably the same as the similarly priced Monoprice ones, and the motion sensor is among the slowest I've used (but it's pretty-ish and has a nice mount).