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Water Damage

Device to detect water leaks
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Problem: You're off on vacation and a pipe bursts in your house which floods the place and costs big $$ when you return.

Solution: This a device that you put on an ouside faucet before you leave. You attach it to the faucet and open the faucet. The device would have a pressure sensor on it that you could adjust so that any perceptable drop in pressure in the water lines of your house (as in a ruptured pipe) would be detected by the unit.

After a drop in pressure had been detected (indicating a ruptured pipe) a number of things could happen. The device could set off a pre-recorded alam saying "Help!!! Water damage. Call the city water department right away, please." Or the unit could open up a drainage pipe that would let water run and thus diminsh the amount that gets squirted into your closet or basement. Or the unit could open a trap door letting loose a pigeon with a "Burst pipe at 1125 Elm Street" message. The bird would fly to the water department. Bird handlers at the department would schedule a service person to turn off your water right away!

drtbarker, Mar 23 2003

WaterCop Wireless Leak Detection System http://www.smarthome.com/7165.html
"Automatically shuts off water when a leak is detected". [phoenix, Oct 17 2004]

Water Watcher™ http://www.virtualt...m/Water_Watcher.htm
"Water Watch™ sends alarms via digital pager and email within five minutes of an event." [phoenix, Oct 17 2004]

Flood Buster Online http://www.floodbusteronline.com/
A whole site dedicated to preventing/detecting water damage [phoenix, Oct 17 2004]

FloodBuster 2000T... http://www.floodbus...com/ourproducts.htm
"...(telephone version) uses our "Call N' Toll" technology to inform anyone anywhere in the world, by telephone, when a flooded condition exists FB2000T will also call when its own 9 volt battery is running low." [phoenix, Oct 17 2004]

What happens to pigeons that clog gutters at McDonalds http://www.adbuster...ce/30/16-pigeon.gif
[thumbwax, Oct 17 2004]

Rfc1149 http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1149.html
[kamathln, Nov 01 2008]

[link]






       Yes, these are very similar ideas. The competition would be very stiff for this product. I'll see if I can come up with some improvements. TB
drtbarker, Mar 23 2003
  

       That's nice, phoenix, but none of these devices have any birds in them at all.
footzilla, Apr 29 2003
  

       HaHa: Reminded me of rfc1149 www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1149.html
kamathln, Nov 01 2008
  

       I know .. I had added it there too.
kamathln, Nov 12 2008
  

       Isn't it simpler just to turn off the water at the mains?
MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 12 2008
  
      
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