So I take it that you and @steve.maddigan think they are reliable with HE. Some of the Amazon reviews (and other places) suggest that they are not reliable. But of course that can be many factors including ID10T User Errors or poor hub integration. Just curious what actual experience, HE users think.
Never had any problem. I use the device watchdog app, too, so would know if they stopped updating. They never have.
Of course I curate my zigbee mesh carefully. No bad repeaters, no bad bulbs that repeat, lots of good repeating devices, etc, to ensure the mesh stays healthy.
That's always the downside to zigbee... Get one or two bad repeaters and the mesh flops. Technically that would be true of zwave too, but finding a bad zwave repeater is extremely rare. I've heard of zwave bad repeaters, but in 300+ zwave and zwave plus devices I've owned I've never seen one personally.
I have multiple zigbee devices that can kill the mesh, though (all bulbs/light strips). They stay isolated in their own hub.
I bought 10 of these from this ebay seller, as well as other Iris devices from him. I installed 9 of them, and they are awesome. At around $11 each, they are a great buy, all came with the battery and plastic tab still inserted.
I have one with USB power in the dock, and it has performed flawlessly in the short time that the driver has been available. It reports temperature and battery regularly and signals water very quickly. I'll buy a couple more to go in places where I can utilize the combo of the dock, remote probes and USB power.
They don't get a lot of love on here due to the price, but they are solid. They report quickly and regularly and just sip battery life. Perhaps if I had more of them, I might chase a better value, but overall, the cost difference really isn't that much. I had a non-plus/300-series on ST and it was equally solid, so I bought the 500-series to go on HE and haven't been disappointed at all.
Hey, each to their own. In general, I prefer mains powered over battery too.
My counter in this specific case to that is:
Average battery life=18mo-2+ years. (edit: I adjusted my original # down after looking at my battery replacement spreadsheet)
Device Watchdog App = know if it is working or not. Don't need to guess. It reports temperature every few hours, so if no update>1 day, its dead, regardless of battery report.
I don't have AC outlets under my sinks and next to my toilets... So, those would be battery powered no matter which type I used.
I can replace a **** load of batteries every 2 years for a $30+/device difference.
I am not really that picky about the product. I just want something reliable that works. Burst pipes water damage is one of the biggest category of insurance claims and can devastate a house. So for me, it is worth the money. I looked at the ST first, but some bad reviews really concerned me.
Have you tried multiple probes with them? In other words, I don't really care if the water leak is under the sink or the toilet. I would like to place a probe in each location and get an alert. Obviously a pipe break will alert both, but a slow leak might not. So I really like multiple probes for one device but not sure if you can do that on the ST. I would think any water touching the two points of either probe would set it off but not sure if anyone has tried it. (I understand the probe is not designed for remote probes but someone mentioned soldering probes onto it. Maybe one one top and one on bottom.)
No, I just used multiple ST sensors if I couldn't place 1 in a location that would catch a leak from both/multiple sources.
So, for my master bathroom I use 4:
My sink
Wife's sink
Toilet room
Water heater in closet
None of them are such that a device w/multiple probes would work/have been close enough to use anyway. Your configuration/geometry may be different.
Guest bathrooms I use 2 in each bathroom:
Under sink
Behind toilet
Kids bathroom I use 3:
Under sink 1
Under sink 2
Behind toilet
Kitchen I use 3:
Under refrigerator
Under sink
Under dishwasher
Laundry room I use 1:
Under washer
Garage I use 1:
By water heater and incoming water filter
Attic I use 2:
Large HVAC drip pan
Small HVAC drip pan
But I don't work for Samsung. Get whatever you want - I have no skin in the game either way. I'm just sharing my experience...
In my case there are only 2 places a multi probe would have been practical (without wires draping everywhere - a non starter to me) so the math FOR ME works out as:
16x$50=$800
or
18x$18=$324
With the delta in $ I installed a zwave plus incoming water shutoff valve on the main water line into the house - which is just as important (if not more) than all of the sensors to me.