"trader_4" wrote in message
...
On Thursday, March 27, 2014 7:18:20 PM UTC-4, G. Morgan wrote:
Pico Rico wrote:

I've used 'Waterbugs" to detect the presence or absence of water, then

trigger an alarm and solenoid to a shutoff valve.

http://www.winland.com/waterbugalert.html


I looked into the two different approaches a few years ago. I didn't
wind up doing anything. I currently have one of the $10 self-contained,
battery contact alarms located by the WH and furnace, protecting both.
Won't do any good if it's a sudden catastrophic failure or if no one
is around for long periods, etc. But if it's a more typical water heater
failure, starting with a slow leak, it will catch it. I've seen people
use similar by washing machines that are in the living space, etc.
Same problem though, it will alert if it's a slow leak, but isn't going
to stop a sudden massive hose burst when no one is home.

IDK anyone who has one of the intelligent types that looks for unusual
water flow. The big question I'd have there is how many false trips
do you get? For example, if you hook up a hose to water shrubs, or
hook it to an automatic sprinkler to water something, how does it know
that compared to a burst pipe, WH, etc? I would think you could get
enough false trips to make it annoying.

That is one question I would love to have answered by someone who has
installed one of the intelligent types (which monitors water flow through
the service pipe). For me personally, if I have to hit a button when I am
giving a tree a deep soak - I can handle that.



Has the OP looked on Amazon, if they sell any such devices there, where
he might find people's reviews? Or just google whatever the product is
and "review". It's also an issue of what exactly you have to protect
and what the cost is. I'd be skeptical that it's worth spending $1500
on for most people.

I was shocked at the price, not just for "is this solution worth the
expense?" but also "$1500 for this little doohickey that does not even
include installation?" I did not see much chatter on this or any reviews.

And unless water is unusually expensive, I wouldn't
be worried about a running toilet.

A 2.5 day running toilet just resulted in an $800 higher bill. They have
punitive upper tiers on their water bills. Appeal/begging is in process.

For the toilet, they have new
replacement valve assemblies that partially solve that problem. They
have an interlock, where once the tank fills, more water won't come
in unless it's flushed again.

That is great idea. Brand and model please. And "generic name" that I
might search/ask for. Thanks.

So, the slow leak from a flapper
results in an empty tank, no water loss, and you see it. It's no
good if the flapper gets stuck and fails to seat at all. In that
case, water will continue to run.

Understood. But that you should catch by not leaving the house without
making sure the toilets are not running. Should. Hopefully.

I am in the habit of turning off the water when I go on vacation. Easy to
do, and it is on the check list. I will likely continue to do so even after
I replace my 60 year old galvanized pipes.