Fast and easy - and it works.
1 - Get a cheap smoke alarm on Ebay (I paid $2.77 for mine).
2 - Find the two contact points on the circuit board where the "test button" makes it's contact.
3 - Solder a piece of solid wire to each contact point. Make it long enough to reach out of the smoke alarm case.
I suggest solid wire since it's easier to solder to the small contact.
4 - Using any stranded wire (I used regular speaker wire), conect to the two wires from the case.
Using stranded wire gives the alarm more wire surface to contact the water/leak.
5 - Strip a few inches of the stranded wire and place under the tank with the two wires an inch or two apart
Tape the ends down. You do not want them to move, make contact with each other and sound the alarm.
That's it. Water under the tank will make circuit complete and sound alarm. BTW, The smoke alarm itself will still work.
Make another to put at your hot water heater.
You can also connect multiple stranded wires to the solid wire from the case and put the ends in other spots.
1 - Get a cheap smoke alarm on Ebay (I paid $2.77 for mine).
2 - Find the two contact points on the circuit board where the "test button" makes it's contact.
3 - Solder a piece of solid wire to each contact point. Make it long enough to reach out of the smoke alarm case.
I suggest solid wire since it's easier to solder to the small contact.
4 - Using any stranded wire (I used regular speaker wire), conect to the two wires from the case.
Using stranded wire gives the alarm more wire surface to contact the water/leak.
5 - Strip a few inches of the stranded wire and place under the tank with the two wires an inch or two apart
Tape the ends down. You do not want them to move, make contact with each other and sound the alarm.
That's it. Water under the tank will make circuit complete and sound alarm. BTW, The smoke alarm itself will still work.
Make another to put at your hot water heater.
You can also connect multiple stranded wires to the solid wire from the case and put the ends in other spots.
