leak detecting tape?

I contacted the One Drop folks to ask about the durability of the mat. Here's my e-mail exchange...
 
 
Hi -

I'm wondering how durable the One Drop mat is when used with the protective netting on top of it. I would like to use the mat under my kitchen sink cabinet and we keep lots of stuff there, such as a box of dishwasher detergent, box of plastic garbage bags, cleaning stuff, etc. All of this gets moved around from time to time. I wouldn't describe it as heavy abuse, but the mat will not just be left alone, either.

Will the mat hold up to this?

Also, does the One Drop come with any sort of warranty?
 
====
 
From: Matt Uhrich:
 
The sensor mat is extremely durable and is designed to be placed underneath the kitchen sink, among other areas. The One Drop Alarm comes with a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee...no questions asked. Also, the unit comes with a 12 month warranty on parts and labor. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks,
Matt
 
====
 
At a price of $30, it seems like it worth a try.   To me, the best alternative looks like the Xterme cabinet mat with a GRI 2600 leak detector.  Of course, that only works if your cabinet matches the Xterme mat size.
 
Thanks!  I ordered one from Amazon just now.  I can only second guess so much without actually trying it to really know.
 
Standard Shipping — get it Oct. 9-27
Looks like it may take a while to receive it, though, but I'll report back after I do.  
 
If it's durable and performs well, then it's worth the price.
 
GRI water moccasin can be had for about $55 on the retail market for a 10' linear piece.
 
The part that I'd be concerned with involves the change in resistance and what happens if a liquid gets spilled on the traces, as that is typically what needs to be considered.
 
DELInstallations said:
GRI water moccasin can be had for about $55 on the retail market for a 10' linear piece.
 
The part that I'd be concerned with involves the change in resistance and what happens if a liquid gets spilled on the traces, as that is typically what needs to be considered.
Click to expand...
 
 
I don't expect that the One Drop mat can be connected directly to a zone input on an Elk or other alarm panel. I don't think the change in resistance from a drop of water would always be enough of a change to trigger the input.
 
Instead, I  think you would have to hack into the alarm unit that comes with the One Drop and adapt its output to drive a relay that could then be connected to a regular zone input.  Or rig up something like a RPi to act as the processor for the mat.
 
The Water Moccasin would certainly be easier to connect to a panel.  The downside I see is that the thickness of the cable, and with a fixed length it may be too long or too short for the area you want to cover.  To me, the mat would be a preferable solution for the space under a cabinet, as long as the mat is reasonably durable.
 
Using a few Gear Ties today I was able to levitate the hoses and wires off the cabinet bottom.  Not sure that it ultimately matters, but this way writhing hoses (from turning on or off) won't be touching the One Drop and thus won't be able to cause cumulative abrasion over time.
 
I would just put down a piece of sheet vinyl flooring.  You can put 1/2 inch or so up along the edges and then silicone the seem.  You can probably get a remnant that size for free.  This is how I did the floor of my chicken coop (used a remnant from my office floor). For the most part it will be water proof, then you can put a standard alarm water sensor.  A small leak may not get to the alarm contactor for a while, but it won't matter, the cabinet won't suffer any damage.  The only trick is making a good template so you get a real nice fit.  Either that, or you put a piece of trim around the edges after you put down the "floor" and then apply your "wall" portion on the trim.
 
If leak persistent behind the closed cabinet door over time, inside humidity could be much higher than outside.  That humidity could cause damage. Detecting excessive humidity and sending alarm out could prevent possible damage.   This is different from flood damage by a busted pipe or broken hose.
 
CAI_Support said:
If leak persistent behind the closed cabinet door over time, inside humidity could be much higher than outside.  That humidity could cause damage. Detecting excessive humidity and sending alarm out could prevent possible damage.   This is different from flood damage by a busted pipe or broken hose.
Click to expand...
Looks like you need to add a humidity sensor as well. ^_^
 
For those looking to make their own custom water proof catch, consider using fiber glass.  It's actually pretty cheap and not that hard to work with, especially when it is going to be hidden away somewhere, so it doesn't have to be perfect.
 
So, I've unrolled the One Drop mat, and I'm realizing that from the geometry alone that it's likely to be fairly resistant to scuffing.  The most vulnerable traces are the two that are directly connected to the sensor.  If either were to get broken, then any traces past the point of interruption wouldn't be detected.  However, if there a break in any of the other tracelines that make up the overall pattern, then the part of the traceline beyond the break out fail, but the other tracelines surrounding it would continue to function.  So, all in all, I think the odds are good that the mat will be fairly robust against random cuts in tracelines, assuming they happen at all.  The tracelines themselves are very flat (almost like ink on paper), so there's really nothing to deform by putting something heavy on top of it.  i.e. the tracelines are already flattened, and I doubt they'll get any flatter by putting something heavy on them.
 
Of course, only time will tell.
 
It gives a choice of either Beethoven "Fur Elise" or an Alarm to indicate a leak condition.  Both are far too loud as far as my family is concerned, so I had to add an inline resistor to make it much, much quieter.  IMHO, it should have had a trimpot or other volume adjustment, but it is what it is.
 
Sounds like a good product.   Did you test it to see how much water it takes to trigger it?
 
RAL said:
Sounds like a good product.   Did you test it to see how much water it takes to trigger it?
Click to expand...
The tracelines are about 1cm apart, so any water that bridges that width should trigger it.  I haven't gone after it with an eye dropper, but I would estimate  that, depending on drop size, that anywhere from one to 10 drops in a random spot on a flat and level surface would  trigger it.  So, for my purposes, that's quite sufficient.
 
Once it's triggered, you can turn off the alarm, but it won't re-arm until you dry up the mat with a paper towel or something absorbent.  I didn't see any evidence that the tracelines were dissolved by the water or rubbing off onto the paper towel, and so I take some comfort in that.  I haven't abused the mat to see what might cause it to fail, because I want to use it, not destroy it. Therefore, about all I can confirm  is that if you treat it gently, the evidence so far suggests it should last a long time.
 
NeverDie said:
The tracelines are about 1cm apart, so any water that bridges that width should trigger it.  I haven't gone after it with an eye dropper, but I would estimate  that, depending on drop size, that anywhere from one to 10 drops in a random spot on a flat and level surface would  trigger it.  So, for my purposes, that's quite sufficient.
 
Once it's triggered, you can turn off the alarm, but it won't re-arm until you dry up the mat with a paper towel or something absorbent.  I didn't see any evidence that the tracelines were dissolved by the water or rubbing off onto the paper towel, and so I take some comfort in that.  I haven't abused the mat to see what might cause it to fail, because I want to use it, not destroy it. Therefore, about all I can confirm  is that if you treat it gently, the evidence so far suggests it should last a long time.
Click to expand...
 
10 drops is certainly a small enough quantity.  I like the idea that it will give more of an advance warning than waiting for enough water to leak out and flow however far it has to in order to reach a spot type sensor.  If you have a large leak, that might not make much difference time-wise, but many leaks start out slowly.
 
In another e-mail exchange with One Drop, Matt told me that the traces are made with a solvent based ink, so water and detergents won't damage them.  But solvents like paint thinner, acetone, etc will.
 
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