Whole house leak detector/ valve

TAG

Wondering if anyone has any knowledge. My regular insurance company Chubb is pushing them and it seems they may require one in my new house for them to cover.

The general e-mail blast with some information about one -- when I checked the price. $2400.00 for the 1" unit. That's just the part. Motorized valve, controller and the sensor -- it "learns" the usage and can detect a leak.

Seems expensive .... if I get one the plumbers can install it when the line from the well is connected to the house plumbing

Jamie Hall

Um. Well, they're not a bad idea, but I'd check other manufacturers than the one your insurance company is pushing. This web site https://www.statefarm.com/simple-insights/residence/water-leak-detection has a decent variety shown.

They aren't going to be cheap, since they have to have the smarts to differentiate between someone filling a teacup and a drip in the upstairs maid's closet, on the one hand, and someone taking a huge shower and a busted pipe...

MikeL_2

Tag,
       Check out the Moen Flo. I've installed several at a more reasonable cost.......

Shane_2

MikeL_2 said:

Tag,
       Check out the Moen Flo. I've installed several at a more reasonable cost.......

I know for a fact Chubb accepts the Moen Flo, installed several for customers with that insurance company. The hard part right now is finding one. I just checked with my local suppliers, and Supply House, no luck so far

heathead

Look into Phyn.  You want a model that can turn off the water in the event of a leak.  Senses water from from inside pipes,  also can get external sensors to sense for leaks.  I know some units charge a monthly fee.

MikeL_2

Yes, Moen Flo hard to come by now due to chip shortages. My Moen rep tells me their chip supplier redirected to make chips for medical devices related to the pandemic. Moen has hired a new chip maker and expects to have  Flo units available by March....
     

TAG

It's seems that the "learning" is not always smart and people find these things turning the water off when there is no leak.

My original thought was to place it in the outbuilding w/ the well control/ tank -- now I'm wondering if having one with the sensors is more advisable. This would however require the unit to be in the house -- not comfortable with trusting the reported sensor range to the outbuilding.

The plumbing is centrally located in this house .....but, the design utilized a new addition with a lower level walk out entrance and living space ... much could be damaged if there was a major leak.

Erin Holohan Haskell

We've been happy with the Phyn Plus.

PC7060

Erin Holohan Haskell said:

We've been happy with the Phyn Plus.

The Phyn plus gets good rating and doesn’t appear to require a monthly fee for real-time access to unit like the Moen Flo. 

@Erin Holohan Haskell Is the phone app pretty easy to use?

Jamie Hall

A very inexpensive alternative is a pump switch with a low pressure cutoff, like the Square D Pumptrol FSG2J24M4BP. It won't protect against a small leak, since its funtion is to sense that the pump isn't able to maintain pressure in the system. The size of the leak which it will detect depends on the size of the pump -- the leak, basically, has to be near the capacity of the well pump. It's real purpose is to protect the pump itself from low water in the well.

Of course it would be useless on city water.

SlamDunk

I just use liquid leak detector pucks that sound off when wet. Saved me several times already. Most recently when I found a hole drilled into one of my return lines. $ 28 for 4 on amazon.

Erin Holohan Haskell

PC7060 said:

Erin Holohan Haskell said:

We've been happy with the Phyn Plus.

The Phyn plus gets good rating and doesn’t appear to require a monthly fee for real-time access to unit like the Moen Flo. 

@Erin Holohan Haskell Is the phone app pretty easy to use?

No monthly fee and the app is user friendly. We helped them beta test the Phyn and have had one in our house for several years (original and then upgraded to Phyn Plus). I get alerts if anything unusual ever occurs and it does an overall daily plumbing check. You have options for water shut off (manual via app or automatic). And it gives you interesting data about water usage so you can nag your family members.

MikeL_2

     The Moen Flo five dollar monthly monitoring fee is optional. If you choose to pay, the unit warranty is extended by five years, and there is a $ 5,000.00 compensation paid in the event of a Flo failure and property damage.
     I've heard that Kohler is working on a similar device. Perhaps the competition will reduce the unit cost......

JakeCK

I'd do a home brew setup using z-wave leak detectors, a z-wave valve shut off on the main, and home assistant for the logic. But if required by insurance they probably wouldn't accept that.

mattmia2

It seems if you are on a well you dont need a valve, just a contactor on the well pump.

Intplm.

@TAG There are plenty of companies that offer this.

The company "Taco" offers one that is used for water heaters but can also be used for the whole house.

Check out "Taco's Webb page for the one that best suits you.

PC7060

Supply chains issues are hitting this area too.  I ordered the Phyn Plus back in January from Home Depot but after being on back order for 5weeks HD recently cancelled the order. 

TAG

It's seems the Taco comes in 1" and has been around since 2014 .... not many reviews?

Does not 3/4 seem too small of a valve to put on the main supply ?

Intplm.

TAG said:

It's seems the Taco comes in 1" and has been around since 2014 .... not many reviews?

Does not 3/4 seem too small of a valve to put on the main supply ?

It depends on the size of your main. If it's a 3/4" ID pipe, then that's what you use.
It's the same thing if it's a one-inch main. You can adapt to upsize if you like but it's not really necessary