Steve Sullivan Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 So last night our clothes washer took a little break and forgot to shut of when the tub was filled. It could have been worse, I only filled the 16 gal shop vac 7 times and most of the area was concrete. Only about 20 sq ft of carpet got soaked. Crazy thing was one of our kid's toys, a chick, actually shorted and was chirping over and over. If it hadn't it would have gone all night. So does anyone have a good Insteon/ISY way of detecting water and triggering an event? I save smart home has a kit but wasn't sure if it worked well. Plus it requires the dakota sensor, which I don't have. Hmmmm. If it works well I'd invest but not if it's too sketchy. Ideally id like to sense water where is shouldn't be. Trigger a email, maybe lights and possibly trigger a valve to shut off the washer supply. Thanks for any ideas
aLf Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Steve: Sorry about your mess! I use this company's Freeze Alarm product (NON ISY). It works flawless. I DO NOT have thier water sensor, but I'm sure it would work for you, either on their alarm or hooked up to an EZ sensor. You may (dependant on your temperatures) find that their Freeze Alarm is a must, I do, (Northern WI). It not only alerts to cold (or warm) temps, it also will turn the furnace/AC on or off. To date, I have not seen an efficient way to do for me what this will do through my ISY. Check out their water sensors at... http://www.protectedhome.com/?cPath=13&language=en You can further see their other products from there. *** Michel, I still think that there is some room for UDI to expand here ****. Regards, aLf
intellihome Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Steve, i use the fairly inexpensive Waterbug system from Smarthome http://www.smarthome.com/7160B/Battery- ... 350/p.aspx It's an alarm in itself but I also hooked up the dry contacts to an I/O Linc. This gives me the flexibility to get notifications, close water valves etc You can add additional sensors also.
intellihome Posted January 7, 2010 Posted January 7, 2010 Steve, I'm not a salesman or anything like that but just to let you know that the Waterbug is on sale ($20 bucks off)
garybixler Posted January 17, 2010 Posted January 17, 2010 Steve I just ordered the Flood Stop (7115H2) from SH in hopes of preventing such disasters. It is self contained with a motorized shutoff ball valve. If water is detected it will close the valve and send out and audible alarm. Also it has a relay output that can be used to alert the ISY via I/O Linc where further actions could be taken with programs. Sells for $103.99 There is also a model for the washer and for an ice maker. Gary
NJ_Mark Posted January 18, 2010 Posted January 18, 2010 Steve I just ordered the Flood Stop (7115H2) from SH in hopes of preventing such disasters. It is self contained with a motorized shutoff ball valve. If water is detected it will close the valve and send out and audible alarm. Also it has a relay output that can be used to alert the ISY via I/O Linc where further actions could be taken with programs. Sells for $103.99 There is also a model for the washer and for an ice maker. Gary I just ordered the same kit with and an i/o-linc. However don't bother to ask smarthome support about the contact closures. I had a couple of IM chats with them about some questions I had and they were quite clueless (thier information contradicted the product manual and the SH website). However an email sent to the manufacturer received a prompt reply that answered all my questions. My plan it to have the i/o linc inform me via email/txt message if the sensor ever trips. The manufacturer also sells whole house kits with wireless remote sensors that will shut off the main if any of the senors trip. I will post with my experiences when the parts arrive.
garybixler Posted January 28, 2010 Posted January 28, 2010 Hi NJ_Mark I just finished installing my Flood Stop along with cleaning up a piping maze created by the installation of a water softener. It seams to work quite well although I had to order the controller to valve extension cable as it was only 3 ft. long. I will be using an IOlinc's sensor to alert the ISY but I also thought that I could use the I/OLinc's relay output along with a resistor so that the ISY could in effect shut off the water by simulating a wet sensor. Another method would be to parallel the off button on the controller with wiring directly connected to the I/OLinc's relay. I will need to check on the feasibility of doing that but I think it would be a more reliable way of shutting off the water by the ISY. Though I would pass along my experience with the Flood Stop. Gary
NJ_Mark Posted January 29, 2010 Posted January 29, 2010 Gary thanks for thinking of me. I got my parts installed last weekend. I have the flood stop's contact closure wires to an IOLinc. In the event of a leak I am alerted by text and email. I was trying to come up with a simple solution to open/close the valve with the ISY as well. My thought was to use a motion sensor by the washer that when triggered would turn on the valve for 2 hours then close it. That way the valves would be in a normally closed position reducing the chances of a hose failure. However I could not come up with a simple solution. Then my wife came up with an elegant solution, "Why not press the open button when you load the washer, press the close button when you are done with laundry." Sometimes the obvious escapes me. By the way I noticed your location are you in the Lehigh Valley?
garybixler Posted January 29, 2010 Posted January 29, 2010 Hi NJ_Mark I am in Clinton county near central part of the state. I opted to us my Flood Stop as a whole house flood protector and possibly using additional wired sensors to other areas. As my washer is on the floor directly above my pressure tank and Flood Stop location. I plan on having the capability for the ISY to be able to turn off the water as well. Looks like I can just solder a pair of wires across the close button and attach them to the I/OLinc's relay set for momentary action. Gary
NJ_Mark Posted January 29, 2010 Posted January 29, 2010 Gary, I assume you know that flood stop make wireless whole house systems. http://www.getfloodstop.com/category_s/5.htm
bdlhome Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Gary,I assume you know that flood stop make wireless whole house systems. http://www.getfloodstop.com/category_s/5.htm Anyone know what wireless solution it is using and if it will interfere in anyway with Insteon? It says in the blurb that the wireless senders act as repeaters and that sounded like it might be using something like X10/insteon. I don't want to get the wireless whole house system only to find it interferes with Insteon. Another thought that got me thinking was why don't smarthome sell the wireless kits when they sell all the others.
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