Anyone have an auto shutoff leak detector system?

[Jim Becker]

It did wander, Dennis, because it's potentially material to the solution, although not the only factor. Do you have public or private water? It seems there may be some differences based on some commments.

[dennis thompson]

It did wander, Dennis, because it's potentially material to the solution, although not the only factor. Do you have public or private water? It seems there may be some differences based on some commments.

I have city water

[George Yetka]

Im not sure that they how useful they are. A sensor on the floor by the washing machine may be the only valid way to trigger them. A sudden loss of pressure upstream is how they are triggered if I run my hose or washing machine and that doesnt stop it then that could be pouring into the wall theoretically. Most leaks i've come across are pinholes that cause damage over years or frozen/cracked lines thawing. A buddy just lost his kitchen to an undersink drip that ate the subfloor and joists all the way up to the flooring and cabinets. It wasnt noticed until the cabinet started showing mold.

It is a good idea to turn off water when you are away from the house

[Dan Barber]

That is one of the benefits of the sensor systems, you can turn off the water via an app on your phone. That way if you forget to turn off the water manually before you went on vacation, you can do it remotely if you desire. Some of the flow sensors are pretty sophisticated in their algorithms for detecting even small leaks. I think some will even offer insurance against water damage. I've had significant water damage twice due to burst toilet supply lines. Finally traced to excessive pressure. I am considering one of the systems for our new house.

[Bill Dufour]

If you do install one I would add a pressure regulator upstream since the plumbing is being moved around already.
Bill D

[Bill George]

I do what George does… gone from the house more than one day, water turned off.

[Bill Howatt]

If we are going away for the whole day or more, then the water is turned off. Ball valve makes it easy. I also have audio alarms on the floor by the washing machine, water heater and the water system (bladder tank, Culligan system). None of it is perfect since you have to be there to hear the alarms and take action and a failure when water is not shut-off for a 2 hour shopping trip could dump enough to make a big, expensive mess.
Neighbor has had 2 pin-hole leaks due to old, poor copper pipe. I was totally amazed at how much water comes out a pin-hole in a few hours.
Where I live, most insurance companies now insist on replacing the water heater every 10 years regardless of what you think. My friend who always replaced his sacrificial anode at regular intervals tried arguing with them - to no avail.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Dennis, I have a FloLogic recently installed in a vacation home. The unit is installed into the plumbing as close to the entrance as possible, the unit detects the volume of water that is flowing into the home, if the unit detects too great a volume, it closes off the supply of water.

I know it’s a small sample size (two months), so far the unit has not been more of a nuisance than a help.

[Matt Schroeder]

I just had a Moen installed last weekend. Still figuring it all out. There is currently a known problem (according to Moen) with the real time monitoring on the app (flow doesn't always show properly on the app while being properly monitored by the device) but the unit is supposedly doing what it is supposed to behind the scenes even if the app is sometimes incorrect. Hopefully that glitch will be figured out soon. In addition to the flow monitoring by the valve you can add water detectors near likely leak points (laundry room, or where the water line enters the house before the valve) that sync with the app and can also control the valve (doesn't help if something is upstream of the valve, but would if you wanted extra protection downstream and either way you get immediate notification of an alarm). During set up it asks about irrigation and if you have a whole house humidifier to help it learn what normal use should look like (a whole house trickle humidifier looks a lot like an intermittent leak...). I have already learned that my daughter uses twice as much water for a shower than I do. I ordered my valve from Crutchfield, it came in one day and was the best price I could find at the time; my plumber was happy to let me source the valve for him to install.

I also considered the flowlogic but decided to try the cheaper Moen one first, and my plumber said he felt good about the Moen as well from previoous installs. He mounted it with quick disconnects and appropriate valves so I can isolate and bypass the Moen if it needs to be removed for service or replacement in the future. My insurance company (Erie) does not offer a discount for having the valve.

[Ron Citerone]

I do what George does… gone from the house more than one day, water turned off.

I have city water and a gas water heater. Does anyone know what happens if I turn the water off and the water heater springs a leak?

[Bill Howatt]

No direct experience with that configuration but my experience is that a water heater will develop a very slow leak first as it rusts through. Without the applied city water pressure the leak would be very, very little. This is where one of those inexpensive audio alarms would be a good thing.
The last time I had a hot water heater leak there was a warning given that I didn't pay attention to - there was a "hot musty" smell caused by the initial leaking before it became obvious on the basement floor a couple of weeks or so later. I don't have a plastic pan under it but if my heater was in or above a finished level I certainly would.

[George Yetka]

I have city water and a gas water heater. Does anyone know what happens if I turn the water off and the water heater springs a leak?

Your house and water tank drain to the level of the leak. With any luck you get vacuum bound and some of the water stays in the house piping

[Robert LaPlaca]

I have city water and a gas water heater. Does anyone know what happens if I turn the water off and the water heater springs a leak?

I believe you will windup with 40+ gallons (assuming you have a 40 hot water heater) leak. Even that is a whole lot better than 100’s or 1000’s of gallons of water, without the shutoff device..

[Ron Citerone]

I believe you will windup with 40+ gallons (assuming you have a 40 hot water heater) leak. Even that is a whole lot better than 100’s or 1000’s of gallons of water, without the shutoff device..

Thanks. I was wondering more about a the natural gas part. Would the water heater shut down or would a gas shutoff be needed?

[Robert LaPlaca]

Wow that’s an interesting question Ron, not so sure either a NG or electric hot water heater has a safety to know the water tank is low or empty..A question for a plumber