Hi like minded individuals, advice on leak detection how is this done? Gas ? Air? Which is the best method. I’m told repairing leaking is very expensive and insurance won’t pay outright for the repairs once found. Anybody have any experience with this??

14 hours ago, Raiden2912 said:

Hi like minded individuals, advice on leak detection how is this done? Gas ? Air? Which is the best method. I’m told repairing leaking is very expensive and insurance won’t pay outright for the repairs once found. Anybody have any experience with this??

Had a leak a few weeks ago - got a guy out to do the detection - he used gas and was able to pinpoint the leak quite accurately. Insurance then sent their own guys who corroborated the findings and repair work started a day later. They dug, replaced the pipe and reinstated any damage they had done to the area. I only had to pay excess of 1k - this is with Naked Insurance

At the same time, see if you can request a rebate from your municipality for the lost water. Might need an affidavit from the plumbers. They should be able to advise.

1 minute ago, GreenFields said:

At the same time, see if you can request a rebate from your municipality for the lost water. Might need an affidavit from the plumbers. They should be able to advise.

Tshwane are the worst - they haven't even responded to the leak issue when i discovered there was a leak

I have seen some companies finding underground leaks using helium. They pump helium into the suspicious line and use a gas sniffer to find the exact leak location.

20 hours ago, Raiden2912 said:

Hi like minded individuals, advice on leak detection how is this done? Gas ? Air? Which is the best method. I’m told repairing leaking is very expensive and insurance won’t pay outright for the repairs once found. Anybody have any experience with this??

I've had issues with a leak - was on the hot water side - water disappeared behind tiles and went underground - so no visible water seen.
Geyser would not heat up - so I replaced the element.
Electricity consumption went up (pre-paid) - I assumed it was a faulty element.

I contacted the Home Owners Comprehensive insurance after the repair was completed by my plumber.
They paid for the gas check and excess metro bill.

What I learnt:
Call your insurance first, log a call, and ask them to send a plumber.
You pay the insurance excess and they pay everything else - repair, gas, metro bill, etc.

EDIT:
Been thinking of adding a smart water meter and connecting it to home assistant for recording and monitoring.
Any recommendations for smart water meter?
 

Edited February 13, 20242 yr by system32

1 hour ago, system32 said:

I've had issues with a leak - was on the hot water side - water disappeared behind tiles and went underground - so no visible water seen.
Geyser would not heat up - so I replaced the element.
Electricity consumption went up (pre-paid) - I assumed it was a faulty element.

I contacted the Home Owners Comprehensive insurance after the repair was completed by my plumber.
They paid for the gas check and excess metro bill.

What I learnt:
Call your insurance first, log a call, and ask them to send a plumber.
You pay the insurance excess and they pay everything else - repair, gas, metro bill, etc.

EDIT:
Been thinking of adding a smart water meter and connecting it to home assistant for recording and monitoring.
Any recommendations for smart water meter?
 

There is this DIY solution

19 hours ago, system32 said:

I've had issues with a leak - was on the hot water side - water disappeared behind tiles and went underground - so no visible water seen.
Geyser would not heat up - so I replaced the element.
Electricity consumption went up (pre-paid) - I assumed it was a faulty element.

I contacted the Home Owners Comprehensive insurance after the repair was completed by my plumber.
They paid for the gas check and excess metro bill.

What I learnt:
Call your insurance first, log a call, and ask them to send a plumber.
You pay the insurance excess and they pay everything else - repair, gas, metro bill, etc.

EDIT:
Been thinking of adding a smart water meter and connecting it to home assistant for recording and monitoring.
Any recommendations for smart water meter?
 

There are some water meters with a little pocket next to the counter and you push a probe in the hole which sends out pulses.

The CBi Nano view has got that function and it display water consumption and have a leak alarm option also. Can the Nano export data/alarms to your home assistant?

19 hours ago, system32 said:

I've had issues with a leak - was on the hot water side - water disappeared behind tiles and went underground - so no visible water seen.
Geyser would not heat up - so I replaced the element.
Electricity consumption went up (pre-paid) - I assumed it was a faulty element.

Hot water leaks are easily found with a thermal camera. I had one case where the pipe ran under the kitchen floor and was leaking there. Guy with a camera found it pretty quickly. He also took away that nice warm spot we used to stand on on cold mornings 😪