Woke up to water. Luckily the hubby was there when it happened and woke up everyone. Sump pump pipe disconnected. No Google minis alerted and no lights flashed. Phone texts did go through but not loud enough to wake us. The hubby alerted us soon after the first texts went through. We caught this before any major damage but for next time I want the system to work.
Found out that Google wasn't setup correctly so that is on me. I did a rediscovery to troubleshoot tts problems and never went back into the rules to readd them. Oops.
My question is about the lights flashing. They didn't do this. I have zigbee lights. Is this not supported? I asked bc I have a z wave outlet and flash is a specific button but not on my zigbee lights.
I'm going to buy a siren after this. The Google is in beta and too unreliable atm. I can't get my laundry alerts to go through on a regular basis. Help with lights be would be appreciated. I can't figure out which device caused the error.
Flash doesn't work with my Cree and Sengled bulbs, and I got the same error when I tried. This really is something where redundancy should exist by default -- if "Flash not supported" occurs, it should turn on the lights normally.
Sirens could help, but do search around. I've tried a handful of sirens and settled on Aeon, but they're about 75% reliable (usually it's a struggle to get them to turn off).
If you own your house, have you considered installing something like a watercop? It's one of my first projects after closing next week.
Just checked and yeah, most bulbs don't support the flash() method. At least none of mine do. There is a way to get around that which would be to have a virtual switch kick off a RM rule that turns on and off the light and then repeat that rule until the virtual switch gets turned off from HSM.
As for the texts, I'm not sure what happened there. Is it possible that it hit the 10 SMS limit before sending texts out to the rest of the phone numbers?
I'm actually planning on getting 7 of those over the next few months. 4 for my aquariums, 2 for my RO/DI and saltwater reservoirs and 1 for my water main.
Where do you have yours hooked up and do you have them on multiple lines?
This doesn't seem like a bad idea, some simple redundancy could go a long way.
Installing on the water main alone is probably sufficient for most, but I could see a use case for having multiple if you already have valves installed to different rooms.
Probably would want to make sure the material of the valve and seals are safe for potable water. For what it's worth, I only paid $40 for a new Watercop.
I used the solenoid valves for a simple watering system for my container vegetable garden in my backyard. They worked great and I could freely ignore the plants like I usually do..
Note: I realize that my setup does NOT replace a real irrigation system where I would need proper backflow protection etc.
The error log explains 2 of the failures. First. it's reporting that your bulbs do not support flashing. The second one is reporting an error with one of the phone numbers. That likely explains the reason why the SMS's didn't make it to everyone.
I always recommend testing every automation before relying on it. With water sensors, you can just jump the contacts with anything metal. That will trick the sensor in to reporting a water leak. Then you can ensure that all of your rules are working as expected.
I think a siren would make a great addition in this case since not everyone even wakes up to flashing lights. The DW can sleep through the worst of thunderstorms.
If you're going to add water shut-off, your best bet is to go with one that rotates a ball valve, not a solenoid that operates a diaphragm for your main. The leakSmart valves are very nice because they also have a built-in battery backup and there's a community driver that works. I have one and a few other here do as well. Some were had via the Lowe's clear out and some are getting them from ebay for as little at $30 and that's quite good for a valve that retailed at Lowe's for $159 originally and well over $250 average from Waxman.
If anyone is going to buy a valve from China, please keep in mind that putting them on your water main may not be safe. Not all sellers disclose that their valves contain materials that are not safe for drinking water. Some do though, and offer valves that are safe for use with potable water.
For the OP, this wouldn't have helped, because the issue was a powered sump pump. But a simple smart switch could have been used to power off the sump pump automatically when the leak was detected. You're quite lucky that the leak hit the sensor and notified you.
I totally agree - wouldn't think of putting a solenoid valve anywhere near the main or any other supply in the house. Not sure how you'd do that anyway. That particular solenoid valve fails "off" when no power which also is maybe not ideal for inside usage either. I am currently using the Dome and have no complaints so far. I do test it from time to time just in case. The nice thing about the Dome is you do not have to replace the existing valve.
On the other hand - For simple ancillary water control applications that solenoid valve works well, it's an easy DIY project and the price is inexpensive.
The LeakSmart valve is a good recommendation. I have one of them as well. They are supposed to be installed indoors. But I didn't read the manual when I installed mine, so it is installed outdoors - right where the city main enters my house. Should have RTFM.
In any event, I have it covered with two 6 mil plastic sheets that are zip-tied on, and its been fine this way for 3 years.
