Remote sensor shutoff valve for water heater

[lotuseclat79]

On The New This Old House I saw an episode that put a 2 inch pan underneath the water heater, installed a remote sensor that detects water in the pan and at a certain depth triggers a new shutoff valve in the plumbing to turn off the water into the water heater.

I liked the fix which would essentially keep the water heater from flooding the basement.

Has anyone on this forum ever implemented such a scheme like this before?

How much would this cost - parts, labor?

-- Tom

[master plumber mark]

This old house is like a comedy show, in my opinion...

if I need a good laugh, I will tune in....

old Bob cracks me up



but seriously
A pan and a drain is usually good enough for
the average home.....
if the drain goes somewhere reliable.

I have run across something like you are talking about...

wether it stands the test of time or not is the question

just because it works today when its brand new,
does not mean it will work in
12 years when your water heater finally fails...

and it appears to be a real pain , or at least
medium pain in the ass to install....

I cant find any specs on their web site yet to
really see if this is a noe shot deal or it can
be resued over and over...

also I cant find a price either.





http://www.wagsvalve.com/

[hj]

The valve would have to be a normally closed valve, which means it would always be energized except when there is water in the pan. This means that the valve would probably burn out at least once and maybe more before the heater ever leaked, and during a power failure you would not have any hot water, (or any water at all if the valve were in the feed to the house).

[jimbo]

Havenát seen what particular device you are looking at, but it should be a pilot-actuated type, juice it once to open, again to close. If not, then as hj pointed out, continous activation of a coil or solenoid is likely to be prone to failure. Ask the manufacturer for details on this.

A sprinkler valve is one example of this type of valve. However, because they are AC voltage, they do have to apply power to the solenoid to keep it open. SInce they are only on for a few minutes per day, it is not a problem.
Continous duty would imply a DC, double throw actuator.

[jadnashua]

Take a look at the www.taco-hvac.com site. They have a device that is all mechanical. If I remember, it shuts the gas off as well, (assuming it is a gas water heater of course!). It relies on a disk. If the disk gets wet, it releases the valve. Fairly inexpensive, and, if I remember, comes with a significant warranty against damage.

http://taco-hvac.com/products.html?c...e951b014cfcdf8

[master plumber mark]

I cant find a price on the wags valve....

just wondering what it costs...



it appears to be a one time shot......shuts off the water and has
some sort of circuit tieing into the thermocoupling on the gas valve..

once the fiber has given way,
the spring closes and shuts down the unit

it appears to be a throw away part...
and I would probably try to pipe the t+p valve to
a drain instead of into that pan


It all depends on what it costs

[jadnashua]

To qualify for the $1000 lifetime damage warranty, it has to be installed by a trained installer and registered. Have no idea what it costs, but it does look like it is pretty straightforward. The water level in the pan needs to get up to 7/8" before it activates. They have an add-on pan, if you don't already have one.

[plumber1]

you hav a hot water pipe too and water will backfeed and leak even if the supply side is closed. use a pan and drain it to a floor drain or sump pump,,,,,,,,,,