Just wanted to say how thankful I am of Hubitat and the great home automation technology that it works with! As much as I spend on it, it has saved me many $ last night!
As I was preparing to go to bed, I noticed that the notification LEDs on my Inovelli switches were rapidly blinking blue. Not something I have often seen, so I couldn’t remember what it meant… and then my wife complained that water was no longer coming out of her faucet…
At that point, I realized that something would have caused the water main valve to be automatically shut off, and that something would likely be a detected water leak! I checked my phone notifications, and yup, that was it! A leak had just been detected under the tub in the other bathroom.
I rushed over and opened the bath tub access and yup! There was water pooling under the tub.
Thanks to the strategically placed water sensor, the multiple notifications and the water shut-off valve, I quickly found the issue and was able to use some paper towel to absorbe the water. I left a fan on overnight and this morning, everything is dry, and no water has seeped through the floor on the kitchen ceiling just below.
So again, thank you Hubitat for this excellent hub and all its ever-expanding features! Thank you also to the community who keep writing excellent drivers (@kkossev in this case) that allowed me to buy a bunch of relatively low cost sensors and strategically spread them throughout the house. Another disaster averted!
What's nice is that it tells you exactly where it is, so if you have a bunch of sensors, you don't have to try to search for a beep or a flashing light or something.
I'll probably relocate a sensor or two as a result of this thread.
Yes, with the notification, it is possible to know exactly which sensor is detecting the leak which has been crucial in this case. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to see it (until it leaked through the kitchen ceiling) and would have likely not taken care of it that night… which would have been a mistake!
Like you, I have (12) leak sensors and a main water valve shutoff (Dome, in my case), all running through Hubitat. Fortunately, I've never had a leak but I do test one of them every week just to make sure the plan will work when needed.
Mine get tested when the housekeeper comes. She is always splashing water on one or two of them. She now knows that if the water stops, to dry out the sensor. I have a rule that re-opens the valve when all of the sensors are dry.
If this had happened when you were sleeping, you wouldn’t have noticed the blinking LEDs and further damage would have happened. I recommend adding a siren, such as the Aeotec.
No, he had a automatic shutoff so no damage even if asleep. I have had one instance that saved me some work in drying up a bunch of water myself.
I had turned on the water to my sink in the bathroom and got distracted, and left the water running while I was in the shower. The sink had a slow drain, which I have since fixed, and the water started over flowing in the sink. The water sensor under the vanity got wet and turned off the water main. A little inconvenient as I was still in the shower, but certainly beat drying up all the water had I not noticed until I got out.
Yeah I suppose that is true. I don't have a siren but I do have lights flash in the house. If the sensors are placed correctly there shouldn't be much water, as in his case.
Totally agreed! I made a couple of changes as a result of the - way too quiet - notification… First, I changed the phone notification to an Urgent Pushover notification that will alert me even if my phone is silent. Second, I added a EchoZone notification that will alert the whole household until the issue is resolved.
I thought it might have been leaking at the drain, but it ends-up that the leak was at the overflow - The plastic piece that holds it in place and ensures that it doesn’t leak is broken. Someone was taking a bath with way too much water, which overflowed behind the bath tub…. Will be replacing the piece this week (or ordering it if they don’t have it on-hand).
The leak sensors I have come with 10' leads. I tape the leads to WatchDog leak detectors that have a loud alarm. One under the sink actually went off and the water got turned off-just drain related though.
Having the sensor lead in a cavity was a great idea. I also had a drainage leak in that same area; something to do with the lever operated drain stopper-caused some ceiling damage. I think they were problematic. Mostly you see a stopper of some sort at the drain now, I believe.
It seems like you may have better access to that area than I did.
Yes, I have a pretty good access to that area, by removing a panel on the wall - very nice to have!
Stopping water flow didn’t do anything in this case as the issue was one of draining water already in the tub. However, the alerts allowed for quick action, and draining of the tub to avoid more water leakages, and in this case also eliminate damage.
Inn this situation, a non-connected but noisy alarm would certainly have done the trick as well!
They take a couple of tries to setup (need to go through the pairing process a few times before they actually work), but once they do, they seem to be good.
I also have some Smart Things Water Sensors in other spots which are easier to setup and pair and work quite well.
Had to chuckle as I've had the same color befuddlement from excessive granularity.... and as a result minimized the use of color notifications down to a few that are less about particular devices and more about escalating importance, investigation, and action.
Glad you averted the major hassle this could have been. Makes me want to hurry up and get the necessary valving/control kit to minimize the risk.
Ya know I think for years the best we could do is have stringent product certification, codes, and inspection in order to lesson the likelihood of plumbing disasters....but the fact of the matter is they still happen (more often than a home burning down due to electrical issues I'd expect). YET even with rock solid technology available to warn and avert such eventualities ...it is STILL not a requirement written into the code for new builds ...that I know of.
I suspect it is seen as less of an issue since it doesn’t put people’s lives in danger. It might cost a lot to repair, but that’s usually the extent of it, I think…
