My many years old WaterCop Z-Wave valve is finally giving up the ghost, takes many tries to fully close. WaterCop doesn't seem to offer a home/Z-Wave valve any more (other than some I've seen on Amazon at crazy prices), so I'm going to have to replace it w/something different.
Desired specs:
Z-Wave LR or Zigbee, prefer Z-Wave LR
Battery backup
Includes a direct connect leak sensor that will work regardless of network/mesh connection being down
Prefer add-on installation so I can remove it if necessary (will have to be mounted in a cramped space that could interfere w/removing/replacing existing water heater when that happens in the future).
The Zooz Titan 700LR seems to meet all my needs. Anyone have good or bad experience w/it, or have another valve they particularly like that meets most or all of my requirements?
I love my 2 Titans - one's paired LR, and the other is mesh. One has a battery backup, the other doesn't.
I really like the auto-test feature, wired sensor, and the ability to tweak the swing's open/close positions. And the valve itself is hella burly.
Jeff's driver works great on ZIP, but there are some pretty show-stopper reporting issues on JS...
Both Jeff and I confirmed those JS issues, and reported to Bryan a while ago (over a month ago, IIRC).. That was one of the reasons I left JS and went back to ZIP.
Since I haven't seen anything that hints those issues in JS have been addressed yet, I haven't gone back to check.
Thanks - I missed the JS reporting issues. I'm on JS and would prefer not to revert to Zip at this point, things are all working great, wife is happy, etc.
I'll ping Bryan about it, once he knows I care too, it'll be fixed immediately.
Mine is doing much the same. I've changed the action upon leak to close the valve, wait a minute, close it again, ... ad nauseum. I also am on a well, so I cut the power to the well pump too.
The Watercop seems to do better after it has been exercised a few times, so I wonder if the issue is the aging motor not having as much torque, or sludge in the valve making it harder to close. The valve itself can be replaced independently from the motor/control, but I'm thinking what you are probably thinking - just upgrade the whole solution.
This is the same as my Dome. Normally, the valve is exercised daily as I cut the water whenever we leave the house and that works flawlessly.
If we leave the house for a couple of months then the valve is sometimes slow and hard to open when we return. After that it works flawlessly again. I'm reluctant to exercise that valve when we are gone in the event it were to die in the open position.
I'm similarly using Bruces "All Off" app to send the Close message to the valve in 30s intervals until it reports closed.
The last time I had to close the valve (plumber here to do some work) it took many tries to close the valve...in the end (since he was waiting) I stood at the valve and hit the red Close button repeatedly until it finally closed. That was the obvious message to me that the WaterCop is on its last legs. My WaterCop is in a new install (moved it from another location) on a new valve, so I don't think it's crud build-up, just the unit is dying. And as we know, water leaks are scary so replacing seems like the right choice.
I have the non-LR version of the Titan. Works great. I changed out the original gate valve on the main water line for a ball valve and installed it a few years ago. I also have the battery backup unit. Both are mounted on the side of my house, and the harsh Florida weather doesn't affect them at all.
It's not connected to HE though, it's connected to my alarm system (as are all the water sensors). Nothing against HE, but I trust my alarm system infinitely more when it comes to things like this.
The alarm system does prompt me to exercise the valve regularly. I turn the valve off in May when we leave for the summer, and it's never had a problem opening back up after 4+ months.
Absolutely agreed so Iām following this with interest. Its ZWave reliability never was great, to the extent that in addition to retrying the close command over and over, I also power cycle the Watercop multiple times as well.
Z-WaveJS, but the water valve and water sensors are on the zwave controller on my alarm system so no, I don't have those reporting issues. Which is why I won't connect anything like this to HE, as much as I love it.
The zwave controller in my alarm system is and always has been rock solid. When it comes to things like this I consider the cost of the alarm system to be trivial in comparison to what could happen if a leak occurred. Or a smoke alarm went off, or things of that nature. If HE stopped working, I'd lose nothing but the convenience things it provides.
Hadn't seen the EcoNet, thanks for pointing that out.
It has some nice features, particularly the remotely mountable and clearly labeled external control panel (which will be helpful as the location I need to put the motor is not conveniently accessed), battery backup, its own directly connected sensor, etc.
