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What is a water leak sensor in an apartment?

Leakage of water is the cause of great trouble, especially if you live in a high-rise building. A timely installed water leakage sensor will help prevent a catastrophe even when the pipes are damaged and the integrity of the mains in the apartment is broken. Such a system is equipped with many washing machines and dishwashers. Consider the features of the operation and choice of these devices, as well as methods for their installation.

The appearance of leaks often entails an unpleasant conversation with neighbors, damage to property and, as a result, significant unplanned expenses. Moreover, there is a huge possibility that if moisture gets into the power grid, someone can be electrocuted. Therefore, in order to prevent these unpleasant moments, Plumber Portal recommends installing a water leak sensor in the water supply system of your home.

The industry produces two types of such devices. These devices are both wired, their connection to the controller is carried out using a wire, and wireless, their principle of operation involves work based on a radio signal. Regardless of the type of unit, they are equipped with two electrodes.

In case of leakage, that is, when the sensor is immersed in water, its poles are closed, and the device transmits a signal to the controller. He, accordingly, redirects it to the shut-off valves, which immediately shuts off the water supply. The whole process takes a maximum of 15 seconds.

The water supply will be shut off until the trouble is cleared. After that, it will be necessary to do just a couple of simple operations and the device is ready for use again. A properly connected and well-functioning system will provide reliable protection against sudden water or heating leaks. In simpler models, without wifi, the siren just works.

There are quite a number of options for protection against leaks. The most popular are Aquaguard, Neptune and Gidrolock. Their operating principles are basically the same. They work with ball valves operating on electric actuators with a diameter of 1”, ½” or ¾”. Devices can not only shut off the water, but also be equipped with sound or light alarms. They are fairly well compatible with smart home systems and can be built into them.

Components of the anti-leakage system

These systems come in different options, but in each model there are:

Controller. It is necessary to process the signal that comes from the sensors and supply control voltage to the ball valves with an electric drive. In addition, the device is responsible for powering all sensors, as well as for sound and light signaling of unexpected water leakage. The controller can be installed in any place where it will be convenient for the user, except for those places where water can get on it.
Water leakage sensor. During moisture ingress, the device sends a signal to the controller. Should only be connected to a safe power source in order to ensure safety if the plates are accidentally touched. It is mounted in places with the highest probability of leaks, namely: near showers, bathtubs, sinks, washing machines and other things. The manufacturer, as a rule, advises wiping the sensor plates with an important sponge once every 3 months.
Ball valve with electric drive. This node is necessary to block water supply or heating in case of leaks. The device is able to block the water supply well until the accident is eliminated. This device is mounted immediately after the inlet valves in the water intake cabinet. To install it, it is better to seek help from a qualified specialist, since its connection is done using only a PVA 3 × 0.5 power cable or its equivalent through a junction box.

The number of elements in the leakage sensor may vary depending on the location of its installation.

Criterias of choice

The price of the device practically does not affect its effectiveness, the only exception is factory defects that occur in any system.

Leakage protection brand "Gidrolock" is equipped with 3 sensors, but it is possible to connect another 40 sensors without installing additional blocks. The Aquastorage system is equipped with 4 sensors and allows you to additionally connect 10 more. After installing additional blocks, the number of connected sensors can be increased to 375.
The Neptune water sensor is equipped with only 2 sensors, the rest must be purchased separately, but even without installing additional blocks, an additional 10 sensors can be connected to the system.
A wireless system is much more expensive, so if you are not experiencing any particular difficulties with a wired system, then it is better to give preference to it. The price of the system increases if it is possible to install additional cranes.
Effective operation of protection against water leaks in an apartment can be ensured by only two ball valves with solenoid valves, which are mounted on risers with cold and hot water directly behind the inlet valves. By purchasing a system equipped with 6-8 taps. This will entail wasting money for something that will never be used.
Some manufacturers, when advertising their products, speculate on such a parameter as operating voltage. And as a rule, for these systems it fluctuates around 5-12 V, while the current strength in the wires of the sensors is absolutely safe, in the wires of the crane, the current strength, although it reaches 1 A, lasts only a couple of seconds, so the difference in operating voltages is not a key parameter.
One of the main characteristics of system performance indicators is faucet closing time. In cheap systems like Neptune, it is 30 seconds, while more expensive systems like Aquaguard can turn off the taps in just 2-3 seconds. It would not be superfluous to recall that during a rupture of heating or water pipes, 20-25 liters of water can be poured out in 30 seconds.
An important characteristic is battery kit, which allows the system to work autonomously in the event of a power outage.

