I read a couple of articles regarding people using the Aqara leak sensors with the HE C8. After which I read several articles stating that they use non-standard Zigbee commands and can be difficult to pair with the Hubitat. I'd love to hear other's experience with these sensors.
I have two of the Aqara Water Leak sensors as pictured above connected directly to my HE C8 Pro. I used them in a makeshift setup as a reporting device for a bed sensor but that should make no difference. I also use the same driver as above. For the most part I have nothing bad to say about them. I did have each of them fall off the network once and a simple rejoin done the trick. However, this has not happened again in the past year of use.
I would say give them a try as I have them and Third Reality. The Aqara is better looking and easier to place as the Third Reality is much larger.
The driver does show "present" and "not present" as a status of the sensor. If it connected of course it is present and if fallen off the network or some type of connection issue it will say "not present". You can set the time the hub will check the device. If you are going to use as a true water leak sensor where you won't interact with the sensors for long periods between I would suggest writing a rule to notify you if any of the sensors show "not present". Just a little extra security to make sure they will work if you need them.
I'm sure they work fine, but they seem to be on the pricey side for a simple leak sensor. I bought a bunch of Zigbee leaks sensors for about $4 each on Ali Express, and they have been working great.
I always forget about Ali Express! I just saw there a Ewelink Zigbee water sensor for $0.99! Since it's not on the Hubitat compatibility list, how do you go about installing it in the C8?
The ones I bought report as a contact sensor, so they work with the Generic Zigbee Contact Sensor driver. I don't really mind that they do not report as a Water Sensor capability with wet/dry, I just need to know the status.
I have the Aqara valve and for me it has worked great. I have it and the Aqara leak sensors in the Aqara app connected to their M2 Hub bringing them into HE via matter. The two sensors I was using for bed presence as I said was attached directly to HE.
As stated above I also bought some water leak sensors off AllieExpress for less than $4 each and they have worked great except I don't have the connected to HE they are connected to Home Assistant. I use them to detect condensation below my freezer.
I use them as leak sensors, also empty sensors (when a watering bucket is out of water), and as a fill sensor for my fountain (to know when water goes below fill level to top it off)