Auto shutoff valves for hot water heater, or whole house?

Howie718

Hi Everyone,

I have a floodstop shutoff valve on my hot water heater that is not longer working. I understand the Taco Leakbreaker is a similar product. Does anyone have any long term experience with the Taco product? For whatever reason, the floodstop seems to have a 3-4 year life...maybe that is just normal for these devices.

Also, I am now considering if a whole house shut off is a better way to go. I only know of Moen Flo which seems to get mixed feedback. Any other solutions I should be considering? I am looking for peace of mind when travelling that if there is a leak there is a way to manage it so I do not come home to a complete mess. I do shut off the water at the washing machine when we are away.

Thank you, Howie

hot_rod

What is the failure in those flood stop valves?

Assuming there are no leaks in the boiler system, you should be able to shut off the entire home without a problem.

A low water cut-off on the boiler could be added for extra protection. Although some of those have a questionable life expectancy also. Certainly do not want a boiler lock out while you are away

realliveplumber

I would stay away from the Taco leakbreaker. We have been getting quite a few callbacks on them with nuisance issues.

We will not install them anymore.

We have used the Moen whole house shut off, and have not had any issues with that.

Howie718

The floodstop valve is stuck in the open position. The motor cant close it. I tried closing it manually and it wont budge. I will either have a new floodstop installed, or switch over to the Moen. Much appreciated, Howie

GGross

I like the moen valves, though I had a couple of contractors break the plastic union nut which is not offered as a replacement part as of this comment so breaking that means you need a whole new not-under-warranty valve. For those contractors we now sell these ones by streamlabs
https://streamlabswater.com/pages/streamlabs-control

hot_rod

GGross said:

I like the moen valves, though I had a couple of contractors break the plastic union nut which is not offered as a replacement part as of this comment so breaking that means you need a whole new not-under-warranty valve. For those contractors we now sell these ones by streamlabs
https://streamlabswater.com/pages/streamlabs-control

What valve is under the hood of that brand? Do they make their own valve? Looks like a full port ball valve?

Howie718

@GGross , thank you for the input on the streamlabs device. I will review both this and the moen with my plumber. This seems like a better route to take than a device like a floodstop.

dko

The valves need to be exercised time to time, it's an issue because the valve has probably never been closed for those 3-4 years and build up locks em up.

But to be fair, nearly no homeowner exercises any of their valves unless educated on the topic.

The floodstop is a simple product, it works as it should and is very cost effective.

Whole house shutoff options are
FloLogic
Leak Defense
Phyn
Flo by Moen
Water Hero

Above products are what is normally accepted by insurance companies around here (nyc).
If you have insurance, I would check with them if they offer any. Most of these companies offer discounts through insurance.

hot_rod

If I were to design a whole house valve I would add a daily exercise feature . Completely rotate the ball once a day. Somewhere around 2 AM or when it wouldn’t be noticed at all

The LegioMix 3 way valve has this feature, think of a windshield wiper action cleaning the sealing surface

heathead

Phyn has a water shut-off and monitoring device. It has been a very good system. It does a leak check at least twice a day. It will let you know if you leave a faucet or hose on. It's a Smart valve.

Doug_7

I have had WaterCop installed for over 5 years and works very well. Motor actuated ball valve installed on water supply. Remote automatic water-sensor shuts water off. Also manual push-button control on valve actuator. Motor actuated valve on water supply get exercised often because that is the easiest and best way to shut off the water when away. See attached manual.