Govee Water Detectors in 2019 315RLTS

[howson]

Minor mod today--added water detectors. Plumbing issues in RVs are not uncommon, so (hopefully) these will detect slow leaks that otherwise could do a lot of damage before I notice. (If there's a major problem I think I'll know!)

I chose the 5-pack of these alarms due to their small size, the fact that they have detectors on the top and bottom and come with a battery. I added a small strip of velcro to the side of each detector and pressed it against something (panel, piece of wood, etc) to hold it in place.

Should you choose to get the same detector, don't miss pulling off the clear insulation sheet on the top of the sensor! (Easy to miss.)

Note: I have no financial interest or association of any kind with Govee. The alarms, model H5054, are new (to me) as of 27 Jul 19. I'll update this thread with good--or bad--notes if warranted.



You may notice I didn't put a detector near the washing machine--that has it's own alarm system that will shut off the water supply if it detects a leak. (That mod was done months ago--I'll post it here soon.)

Finally, I replaced the screws on the Nautilus side panel with velcro to allow quick access. At some point I'll have to replace the battery in the Govee.




Any questions--fire away.

-Howard

[BC315RLTS]

I like the idea of the velcro on the Nautilus side panel, but don't the screws help secure the top of the Nautilus panel in place?

[howson]

I like the idea of the velcro on the Nautilus side panel, but don't the screws help secure the top of the Nautilus panel in place?

Never thought about that. I had to think for a minute and had to run outside and look at the install. (!)

The Nautilus panel is actually a one piece "L" that is also secured to the rear-facing (street-side) interior wall. I *think* what I did with that side panel will be OK. I put velcro down the entire length on both ends of the panel (which is very thin--it literally is a piece of paneling) so I'd have quick access. I don't want to be wrestling with those screws if the alarm is shrieking at 0300 in the morning!

If I run into any issues I didn't anticipate related to this mod I'll post them.

[Cate&Rob]

I used Honeywell water alarms that have remote sensing cables. This way, I can put the alarms in an accessible location. Pulling the sensor connection from the bottom of the alarm will shut off the noise at 3 AM . I also replaced the 9V batteries with 12V to 9V voltage reducers and connected these to the trailer wiring so that the alarms will not go off when the trailer is stored with the batteries disconnected. No point in the alarms going off if there is no one there to solve the problem.

Rob

[Paul & Deb]

Like Rob, I have used the Honeywell sensors for years now. Mine have alerted me but thankfully it was just my outdoor shower head was dripping.

I guess the point of this is that having a water detection system can be an extremely important tool.

[howson]

Having the alarms installed paid off yesterday. I didn't check the input pressure at the campground (very high) so there was a leak behind the Nautilus panel. The alarm caught it. The connection you can see dripping was not hand-tight (took about 3/4 of a turn to snug it up) but the main culprit was the pressure regulator was set too high. Once I snugged up the water line and turned down the regulator to 40psi the leak stopped.

Bottom line: these alarms are worth every penny. There are several options (as annotated in this thread)--so get some!

Replacing the access panel screws with velcro made accessing the area behind the Nautilus quick and easy, too.