I have a water based backup pump that includes an alarm module that sends a loud alarm when the system activates. I noticed that it had connection to integration into an alarm system. I took a spare contact/door sensor and (badly) soldered on some wires and then connected them to the alarm box. Now when the system activates, it trips the open/close sensor.
ohh nice.. I am going to need to get one of those soon, its on my radar.. what is the model of that if I may ask?
r
I am guessing that it is this one. I had a plumber install it since I was already having them install a water softener.
EcoLink's DWZWAVE2.5-ECO has two screw terminals inside so you don't have to mess with soldering.
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Those look nice - I just happened to have a few spare out of use sensors so I went with what I had. 
You can go the cheap route and just get a Zwave moisture sensor that has an external sensor such as the Dome Leak Sensor DMWS1. I have one attached to the wall above my sump bucket and then have the external sensor going through the same hole as my pump power cord but have it hanging well above the water but not near the top.
Then I have a rule that will notify me if water is detected so I can investigate.
Going another step further, and more expensive, I purchased one of @iharyadi's environmental sensors (which he is unfortunately out of at moment) and have that connected in the same plug as the sump pump. It has a battery backup and if it detects a power loss, it will notify me that the sump pump power circuit has no power since this circuit is on a GFIC breaker. My hub, router, etc are hooked up to a UPS so even with a whole house power outage I should still get notified assuming my fiber service is still online.
Given the availability of the environmental sensor you can read this thread of my original solution using a 5v relay and a contact sensor for power monitoring for my sump pump. I ended up moving this to another circuit in my house since the Environmental Sensor also gives me humidity and temperature data within my crawl space that the contact sensor did not.
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In my case, I monitor the pump itself by having it plugged into a smart outlet (Iris Smart Plug (3210-L) Zigbee Plug with Z-wave). This gives me a repeater that's close to the Dome water valves on my main water supply and hot water heater, and I've got HSM set up to alert based on the current draw on the Smart Plug, as a way of knowing that the sump pump is running.
It sounds like you're interested in monitoring the level of the water in the sump-pump pit. Not a bad idea, as a way of detecting that the pump is failing to, um, pump the water out. Time to shop for yet-another-sensor...
My client recently add two sump pumps after a major foundation upgrade and basement renovation, and they are using this product. It would be nicer if a non-WiFi (Z-Wave or Zigbee) version was available. But it tells them when they run, when they’re off line, and how much was pumped. - https://pumpspy.com/
These needed a configuration change their mesh router to keep them connected, but once that adjustment was made, they have been very stable for them.
NOTE: I didn’t install these, and probably would have suggested something local too. However they are working and my client is happy.
FWIW, I have 2 Sumps being monitored by Zooz Zen15 switches. I monitor these for regular power utilization, although I haven't written any rules to track usage or send alerts. Mostly, this is because pump activation rates are highly dependent on rainfall & the water table near my house. One day, when I upgrade my home server, and get my Node-Red stuff to run for more than a day or so before halting, I plan on generating activity alerts.
I also have Smart-Things moisture sensors sitting on the lid of each sump basin, just in case, and an Aeotec Moisture sensor (https://www.amazon.com/Aeotec-Water-Sensor-Z-Wave-Flood/dp/B00H3TJ3P4/ref=asc_df_B00H3TJ3P4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167135357001&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12598014416140617658&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9007583&hvtargid=pla-335357014924&psc=1) on the main Sump, with the probe installed about 3 inches above max water depth, just in case.
All the water sensors are on HSM alerts with pushover messages going to my phone and TTS going to a select number of SONOS in my house.
I also monitor my Radon Fan for power utilization (which does generate alerts) through a Nano Switch.
S.
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Use hubduino with a $1 ultrasonic distance sensor. Just drill a hole in the lid of your sump and stick the sensor in it. This is what I use for my septic tanks, although for those I use expensive "harsh environment" sensors. I also use it to monitor the level of salt in my water softener.
