HS-LS100+ False triggers around washing machine

[theroefam]

I bought the HS-LS100+ a couple months ago. My goal was to put in behind the washing machine to alert me if there were any leaks.

I’ve struggle since day one with false detects. I keep trying to narrow it down, so I can fix it.

It sends a false detect every time the washer goes on it’s final spin cycle. (every time)
(no other false detects, just during the spin cycle)

There is no water to be found anywhere. It’s as dry as can be.
It goes back to OK status after 10 minutes(on battery)

I’ve tried -
- plugged in, and battery powered,
- wall mounted, and just on the floor.

The washing machine is on a slab so there is really no vibration.

Any ideas/fixes on why this detects water whenever the washer goes on its final spin cycle.

I’m very close to just pitching the thing in the trash....but I’d like a sensor in there if I could have one.

If no ideas on the false detects, how about recommendations for other z-wave leak sensors around appliances

[jbfoster]

Did you ever figure this out?

[cowinger]

I bought the HS-LS100+ a couple months ago. My goal was to put in behind the washing machine to alert me if there were any leaks.

I’ve struggle since day one with false detects. I keep trying to narrow it down, so I can fix it.

It sends a false detect every time the washer goes on it’s final spin cycle. (every time)
(no other false detects, just during the spin cycle)

There is no water to be found anywhere. It’s as dry as can be.
It goes back to OK status after 10 minutes(on battery)

I’ve tried -
- plugged in, and battery powered,
- wall mounted, and just on the floor.

The washing machine is on a slab so there is really no vibration.

Any ideas/fixes on why this detects water whenever the washer goes on its final spin cycle.

I’m very close to just pitching the thing in the trash....but I’d like a sensor in there if I could have one.

If no ideas on the false detects, how about recommendations for other z-wave leak sensors around appliances

I had the same issue. I had it sitting on concrete next to a tank. The moisture on the concrete was just enough to trigger it. So I placed it on a thin piece of sponge and it has been fine since then. Hope it helps.

[theroefam]

Still no luck. Thanks for the input - cowinger. Gave me an idea. I tried wrapping the flex cord with a paper towel. Result - no good. It was actually worse. When it went off during the washers final spin cycle, it took 30 minutes for the sensor to reset. Usually it only takes 5 minutes to result

I did also put a temp/humidity sensor next to it. When the washer goes in spin cycle the humidity jumped up 5%, then went right back down to normal 10 minutes later.

I just need something to wrap the flex cord with, that will keep the humidity spikes out but will still trigger if actual water. (or just pitch the sensor)

[TC1]

Still no luck. Thanks for the input - cowinger. Gave me an idea. I tried wrapping the flex cord with a paper towel. Result - no good. It was actually worse. When it went off during the washers final spin cycle, it took 30 minutes for the sensor to reset. Usually it only takes 5 minutes to result

I did also put a temp/humidity sensor next to it. When the washer goes in spin cycle the humidity jumped up 5%, then went right back down to normal 10 minutes later.

I just need something to wrap the flex cord with, that will keep the humidity spikes out but will still trigger if actual water. (or just pitch the sensor)

You said you put a humidity sensor near it, what were the actual readings when it spiked?

Most flood sensors work via electrical conduction, if the humidity is so high to trigger one of these you might have other issues.

One theory I have is that during spin cycle all the water is evacuated from the washer through the flexible drain hose which is placed (usually) into an exposed drain PVC. This will generate a lot of moisture into the air. You might be able to make a rubber or some other material type of gasket/cowl to seal where the flexible drain hose feeds into the drain PVC.

[Alex_W]

I concur with TC1. If the humidity is high enough to trigger the sensor I recommend solving the humidity issue (which can cause mold or other problems) and trying again. It may be that the sensor alerted you to a problem you didn't know existed, which is not a bad thing.

[cowinger]

I tried wrapping the flex cord with a paper towel.

theroefam You refer to this and I am wondering if you are talking about the magnetic wall mount that has a probe on the end? It comes with the sensor. Just trying to figure out why this would trigger the sensor if just laying flat on the concrete (probes not touching concrete and sensor mounted in the magnetic mount on the wall). You have to practically dip that probe in water to get it to set off the sensor. I have my washer set up with the probe laying flat in the overflow tub and it never has a false detection. Just curious.

[TC1]

I concur with TC1. If the humidity is high enough to trigger the sensor I recommend solving the humidity issue (which can cause mold or other problems) and trying again. It may be that the sensor alerted you to a problem you didn't know existed, which is nor a bad thing.

