After having 2 houses damaged from water leaks, I was looking into internet-connected water detectors. But, while it's nice to be alerted of water leak, if you're out of town when it happens, you're kind of screwed anyway. So, one option is something like Flo by Moen, which can not only monitor for leaks, but can shut off the water. Of course, it's more expensive and has to be installed in the water supply line. Worth it or overkill?

We can just get in the habit of turning off the water to the whole house when we leave for extended periods. But, in one case, we had only been gone from the house for 90 minutes or something when the water heater burst. We're certainly not going to bother manually shutting off the water to the whole house every time we leave for that short of time.

The cheaper option would be to just get the water sensors. They would alert us so we could rush home when local. Then we'd just turn off the water for extended leaves.

Thoughts?

 

Flo is new, the concept is nice, but it's still a new technology. There have been reports of it shutting off water at odd times when a sprinkler is used or a water softener regenerates. I guess it's not a huge deal, you can always turn it back on.

There are also flood-proof hoses that can be used for toilet, faucets, and washing machines. They supposedly work well for large leaks, but don't shut off for smaller, slower leaks.

Do you think you've just been unlucky with multiple flood incidents? Or are they based on older equipment?

 

Both cases can be traced back to a faulty PRV. First house, the water heater burst. Second house, water leaked at the o-rings in the fridge water filter. In both cases it was likely the excess water pressure that was the culprit.

 

If your water pressure is so high that it's damaged your house twice, you should get the best PVR you can find, maybe even put two in series. You can try calling Watts @ 978-689-6066 for guidance.

 

It was two different houses. I don't remember the brand in the first house, but in the case of the most recent one, the PRV was a Watts.

 

I installed the Flo a year ago. For me it is peace of mind. Admittedly it takes a bit of time to get water usage sorted out so the unit does not turn off your water when you have an acceptable high usage event. The occasional long bath often threatened to shut off the water until I got all the parameters set correctly. It is nice to know the water is off when we travel. Or, to be able to turn it off when away form the house. But, whether it will save us from a catastrophe is unknown until/unless one occurs. Kind of like house insurance, you hope they pay properly if you have an event but never know unless you do have one. And some events can still cause significant damage even with the device working correctly. If your water heater ruptures then Flo should shut off the supply, but can’t stop the damage of the water already in the tank.

 

Thanks for the info Clancy, I've seen the Flo, but haven't actually seen it in use. Glad to hear it works as expected.

 

Just to chime in. I have used the flo on my 3 unit building and it has been both a blessing and an irritation. It tests the system every night (a very quick test), monitors the temperature and pressure. It alerts and documents you to usage of .1 gallon (used to be .01). Every once and a while it alerts me to high usage " do you want me to turn off the water?", if no response, shuts off in 5 minutes. They text, email AND call to make sure it is OK to turn it off (I never have). Telling them to leave it on is easy and painless. You can set the parameters for this feature (with the latest software update). It has alerted me to leaking toilets and also has me wondering where those-middle-of-the-night .01 gallons are coming from. Tech support is excellent, I also have to replace the unit under warranty. Overall, it is great for me and gives me peace of mind that catastrophes will no happen.

 

There are two types of whole house water shutdowns.
One monitors all water flow and may also have direct water trip sensors. This system is like the Flo.

Then there are the hard sensor only types. That's what I'm using. I have one sensor near the water heater. One near the clothes washer. One under the dishwasher. It only shuts the main off on an actual water sense.