One thing that I don't see on the device is a manual option, the "everything else failed" way to open or close the valve w/out removing the motor from the valve. I assume that's not an option, and with both battery and mains powered options it would likely only be the failure of the motor that would cause me to need manual operation. Am I understanding that correctly - no manual option?
I really wanted Z-WaveLR, as my garage is one of the worst places to reach (lots of stuff like water heater, water softener, etc., between my hub and the water main valve location. But I do have an old GoControl plain Z-Wave garage door opener that stays connected, so I really should be fine.
The main benefit of using the Bulldog compared to Titan is that I won't have to get a plumber in to add another shut-off valve...the Titan just won't fit on my existing shut-off valve, so I'd need a plumber to add another valve and that ups the cost considerably. I know there are simpler ways to do that these days but for peace of mind (my wife's) I'd need to get a plumber. Still need to look at at the Bulldog mounting and my valve position some more (valve is in a terrible position), but it looks like it will fit.
Can you tell me how long the cable that connects the control box to the motor is...I'm hoping it's like four or six feet ideally so the controller can be mounted in an easily accessed location. If it's short, hoping I can find a cord on Amazon to extend assuming they're using a standard type of connector.
I'm finalizing my plan to use Flologic and integrating to Qolsys panel. Something to consider. Flologic has a 2".
By integrating to the panel you can get the control4 and Hubitat integration if you need either. I'm going to integrate additional non qolsys water sensors to qolsys by using a wired zone with a relay.
Can do the same with Watercop. They have a 2" valve also and you can integrate to Qolsys. The pro controller also has multiple wired sensor inputs so you can integrate with relays or use a combination of qolsys water tiles and watercop sensors etc etc.
In my case I'm adding a bypass to the main to add the flologic and a Flo. The Flo to add second control but also usage data downloads. I'm also looking at Droplet for local usage data etc. It's not a valve. I really only need the Flologic. The others are just for the geek factor.
The bypass loop allows for maint on the valves without interrupting service.
For me it makes sense to put water on the monitored alarm panel. It means I can automate the valve with armed away and the monitoring service and app etc can report state and control. The insurance company is happy. Flologic seems to be on the list for most insurance.
If you have the standard watercop valve and the valve is not the problem you should be able to just swap the actuator. At least it's something to look into. Or if it's the valve replacing with another watercop valve seems like a low impact activity that you can DIY.
Neither of those are zwave, but it's pretty straightforward to use zwave relays to operate non zwave watercop. I was very attracted to watercop for this reason. High quality valves and actuators. Allows for decoupled smart control. So you can easily keep upgrading your smart control over time.
Thanks for the ideas...it's the WaterCop actuator as far as I can tell, the motor sounds pretty pathetic when it runs and tries to open/close the valve. I was looking at used/open box WaterCop Z-Wave actuators on eBay but then I don't get battery backup and a locally connected sensor, or a new unit.
As I've been thinking about it, I'm probably going to stay with a "packaged" solution like Bulldog or Titan, integrates battery backup & a built-in local sensor. I am trying to simplify my home as much as possible as we get older. Wife in particular wants things very simple so she can do basic troubleshooting when I'm gone, or get help from a pro if required and not have to explain what she would consider "...a lot of complicated stuff."
I'm also on the 700 series Titan. My valve/meter setup situation is complicated: I have two 1/4 turn shutoffs, one on each size for the water meter... plus the Water Co's plastic oversized 'lock outs" on the couplings on each side of those valces connecting to the meter (to prevent any mischief). The titan's clamp adjustments (maxed out) fit in one and only one configuration, on one of the valves in this setup; but worked through calibration, and no issues since,
Cost of what? Show me your other options for 2" valves so we can see this 10x.
Depending on your insurance a rebate can offset the cost.
I personally discarded Flume from my list. You tell me if I should bother.
I leaned heavily toward high quality components for what I consider my master or primary shut off. I'm not price sensitive. I'm risk adverse. Flologic, watercop and Watts Leak Defense were on my insurance list.
I'm not sure I have the energy to sell you on any of them. More sharing what I arrived at.
