Inline shutoff valves are cool but I would likely set my house on fire or cause a major flood given my ineptitude with all things plumbing. That's why I went the easier route and got a Bulldog Valve. Have also used the Dome as well. Both are good and respond very rapidly. The Bulldog seems to have more torque but not sure. I do like the way it mounts to the pipes..
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Same here, thatâs why I called a plumber to install mine 
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A plumber would typically charge about $80-100 to install a main water valve over here. That's very nominal over the lifetime of the valve. It'll be about $200 to install a main water valve along with a bypass loop (parts included). The bypass loop helps ensure that the water can be turned off if the automated valve is stuck in the open position, and turned on if the automated valve is stuck in the closed position.
Yeah plumbers out my way (Near Philly) can be a bit pricey even the ones I work with on residential projects.
For me the BD valve was quick and easy. Took all of 10 mins or so to install and has been working great. If something goes wrong I can remove/swap it out myself if necessary.
I think if and when I step up my water game and put in a system like Flume I might want to go that route though.
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I have the same issue at both houses. In South Florida, this is common as most houses are built on slabs.
What I will probably do at the one house is reroute the water main up the side of the house a foot or so and through the wall into a bedroom closet where I'll mount the shutoff, then back out the wall and tie into the original feed.
Same at the other house although I'll probably go into the garage. May need a range extender for that one.
A lot of work in both cases, which is why I haven't installed water shutoffs yet.
I think this is a smart investment. It is better to pay $ 100 more once, but be sure that the house will not be flooded due to a faulty valve.
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I have a Dome Shut Off Valve for sale if someone is looking for one. It works great but my valve is very hard to turn by hand and the Dome couldn't quite do it. Bit on a regular valve it would work great. I had to buy the Econet Bulldog Valve. It will close and open the valve but definitely works hard to do it.
I'm in Canada, PM me if you're interested.
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That extra torque on the Bulldog makes a big difference, doesnât it?!!
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Had a couple of dry runs with the leaksmart valve this weekend. My wife was cleaning the top of the washing Machine and spilled some water behind it. I have a ST leak sensor on the floor back there in case of a leak and it shut off the water almost immediately.
I also was swapping a sensor I had under my house by my dehumidifier and I put one in my pocket my sweat apparently set it off and I shut off the water to the house. I then was careful and took it out of my pocket, but I was not careful enough as I was carrying back into the house I apparently touched it with my hand and I set it off again. It takes no more than a few seconds from the time the sensor reports moisture and the valve closes.
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This is my experience as well. My logs indicated 6 seconds. But that includes the time it takes for the valve to report back to the hub that it is closed. The actual closure might occur a second or two so faster.
I Dome clone in the UK, various leak sensors including aeotec with the water sensing rope. It works really well. Best smart home kit I've got and it's caught a few leaks already!
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If I was to do this at home I would have to replace a older valve with a ball valve. But I had one put on my mom's house when the city was replacing water meters and it was about $300 for the plumber to do the work. I usually manually open and close the valve every month just to make sure there are no mineral deposits on valve. Do the automated products test the valve on a schedule?
This is a must. Gate valves are highly prone to failure. I havenât come across a house with a gate valve in 10+ years, but obviously theyâre out there.
One of the benefits of an automated valve is scheduling using the controller (eg. Hubitat). I cycle my valve once a month.
FWIW, all the automated valves I know of are ball valves. Retrofit valve actuators, like the Econet Bulldog, are also designed to be used with ball valves.
It also depends on the operating conditions. If the norms are violated, the valve may fail earlier. Will not forget about hidden defects during production.
Yep I know that Ball Valves are a must. My house was built in the 90's and they were still using gate type valves at the mains and for cutoff's to the kitchen and laundry rooms. I had a quote two years ago for my home 5 gate valves came in at over $1k. All my plumbing is copper.
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My plumbing is also all copper (townhouse built in 1987). But plumbing costs where you live are higher than here. Getting five gate valves replaced with ball valves would cost about $500-600 here, including lead-free brass valves.
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I went this route for whole-house water shutoff and am very pleased with the results. The Zigbee switch controls the DPDT relay which controls the SS ball valve.
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