MM wrote:
Came back at least two hours later to find I'd forgotten to turn off
the garden hose after watering the plants, then going shopping. It was
only on at a moderate flow -- more than a trickle, but significant.
I've just read the meter under the pavement and worked out
(extrapolating from my previous bill) how much has gone. The estimated
reading for 20/Aug/12 based on past consumption should be 446. The
actual reading is 448.68, so I've wasted over 2.5m³, which is a heck
of a lot. So I'm planning on emergency measures like all-over washes
instead of baths for the next three months.

But as I get older and more forgetful, is there a gadget I can fit to
either turn off the tap automatically or warn if it's left on? Okay,
so I wouldn't have heard a warning while out shopping, but I was back
home for at least half an hour before going out into the garden and
then noticing the lake of water on the lawn.

My Google-fu seems to be having an off day, but I remember specifying a
valve that would cut off flow after a preset amount in the '80s.

I could only find this one:-

http://www.buygpi.com/low-flow-mechanical-batching.aspx

Available from the USA, which only lets the preset amount through, and
is reset by turning the flow off upstream of the unit.


--
Tciao for Now!

John.