The D-Link DCH-S161 is a welcome addition to my water leak system. All of my other sensors are puck style, and while some are smaller than others none are as small as the head on the D-Link. This allows me to get this in tight spaces. It is also nice that while the sensor head has flats on it, should the head flip you will still have sensing capabilities since the head is 360 degree sensing. The long cable allowed me to easily mount the head remotely.
The sensor itself reacts quickly to water and provides nearly instant alerts. As you can see in the timeline below, the sensor went from wet to dry and back to wet in the same minute.
In my initial testing I was quite surprised that the siren wasn’t louder. It has the same rating as my home automation alarm siren yet that one is absolutely obnoxious. Perhaps this frequency doesn’t appear as loud, or maybe the other unit is under-rated; but with that said it was still audible in my bedroom through two closed doors and up a level. But I am not sure if it was loud enough if I were fast asleep. That is why I tested automating the D-Link smart outlet with the DCH-S161 water sensor. Using this set up I was able to turn the switch on when the sensor got wet. Depending on the location of your sensor you may want to plug in another AC powered horn to the smart plug or add a visual indicator of alarm.