Concur with Alex_W here, and after thinking about it some more based on past experiences, a high humidity level in a room with a drain can indicate that a trap was never installed on the drain line servicing that room, which means sewer humidity and gases are coming up the drain. It would be helpful to know what the average humidity is in the room when the washer is not running.

[theroefam]

Thanks, for all the input. Agree the humidity shouldn’t be spiking enough to trigger the sensor. I’ll see what I can do to seal a the drain tube a little better.

cowinger my sensor is not the new one with the probes...it’s the older one with a flex cord. It’s about a 3 foot cord and if anywhere on the cord gets wet it triggers. Maybe that’s why they switched styles for the Leak Sensor. (My leak sensor looks just like the current light sensor except you plug in the water sensing cord instead of the light detector).

[cowinger]

Thanks, for all the input. Agree the humidity shouldn’t be spiking enough to trigger the sensor. I’ll see what I can do to seal a the drain tube a little better.

cowinger my sensor is not the new one with the probes...it’s the older one with a flex cord. It’s about a 3 foot cord and if anywhere on the cord gets wet it triggers. Maybe that’s why they switched styles for the Leak Sensor. (My leak sensor looks just like the current light sensor except you plug in the water sensing cord instead of the light detector).

Ok, I see which one you have. The other guys are on the right track then, too much moisture and it would eventually pick it up. Looks like a newer one might be the answer.

[mterry63]

So aren't you posting about the FS-100+W sensor? The LS sensor doesn't have a flex cable.

The FS-100+ is no longer sold.


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[theroefam]

Sorry for the confusion....When I posted the only leak sensor under sensors was the LS. Not realizing they completely upgraded and changed model number.

I just a went back and confirmed my order. My sensor is the. HomeSeer HS-FS100-W Z-Wave Perimeter Water Sensor. I bought it in October 2020. Must have been clearing inventory.

As far as the fix...I’ve sealed the connection between the drain hose where it exits the washer....I need to wait until we run the washer again, to see if it’s effective.

Sorry again for all the confusion.

[cbp952]

I bought a 3-pack of the HS-LS100+ sensors a couple months ago and easily got them set up with my Hubitat. All seemed fine, but I too have had sporadic alerts lately. I was chalking it up to too much humidity in the areas where I placed the sensors - and it appears perhaps I'm on the right track.

Two of the sensors are on a concrete basement floor; the third is wall-mounted using the remote probe to go down to the same floor level. The basement floor has a French drain system under/around it, so it can get a little damp at times when we've had a lot of rain or snow melt. There has been no visible water at the sensors, but I've wondered if the floor might be just a little bit damp and the sensor just a little bit too sensitive. I was looking at the user manual to see if there was a way to adjust the sensitivity, but I don't see anything along those lines.

I'm still playing around with positioning and making sure there is sufficient air flow in the vicinity of the sensors. In one case (the one using the remote probe), I think I solved it by laying the probe on its side on a thin bit of sponge. The pins of the probe are now off the floor by perhaps a quarter inch (touching nothing) - which I imagine would be unacceptable in most situations but will work OK for me in this particular case.

The other thought I had regarding the original post was that perhaps the washing machine motor kicking in to the spin cycle created enough of an EM disturbance to trick the sensor into thinking it was wet.

Update (2/24/23): I solved the false alarm problem by increasing the air flow in the vicinity of the sensors. Apparently the concrete floor was getting just a little too damp (without ever getting overtly wet). I geeked out and set up some fans that are controlled by the Hubitat; running them for 5 minutes every 6 hours is sufficient!

[MSG56]

I bought five of the HS-LS100+ sensors and just started playing with one of them. I'm sitting here at my desk with the first sensor included. When I stick the probe in a cup of water it does a nice job of detecting and when I remove it from the water it switches back to OK almost immediately. The thing that is puzzling to me is that the battery status shows 0%. How do I get this to report the accurate battery status?



I'm also seeing other status items, Heat, Tamper, Temp. When I picked up the unit and moved it around I received a tamper notification. Nice. Also, why is the Temperature showing "0"?

[MSG56]

I just put batteries in three more of these. Two of which I used the original batteries and they lit up the LED when I inserted them and they are reporting battery status and temperature. The other unit did nothing. It has a different battery, which seems to be dead. So, I'm thinking the first one had a bad battery. Does anyone have a recommended source for a good replacement battery?