Insteon Water Leak Sensors & Text Messages

[Baja]

When testing a new Insteon Water Leak sensor that I just purchased, I set it on a wet sponge and immediately received 12 text messages before removing it from the sponge. My question is, how do I ensure that I receive a notification when it senses moisture without overwhelming me with messages?

[Xathros]

It would be helpful if you could post the program that monitors the sensor and sends the notification as well as the section of the ISY Log showing the time frame when the sensor was wet.

 

-Xathros

[LeeG]

Xathros can help with the programming to limit to a single notify. It is not unusual for the Leak Sensor to cycle between Wet and Dry even when sitting in water. Using a Wet sponge will not provide enough conductivity between the metal sensors to keep the Leak Sensor in a solid Wet state. Even water varies in conductivity depending on the mineral content.

[Baja]

Here's the program that monitors the sensors:

 

IF

Control 'Water Leak Sensors / Main Water Line / Main Water Line-Wet' is switched on

THEN

Send notification to .....

 

I'm not sure how to get the information from the ISY log.

[Xathros]

Assuming the leak sensor is fluttering as LeeG suspects, you will need to use a variable and a delay to overcome the multiple notifications.

 

1. Define an integer variable: i.LeakNotifySent and set it's value to 0.

 

2. Build a program to monitor and notify:

If 
  Control LeakSensor.Wet is Switched On
  And i.LeakNotifySent = 0

Then
  Send Leak Notification
  i.LeakNotifySent = 1
  i.LeakNotifySent InitTo 1

Else

 

3. Build a program to delay and reset the notify flag and set this one to run at startup.

If 
  Status LeakSensor.Dry is Switched On

Then
  Wait 1 Hour  (Adjust this based on your notification frequency requirements)
  i.LeakNotifySent = 0
  i.LeakNotifySent InitTo 0

Else

 

The above will limit the possible notifications to once an hour assuming the sensor continues to fluctuate between wet/dry.

 

As for the ISY Log, you select Tools / ISY Log from the admin console menu. It will pop up and ask if you want to open the log in Excel. Choose yes if you have Excel or No if you don't. If you chose no, it will allow you to save the log as a text file wherever you point it to. Either way, one you have the log data visible, simply copy/paste the pertinent section into a post

 

Hope this helps.

 

-Xathros

[Baja]

Xathros,

 

Thanks for your help! I do have one more question for you. What do you mean by "run at startup"? Is that when the ISY program is started?

 

Thanks again!

[Baja]

Xathros,

 

One more question, what is the difference between these two lines of code?

 

i.LeakNotifySent = 1

i.LeakNotifySent InitTo 1

 

 

I'm new to this and just trying to get a better understanding.

 

Thanks!

[Xathros]

Run at startup is exactly that. Anything that it checked Run At Startup will trigger and evaluate when the ISY boots. The reason for this is so that the flag will get reset if the power fails and the sensor goes dry while the ISY is down. This is used in conjunction with your 2nd question.

 

i.LeakNotifySent = 1 - This line sets the current value of the variable to 1

i.LeakNotifySent InitTo 1 - This one sets the Initial value of the variable to 1. I do this so that this logic can survive a power failure. When the ISY starts back up, the Init value is what the variable gets set to. By default this is 0 when you create a variable but you can set it to anything you like.

 

In many of my programs I have similar lines:

 

s.HomeAway = 1

s.HomeAway InitTo s.HomeAway

 

That accomplishes the same as above but means I only need to edit one line if I need to change the value. When we get the variable enhancements that UDI is working on, this method will become much more common.

 

-Xathros

[Baja]

Thanks for your informative and speedy responses!