Instapark Water Leakage Detection Alarm and Sensor, Low Battery Alert Pack of 3

So I have experience with this style of detector from 3+ years back, got one with a water filter. That is still working. Looking at the others available today, like the type that looks like a round puck or smoke alarm that you sit on the ground - this style seems silly to me as it would sit in water on the ground or in an inaccessible place like behind a washing machine, how would you check it or change the battery? So, when I saw this pack, slightly cheaper, supplied WITH batteries, I bought these.See my photo, I can attach it to the wall with the supplied sticky pad (I didn't trust the supplied rubber suction, use the sticky pad), and I duck tape the sensor in its stand to the ground to be sure it is close and can't move. Then put the washing machine back and I can still access the sensor case to replace the battery in a years time. I didn't put the screws back in the case as I prefer easy access to the battery. Jobs a good'un. Oh and they are super loud, fun to scare the wife with when putting it in, just lick your finger and touch the sensor. :)

While I haven't had any more water leaks to put these sensors to a real-use test, a teaspoon of water on the floor quickly set off the alarm, which then stopped immediately upon picking it up. This convinced me enough to feel they can be trusted. I actually bought them as a backup to a Wasserstein wi-fi enabled sensor that also works but I question how reliable it will be given the difficulty getting it to work initially with the smartphone app. That device also has no standard alarm of sufficient volume to get my attention upstairs, if using these downstairs as I intend. However, it does notify me via my cellphone, so that's great where these sensors will not reach me if I'm out of the house. But, when home, they are great and should easily get my attention.Heeding the suggestion of another reviewer, I improved sensitivity to a scant amount of water by simply folding a 1-inch square of a paper towel and tucking it into the bottom face of the sensor holder. As I wanted the sensor to stand flat upon the floor behind some cabinets where I couldn't easily see if it was properly positioned, I applied quite literally, a 4-cent fix: The sensors came with double-sided mounting foam to permit attaching the sensors or alarm box as desired. Cutting a piece of foam into 4 squares and affixing those squares at the four corners of the sensor holder's upper face, I then added a penny atop each square. This added enough weight to keep the sensor holder flat as I lowered it behind the cabinet. The wire was just long enough for the alarm box to simply lay discreetly at a back corner of the cabinet. At 3 for $20, these sensors are a "no-brainer" for anyone with water leak, flooding, overlflows, or other such issues.

Old farmhouse. Higher water take levels than ever recorded before. Our dry basement now floods regularly of the storm knocks out the hydro. We had a sump pump malfunction recently. Hence this purchase. The reviews were good so I tried it. Good price point. Cafe with batteries. Tested upon arrival and installed. Seem to work. Haven't had any alarms yet, but they are loud enough to be heard on the second storey farthest side of the house from the basement where they are installed strategically. So far so good. Three months and no alarms or floods since the last sump pump fiasco.But there's some peace of mind knowing these are there.Also installed under the kitchen sink because we've had issues and floods in the past. Now we'll know immediately instead of hours or days later. Peace of mind for house sitters too.

I've used watch dog for nearly 20 years and while Instapark does the job it has quirks. Given it half the price of the dog, its worth considering given it works well as a water sensorProsgood constructionvery loud alarm, louder than the Dog. It pulls 167mAdc on alarm vs 17mAdc from the Dogwired water sensor is easy to move and placecomes with 9v batterieslow battery beep as alert, none on the DogConshigh standby current. It consumes 10.0 uAdc vs the 0.1 uAdc of the Dog. You can calculate how long it will last if you know your 9v mAh but overall this is higher operational cost as any battery change is about yearly. I use 9v NiMH and its economical to use a fresh batteries yearly and recharge the used one. Luckily this has a low bat chirp if it fails before a year. The Dog low power means a battery change is near expiry date on alkaline.the sensor 'platform' is top heavy and can tip over if not placed right. You can stick it between some crevice to stay put or tape it in place or put more weight on the platformThe sensor requires more water below it to trip as it has a greater distance between the floor and the sensor, on the Dog, the sensors are far closer to floor. Some folks have put cotton or toilet paper between the sensor, which wicks water and makes it more sensitive, but I found on damp days that causes false triggering as the paper or cotton get moist.Opening the case isn't described in the instructions. You have to press on two plastic latches to pull the rear case UP and away from the bodyIt comes with screws for the case, which is not needed since its a tight fit as is with the plastic latches but could be useful if the latches fail. On the Dog, the battery is easier replace as the cover slides off, and there is no latch to break as the unit ages, my Dogs are on duty for nearly 20 yearsThe plastic suction cup isn't a reliable mount, easier to just tie a cord to the cup and let this thing hang off somethingthere is no cord keeper, so if you don't need to remotely place the sensor the wires just hang around. On the Dog, the case is also the cord keeper

I gave it a good overall score mostly based on the fact it works and you get three for the price, a good value. Noise level is decent, not as loud as my Nest fire/smoke alarm.The battery case could have been made for easier access with a slip on/off cover like remote controls use. The case would be better with more battery room. The case would also benefit from a hang tab with a "snowman" hole allowing it to be hung by slipping over the head of a small nail or screw. The suction cup is pretty useless and the idea of gluing the back of the case to a wall with the adhesive pad is kinda dumb. You'd need to tear it off the wall to get to the hard to open cover.1. Opening the case is easiest with two small screwdriver pushing back the tabs and a third to pry open.2. Remove the one small screw holding the circuit board, connect the battery, slip the wires behind the divider, angle the battery in, nose first while gently pressing the rear end down. Yes, a very tight fit.3. Place the circuit board over the two plastic pins and screw it down again (small Phillips).4. Hook the top of the cover, press down the end with the two tabs (I colored then orange to more easily see).5. I hot melt glued two steel nits to the sensor flange for better floor contact.6. Placed sensor on paper towel "mat". Absorbs floor water like a sponge. Without the paper towel, the alarm activates when the floor water level exceed 1/16" high.7. I used absorbent paper towel to make a wick to fill the sensor channel.8. I spliced an 8 ft cord into mine to allow me to place the alarm case on ceiling ductwork to better amplify the already loud noisemaker. I used some 20 AWG wire, but you could use old telephone cable too. I soldered my spices and then used heat shrink tubing on the joints and another tube slipped over those.