They also make great presence sensors to determine if a car is parked in a garage stall.
ESP8266 or ESP32 from aliexpress is only a few bucks. The distance sensors are like $1. You can build these for under $10 easy.
Now this is a great idea. The leak sensor seems to work fine, and it's down in the sump pit a few inches above the desired "high water" point, so it should work just fine. However, now that I think a little more about it, tracking the level might be a useful datapoint, as if it stays below a certain level, the pump shouldn't come on anyway....interesting...
But nonetheless the salt level monitor idea is genius!
S.
Can you provide a bit more detail on the harsh environment sensors? We just had our septic field fail (old house) so while I'm in the midst of perc tests and getting a new field, dist box and tank filters installed, I want to add a sensor to alert me when the water level gets too high in the tank.
I had a PumpSpy on our old house. It was REALLY nice to know when the pump was running exceptionally long or frequently, so I could check on it to make sure there wasn't a reason other than heavy rainfall. I planned to get another when we moved to our new house, however I opted for the Zooz Zen15 and some RM configuration to keep track of cycles per day.
Much cheaper alternative (if you already have an HE).
For an experienced user with a hub, Z-Wave experience, and capacity to create the RM rule, it’s an inexpensive and local choice that probably makes a lot of sense.
For everyone else, it’s a total non-starter to learn all that and assemble the bits to make it work just for a pump monitor.
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For things like sump pumps and septic tanks, I would highly recommend a simple float switch over any DIY analog device. A decent float will literally work for decades. Analog sensors, even the good ones, are much less reliable. I work at a wastewater plant and ALL of our high level alarms are triggered by floats... even in pits or tanks where we have $1,000+ analog sensors for control purposes.
I would talk to your installer. I bet your new system will include a high level alarm that you can piggyback onto.
I asked... they can read grade, plan the tile layout and operate a backhoe. Monitoring just isnt a thing around here.
When I mentioned water alarms I was told that most people just watch the area around the tank for standing water, and if I'm really worried I could just leave the cap off my cleanout. It's a new system after all, how could it possibly have any problems....
I've asked 3 separate septic installers, all 3 had pretty much the same answer.
I've found this -
Sump Alarm "2L" WiFi Enabled In/Outdoor High Water Alarm With Sludge B
Just trying to figure a way to integrate w\ ZWave so I can shutoff water, trigger Alexa and Sonos, send texts etc...
Something like that is pretty common around here. I remember once when I was younger we lost power for an extended amount of time and when it finally came back (several days, I think) the alarm went off. A power outage seems like one of the most likely scenarios for the tank to overfill and I'm not sure how useful WiFi is in that situation.
Anyway... rather than trying to get that to work with HE, I might just get a $50 float and a Zooz Zen17. Could even use both inputs on the Zen17 and configure it to sound an alarm the output.
Buzzer:
https://www.mcmaster.com/56965T26/
EDIT: and you could do both... use the "Sump Alarm" device for local alarm only and the Zen17 for automation.
EDIT 2: And if you want to go super basic, a float wired to the external input of a contact sensor would do the same thing, although I would be concerned about reliability.
Would you be willing to share what you are doing in RM? I am moving from ST and have the Zen15 and was using a groovy app that monitored the activity. Not seeing anything like it so far far on HE so will probably need to use RM and not sure how to keep track of cycles per a time period. I would appreciate it.
I am using RM and a variable (which I display on a dashboard), whenever the Zen15 sees energy usage on the plug I increment the cycles variable. Here's the variable I setup in RM.
And here's the 2 rules:
This one increments the cycle count every time the plug reports a power level change.
and this one resets the cycle count every night at midnight.
Then I just display the cycle count on a dashboard
The top icon is the Attribute Variable
The bottom icon is the lastUpdated attribute
I dont have any notification, however you could always have a RM rule that would alert if the cycles variable exceeds a certain number daily. I havent needed to do that yet...
Let me know if you have any questions.
