“We have two 50 gallon hot water heaters in the basement of our new home. Since our hot water heater in our last house leaked, we thought it would be good to have something to stop future leaking problems. We had our plumber here to work on something else in our home. While he was here he installed the shut off valve for us. He said it was easy to install. My husband said he could have probably installed it himself. We were fortunate to have a plug nearby the hot water heaters so we could plug the system in. One thing we found is that an extra sensor can be purchased so that both hot water tanks can be protected. The Taco company was prompt and helpful to answer any questions my husband had about installing the extra sensor. The extra sensor was under $20.00. We found it on the internet. It may be a while before we see the benefits of this product. However, it certainly provides peace of mind knowing that we are protected from a hot water tank leak.”
“Great idea to have so you don't end up with water damage should a leak occur. Install is easy as long as you have easy access to the plumbing to install it, nothing special on the plumbing side. Having the sensor and control in easy wire run proximity will likely be more of a challenge. Nice that it can run off of battery so it will work even when the power is out. There are a couple of dry contacts that can be used to connect to another device for signaling (I hope to connect it to a smart device so that I can be notified of what state it is in). One missing feature is a remote way to control the valve. This would be nice so that you could have multiple sensors around your home and if any of them sensed a leak the valve could be shut off through some home automation method and be notified at the same time.”
“The Leakbreaker is one of those devices you never want to need, but you do. I just replaced our 30-year-old water heater and in all those years we never had any problems, but that creates a false sense of security. Water heaters can and do leak and this device will detect the leak and shut off the water supply. It's not all that hard to install on your existing water heater inlet pipe and put a short nipple in the other side of the Leakbreaker valve with your choice of either Teflon tape or Teflon thread sealant, I use thread sealant. Place the sensor on the floor or in your drain pan, if you have room, and the control unit on the wall. Make the connections and test the unit. The unit is a little pricey but that's nothing compared to the cost of cleaning up after a major leak.”
“Peace of mind! If you ever have come home to find that your hot water heater decided to fail and your basement floor is soaking wet, you'll wish you had this device installed. Installation is easy for an experienced do-it-yourselfer, but I recommend having a professional plumber handle it. It will operate with batteries or plug-in power (use the plug-in power). This little device will save you a lot of headaches!!!”
“The LEAKBREAKER WATER HEATER SHUT-OFF VALVE WITH CONTROL AND SENSOR is worth every penny!! This is not an accessory; this is a necessity!! I think every homeowner needs to add this to their existing hot water heating system or any other water system that could potentially fail and cause damage. You will need a plumber or if you are skilled at plumbing to install the valve, but other than that, it is very simple to install and monitor. It will take care of itself after that. You can go away feeling confident that you will not come home to a disaster.”
“Easy to install in the cold supply line. The sensor quickly noted a small leak in the reducing fitting and shut the valve. The warning sound is unique and soft. Pretty compact control box fit well in my cabinet. Quick delivery in good shape was appreciated as well as the price.”
