YoLink LeakStop 1 Channel Water Leak Detector with Auto Shutoff Valve - Real-Time Monitoring for Home, Office & Apartment - Prevents Water Waste in Toilets & Sinks (Hub Required) | Ideal for Smart Home Water Protection & Plumbing Safety

I will confess that I am a YoLink junkie. Since I discovered this product line a couple of years ago I have probably purchased 100 sensors.My first project with YoLink was for water leak detection. This product falls into that category.The leak stop is specifically for attaching to the water supply line of the toilet. Not only can detect a water leak, it can detect excessive water usage, and it can turn off the water to the toilet if there is a problem. Water damage can be devastating and any product that can reduce the likelihood of water damage is certainly worth a look.The first thing you noticed about the leak stop is that it is a very solidly built unit. It is made of metal and probably weighs a couple of pounds . There is a lot going on inside this box. Not only is there a water meter to measure water usage of the toilet, there is a shut off valve that allows the water to be turned off if a problem exists. Yes, water damage can be catastrophic, but a running toilet , left undetected for a period of time can be pretty catastrophic to the pocketbook.The leak stop will detect both of these situations.Installation is pretty straightforward. The product comes with a stainless water supply hose that you connect from your existing shut off valve at the wall to the inlet port of the leak stop . Your existing toilet supply line, then connects to the outlet port of the leakstop. The leak sensor simply needs to be set on the floor location where it is most likely to detect water leak.It works great. It can tell you how many times your toilet is flushed in a day, it can tell you how many gallons of water your toilet uses , both on a daily basis and cumulative. It could be programmed to alarm if water runs for too long, such as a running toilet, or if daily water usage is too high, or if there is a leak.You can set it to notify you of those events and/or shut off the water to the toilet.All that seems to work quite well. The only place where I’ve had issues with the leak stop is in the Alexa integration. Alexa detects it, but Alexa does not seem to be able to control it in anyway, or report its status correctly. Annoying, but probably not a dealbreaker since there is not a lot that Alexa would need to do with a device like this. I’m assuming they will get those issues sorted out. There is a button on the front of the unit that will manually control the water valve position. If the unit shuts off the water and it is a false alarm, all you need to do is press the button to turn the water back on.I hope the built-in water meter can deal with hard water. In general, I think YoLink engineering tends to be pretty darn good so I’m assuming they have taken that into consideration. Time will tell on that one But the unit does have a two-year warranty.All in all, I think the price point is excellent for what you get. Since they refer to this as a one channel device, I am assuming that they are going to be coming out with a two channel version in the future, perhaps intended for use with washing machines.Five stars for sure, even with the minor downsides that I have mentioned.Before I wrap this up, I would like to touch a bit on the LORA technology that YoLink uses. LORA basically sends small amounts of data and can therefore operate at very low power. Battery life on YoLink products is excellent, typically 2 to 5 years.Yes, it does require that you have at least one of their hubs as part of your system. The hub basically acts as the interface between the LORA data and the Internet. Most installations will only require one hub because the LORA protocol can communicate over such a long distance . Far beyond what you can reach with Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-wave or any other commonly used protocol. If you enjoy tinkering with home automation devices, you owe it to yourself to give YoLink products a try.