I just finished fixing a nasty little water leak from a cracked irrigation valve body. Our sprinkler system is 20 years old and our water bill showed that this one had been leaking for weeks before it got big enough to hear.
I know how to check our water meter for a leak, but I only do it if I think there's a problem. (That's troubleshooting or damage control, not monitoring.) It's not easy or convenient to pry up the sidewalk cover, chase away the centipedes, wipe off the meter face, and watch the little triangle. OTOH if that meter had a remote display on our PC or in our kitchen then I'd check it every day.
With my submarine background, very little water is wasted in our house. There aren't any plumbing leaks. We have low-flow faucets and shower heads, low-flush toilets, a front-loading washing machine, and an EnergyStar dishwasher. I even do most of my showering at the beach! I don't think I could further reduce our house water use without "significant family feedback".
The majority of our water use, perhaps even 70%, is our sprinkler system. I've considered having a second water meter installed on our sprinkler line but first it makes more sense to reduce the irrigation by changing our landscaping. Over the years we've spread our xeriscaping and shut off about a third of the sprinklers. However we still have eight valves hidden inside irrigation boxes all over the lot, and the PVC piping is the cheap thin-walled variety. I'll probably pre-emptively replace a couple more valves, but it's hard & dirty work. Even that won't solve the problem of a sudden break.
Payback is problematic. Our water/sewer bill runs $100-$110/month and most of it is the sewer bill. However the sewer bill is based on water use. Even though your irrigation water never goes into the sewer system, if you have high water use then it's a double whammy on the water/sewer bill. A water monitor would probably help us save $10-$20/month just in prompt leak detection.
I've been looking for a non-invasive system that would mount on the face of the meter or perhaps tap into some sort of test plug-- something that wouldn't upset the water company. There's already a small transducer on the meter (which I guess is read with a wireless device or maybe even networked over a power line) so a monitor could also tap into that signal instead of directly into the meter.
I'm having trouble crafting a good Google search, and this doesn't appear to be a popular consumer product. The sites I've found (Elimleak, Outpost Smart Water) look fine but they seem oriented to commercial & industrial customers. Any other product suggestions?
I know how to check our water meter for a leak, but I only do it if I think there's a problem. (That's troubleshooting or damage control, not monitoring.) It's not easy or convenient to pry up the sidewalk cover, chase away the centipedes, wipe off the meter face, and watch the little triangle. OTOH if that meter had a remote display on our PC or in our kitchen then I'd check it every day.
With my submarine background, very little water is wasted in our house. There aren't any plumbing leaks. We have low-flow faucets and shower heads, low-flush toilets, a front-loading washing machine, and an EnergyStar dishwasher. I even do most of my showering at the beach! I don't think I could further reduce our house water use without "significant family feedback".
The majority of our water use, perhaps even 70%, is our sprinkler system. I've considered having a second water meter installed on our sprinkler line but first it makes more sense to reduce the irrigation by changing our landscaping. Over the years we've spread our xeriscaping and shut off about a third of the sprinklers. However we still have eight valves hidden inside irrigation boxes all over the lot, and the PVC piping is the cheap thin-walled variety. I'll probably pre-emptively replace a couple more valves, but it's hard & dirty work. Even that won't solve the problem of a sudden break.
Payback is problematic. Our water/sewer bill runs $100-$110/month and most of it is the sewer bill. However the sewer bill is based on water use. Even though your irrigation water never goes into the sewer system, if you have high water use then it's a double whammy on the water/sewer bill. A water monitor would probably help us save $10-$20/month just in prompt leak detection.
I've been looking for a non-invasive system that would mount on the face of the meter or perhaps tap into some sort of test plug-- something that wouldn't upset the water company. There's already a small transducer on the meter (which I guess is read with a wireless device or maybe even networked over a power line) so a monitor could also tap into that signal instead of directly into the meter.
I'm having trouble crafting a good Google search, and this doesn't appear to be a popular consumer product. The sites I've found (Elimleak, Outpost Smart Water) look fine but they seem oriented to commercial & industrial customers. Any other product suggestions?
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