Water leak detection and remote shut off
 

I STFF and found the existing threads on the topic to be at least 2-3 years old. Figured it was time for a new one, what with new people, new technologies, etc. So here goes:

Does anyone have a solid, reliable, and preferably reasonable, solution for remote leak detection and water shut off?

There are a handful of cheap alarms that sound off when they sense water, but I'm looking for ones that sense a potential leak and shut off the water supply. Preferably automatically and with cellphone (via wifi) notification and ability to control.

This is for the months I am not in residence.

Looking forward to you all's input. Thank you in advance.

I use Flume for irrigation broken head/ leak detection. No automatic shutoff so you would need to phone a friend locally.

There is Moen system that appears to be able to do what you want, however, I have no experience with this.

Why not shut water off when you leave?

I use Flume on my irrigation meter as well. Runs $250 (discounted on Amazon Prime days). No automatic shutoff as mentioned. Battery lasted 18 months (just had to replace it).

Yolink has a system that looks great for this. I use several of their remote products including thermostat, leak detection, temp,and motion sensors. A unique thing about their tech is they use a low frequency comm system that doesn't rely on Bluetooth or wifi so distance is much further and battery life is many months or even years.

I don't use the auto water shutoff valve, but I know they have them. I get notified here in FL if one of the sensors goes off. It's been a solid system for a couple of years now.

There’s your answer. Throw a valve, turn off your hot water heater, and don’t worry about water leaks while away. Irrigation leaks are still a possibility, but checking out your water usage through your monthly utility statement will enable you to easily identify a water leak. If I notice unusually high water usage while away, a phone call to our lawn service and irrigation contractor would be the next step. In ten years we have never had a water leak in our irrigation system. Occasionally, an older irrigation head will leak while the system is running, but as soon as the irrigation zone shuts off the valve closes off all water to the zone.

Ditto for YoLink.
Fantastic devices and solid performance.

Maybe the OP will answer but those who have pools don’t turn their water off because it will disable the autofill on the pool . The water could drop below the level of the induction for the filter. If I ever lose my mind and get a pool built it will definitely have a separate shut off for house and pool water

Leak Detection.
 

I installed the Moen FLO system and it works VERY WELL! I have wireless sensors at every possible leak point in the house. If a sensor detects water, its shuts the water off to the entire house at the shut off point in the garage. FLO also monitors water flow and if it is unusual activity, it will also shut off the water. It sends a text message to you immediately and tells you where the leak is detected or what unusual activity it has sensed. If you are going to use a lot of water for something not usually done, you can go into the FLO app and set it to not monitor for a period of time. I Installed 11 sensors in the home. It’s money well spent! I bought the Moen FLO on Amazon. Hope this helps.

Mike in Fenney




This is for the months I am not in residence.

Looking forward to you all's input. Thank you in advance.[/QUOTE]

I automate my whole home using HomeKit and matter devices. There are a number of HomeKit aware leak detection devices and whole house water supply line shutoff devices so if the leak detection device senses a link, you tell the water shutoff device to activate which closes the valve.
You will need to have internet service in your home. But if you’re a snowbird, water leaks are only part of the story you want to monitor, you should monitor:
Sprinkler system, hvac, garage doors, front, back and garage interior door locks, stove, refrigerator, and lights. I can look at my Home Screen and check every device, I can get messages that a lock or garage door is open, and I can configure each device so if it’s open for 15 mins and the geofencing is invoked, close the garage door or lock the door lock.

Yeah, I just shut my household water off.

More important (in Florida) is monitoring the AC. Few years ago, I put in a smart thermostat that I can monitor and even control anywhere in the world where I have wifi.
In a previous location in Florida I came home to a busted AC.
Bugs and mildew love the warmer temps and humidity, and then days without AC in the middle of hot. Not good.

I have the Flo by Moen system in my house. Very easy to install inline on the input line of your house in the garage. It will notify you if it detects unusual activity and if you don’t respond back it will shut off the water based on what you set up. It does automatic leak test as well as monitoring. You can remotely turn the water on and off as needed. It works well. The small water wheel inside the unit has magnets that spin to measure flow. This little part corroded after a couple years with the hard water and I had to call Moen. They shipped me a kit to replace the wheel and it took 5 minutes to complete the swap. I would recommend it

Stff????
 

What is a STFF? WHY do people insist on these acronyms? Too lazy to type out a few words? OK, I vented, back to your normal daily programming.

Sorry. You're right. I'm usually not a fan of truncated verbiage (lazy English), however after a career where speaking in codes and numbers has become a second language, I assumed common forum abbreviations were, well, common. STFF stands for Searched The F@(&^g Forum. Essentially quickly telling responders that I already performed a search and read the applicable results so they do not feel I'm wasting their time with the umpteenth thread on a topic, thereby encouraging useful insight and thoughtful, high-quality results.

Which I certainly received here, thank you all very much.

I'm going to do some web research on the Moen Flo (does EVERY sensor need to plug into an outlet - I don't have those under my sinks generally), the YoLink products, and I would really like some details from @rsmurano about his (her?) HomeKit wired house .What products he (she?) used where and what s/he estimates the total all-in cost was to put it together. Very interesting options.

As for why I don't just shut it off when I leave, along with the hot water heater, the issue for me is that HomeWatch has to turn it all back on to flush toilets, etc. Every time they turn the valve and pressurize the system (and don't drain it) puts wear/tear and pressure on the components which, in my experience, are quick to fail. The more I've used a toilet's water supply line valve to do some work on it, the more likely that valve failed down the road. Of course YMMV. Sorry, RailRoadGuyNewJersey who doesn't like abbreviations - like the one in his user name, YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary. Essentially, you may not have the same experience(s) I had or have. Just playing with you, not trying to be insulting. Just a little gentle elbow to the ribs. :-D