Dome's Shut-Off Valve

1/10/2017 (Permalink)

DIY Device to help minimize Water Damages

Last year, my HVAC system developed a leak in its drain pan. After spending many hours cleaning up the thoroughly soaked carpet in both a walk-in closet and an adjoining bedroom, I spent many additional hours attempting to fix the leaky drain pain. It turns out I’m not much of an HVAC repair technician, because two weeks later, the pan leaked again. This time, however, I was alerted to the impending soggy carpets (and another day of using the carpet steam cleaner) by the incessant (but, ultimately, pleasant) beeping of the Fibaro Flood Sensor I’d installed after the initial deluge. If the water leak had been from my water heater in the laundry room or kitchen sink, for example, there would likely have been much more water damage done by the time I woke up in the middle of the night and heard the beeping. That’s the beauty of having a water main shut-off valve installed and connected, at the very least, to a water sensor—or a more involved home automation system. The problem is, however, I’m definitely not a reliable plumber (although I have been known to sport a plumber’s butt now and then)—and nearly all of the automated water main shut-off valves available today require the knowledge, tools, and talents of a good professional plumber to install. With the exception of Dome’s Z-Wave-enabled Water Main Shut-Off Valve, that is.

The concept behind Dome’s Shut-Off Valve is about as simple as it gets: it’s a motorized “arm” that is attached to the manual shut-off valve you already have. When a connected water leak sensor (from Dome or in conjunction with another company’s smart home system) detects water where it’s not supposed to be, the Shut-Off Valve automatically turns the handle on the existing valve, immediately shutting off the source of water to the leak.

Here are the basic features that make the Dome Shut-Off Valve such an affordable, must-have device to install in your home. First of all, there are no tools nor plumber required, and it installs on any existing 1/4-turn ball valve in a matter of minutes on pipe sizes between 1/2-inch and 1.5-inches thanks to “self-aligning technology”. It includes a built-in temperature sensor that automatically shuts off the water when the ambient temperature falls too low. Because Dome knows neither you nor I would do it, the valve does a weekly self-test of opening and closing to make ensure the valve and mechanism remains in good working condition—and is ready to operate when it needs to. (There’s even an optional backup battery available.) Finally, the Dome Shut-Off Valve has a wide variety of built-in connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Serial, and Z-Wave. As a result, Dome says it’ll work with nearly any smart home system on the market.

Dome’s Shut-Off Valve is available now for $129.99.