THIRDREALITY Zigbee Water Leak Sensor with Dripping Detection,120dB Alarm,App Notifications Enabled When Work with Home Assistant and Compatible Zigbee HUB Like SmartThings,Aeotec or Third Reality Hub

The batteries last long in these...I haven't changed them yet and they have been going for months now. They have saved my bathroom cabinet at least twice so far. One with a very slow leak in the drain gasket that went bad. The other time was a loose p-trap. On both occasions the product worked as designed. I have it integrated with Hubitat and configuration was a breeze. I have a rule setup to notify me continuously on my cell via the Hubitat app until the fault is addressed. Very sensitive and solid connection across the entire home. I have one in the kitchen, the bathrooms, and even one in the attic in the water heater overflow pan. The alarm volume is loud enough and will get your attention when it goes off. Again great product. Love TR's products overall.

These work and are easy to set up. Water is detected by two of the bottom screws contacting water.As shipped the screws are inset about a millimeter. And the screws are not close together.To make it detect in a smaller area, you can screw on two parts which form a smaller gap so you can detect closer together therefor a smaller puddle.However once you do this, the screws are now bot recessed and touch the floor. In my case this makes to alarm go off even if the floor is just damp from humidity or steam.I may have to put tape ever them or think of something else. It’s a small flaw but something to consider.

The Thirdreality sensor case has a distinct form factor, but in a house with a number of other small sensors of various types, that could be a good thing. Good build quality, and reliable operation so far.Stuff I've liked:It had the best range for pairing and operating of the ones that I've tried. It had a loud, on-board alarm. The version with the drip leak function can optionally detect very small amounts of water, depending upon physical configuration. It has paired easily and worked well with my Hubitat system. It uses common AAA batteries.Possible issues:Where an audible alarm is not wanted, another brand/model sensor would be needed.The case is much thicker than others in its class, and may not fit beneath a refrigerator or other device.The first unit I received used slot-head screws. A very small screwdriver was included in the box, a really thoughtful touch. But, a jeweler's kit, like many folks use to tighten eyeglass screws, would be much easier. The sensors in a subsequent order had screws that could be worked with either a Phillips or straight-bladed driver.Where a low-profile case, or a sensor with a remote head, is not needed, this is my choice so far for an inexpensive Zigbee unit.Background:Most homes have many potential sources of leaks - water heater, dish washer, clothes washer, refrigerator, bathroom plumbing, etc. - that could cause expensive damage. I decided to buy and try five different, inexpensive, Zigbee leak detectors that might work directly with my Hubitat home automation hub. They were by iAlarm, Neo, Thirdreality, and Treatlife, and a generic "Water Leak Detector Zigbee" was added to the mix. At the time of my purchase (August, 2023), each was slightly less than $20.All worked properly with my system using the Hubitat "Generic Zigbee Moisture Sensor" driver. All but the Thirdreality also worked with the custom "Tuya NEO Coolcam Zigbee Water Leak Sensor" driver, which adds an explicit state indication of online or offline. But, both drivers support current wet/dry status and battery % reporting. A tip would be to install the custom driver first, if desired, then let Hubitat choose it during device pairing. Also, each of these should be paired within a couple of feet of the hub, then moved to the desired location.Some thoughts about the group:Overall build quality of the group seemed quite good, with the exception of the generic "Water Leak Detector Zigbee", which was only mediocre.The Thirdreality and Treatlife devices have onboard alarms, and could be used as stand-alone detectors, although there appear to be several detectors available that are only stand-alone, and less expensive than the Zigbee devices. The Thirdreality alarm is much louder than the Treatlife's.The Thirdreality unit had a longer range than the others, both in pairing and in operation. It and the Treatlife both use common AAA batteries, but I haven't used these sensors long enough to be able to compare battery life.The Neo device was the only one with a "remote" sensor - limited to the length of the attaching cord, but still may be needed functionality. However, the cord actually plugs into the wall mount, not the unit itself, so the mount must be used when remote sensing.

These leak detectors are great. I grab them when they go on sale because you once were able to get them for $14. I use SmartThings to add them to my Ecosystem and Home Assistant to handle the automations. I put them in all my bathrooms, in the laundry room, under the kitchen sink, near the basement sump pump. What's great is they have an audible sounder making it easier to locate which one is tripped, even though my automations text me the location. The newest version now has some included hardware to increase the sensitivity of the sensor. It consists of 2 metal arms that attached to the screws to make the detection area smaller. SmartThings was able to add these without incident. After putting in the batteries a blue blinking light on the sensor will indicate its ready to pair, open SmartThings, add a new device and scan for nearby. That's it. I've been using these for a couple years now. Battery life is good and reported in SmartThings so you can create a SmartThings automation to let you know when the battery is low. Overall, this is a really good sensor for the price.

The ones I set up in an area with weaker WiFi would not stay connected. I thought these would connect via Zwave but they don’t seem to, as I have a good zwave mesh very close to where I placed the sensors and they still went offline. When connected, they work very well and are easy to set up, but just be aware they won’t stay connected when in an area that has moderately weak WiFi.