Many emergency leak protection systems are quite self-sufficient - they can not only control leaks, but also periodically monitor sensors, monitor battery level, and clean solenoid valves. Nowadays, absolutely autonomous anti-leakage systems are being produced, human intervention in their work is necessary only during the liquidation of an accident.

DIY water leakage sensor

Many residents, wanting to save money, assemble a water leakage sensor with their own hands. To do this, you need to collect the necessary materials and tools for this:

soldering iron;
solder;
textolite;
side cutters (nippers);
wire (stranded and single-core);
radio components (LM7555 chip, LED, 6 resistors, 2 capacitors 1 transistor, buzzer with generator).

Schematic diagram of a homemade water leakage sensor:

There are two variants of the scheme in the figure:

with sound and light indication;
with light indication (for use as part of a security complex).

It is based on the LM7555 timer chip. This is a low-consuming analogue of the well-known LM555 circuit. As you can see, the sensor circuit consists of only a small number of fairly cheap radio elements. In total, this very useful homemade product will not exceed $ 1.

Self-made structures do not always cope with their task, in addition, some of them carry a potential danger. So it is recommended not to save on the health and life of your loved ones and buy a certified and safe device.

Correct equipment connection

Before starting the installation of the system, it is necessary to draw up a detailed layout of all its components, where it will be necessary to mark the location of each device. Guided by it, it is necessary to check once again whether there is enough space for mounting the length of the connecting wires included in the kit, if they are not provided for by the design of the devices.

As a rule, installation is carried out in the following steps:

marking areas for mounting the controller, sensors, cranes;
guided by the diagram, it is necessary to throw the installation wires;
ball valves crash;
sensors are mounted;
the controller is installed;
the system is connected.

Let's take a closer look at the most important steps.

Insertion of a ball valve. The device must be installed after the manual valves at the pipeline inlet. It is strictly forbidden to install these cranes instead of cranes at the input. Before the node, it is recommended to install filters for water purification on the pipeline. Thanks to this, it will be possible to increase the service life of the devices. You also need to provide them with uninterrupted power. During operation, this device consumes about 3 watts, and when opening / closing the valve - about 12 watts.

Sensor installation. There are two mounting methods:

Floor installation. This method is recommended by the manufacturer. It is proposed to tie the device into a tile or floor covering, where the probability of water accumulation in case of a possible leak is greatest. Contact plates in this case must be brought to the surface so as to raise them to a height of about 3-4 mm.

With such an installation, the contact plates must be brought to the floor surface in such a way as to raise them to a height of about 3-4 mm. This mounting method eliminates false alarms. The wire to the device must be routed in a special corrugated pipe.

Mounting on the floor surface: in this case, the device must be laid directly on the floor surface with the contact plates facing down. It is quite easy to mount a water leak sensor on the floor yourself.

Controller installation. The controller must be powered from the power cabinet. It is necessary to bring the phase and zero to the device, guided by the connection diagram. In order to mount the device, you must perform the following operations:

To install the controller box, you need to make a hole in the wall.
Under the wires, recesses must be drilled from the installation site to the power cabinet, to the ball valve and to each sensor.
We install the mounting box on the place prepared in the wall.
We prepare the device for installation. It is necessary to remove its front cover by alternately pressing the latches located on the front of the device using a thin slotted screwdriver. Next, remove the frame and, accordingly, connect the wires to the circuits. We install the prepared controller in the mounting box and fix it with at least two screws.
We collect the device. The frame must be very carefully put back into place. After that, the front cover is applied and slightly pressed down until both latches work.

If the system is assembled correctly, after pressing the button, it starts up. This can usually be recognized by a glowing indicator on the controller. During a leak, the indicator starts to glow instead of green, red, and at the same time a buzzer sound is heard, and the tap shuts off the water supply.

To eliminate the accident, the manual valves of the pipeline are closed, and the power supply to the controller is turned off. After that, it is necessary to eliminate the cause of the emergency. Wipe the sensors dry, turn on the power of the device and open the water supply.

The water supply system, on which the water leakage sensor is installed, is reliably protected from leaks and possible flooding of the housing. The editors of the site strongly recommend installing such equipment if you live in a multi-storey building on the second and higher floors. Otherwise, you risk damaging not only your property, but also your neighbor's.