Phyn Smart Water Assistant: Detect Condo / Apartment / Rental Water Leaks
**Our honesty policy: This post may contain affiliate links and I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no extra cost to you. Some are, some aren't--I do some comparison shopping. The important thing is you will know exactly what we are talking about. Drop a note/comment if you have any questions on the products as these are materials and tools we use on our own projects.
Concerned about detecting water leaks in a condo, apartment, or rental house? The Phyn Smart Water Assistant is for you.
The Phyn Smart Water Assistant detects leaks as soon as they start.
Uponor / Belkin’s Phyn Smart Water Assistant is the answer for those of us who:
- Live somewhere where cutting into the water main coming in to install a full blown water monitoring system (Phyn or a Flo) is not an option. A landlord would most likely frown upon (or justifiably freak out) a major breach in plumbing.
- Just don’t want to cut into the main line or deal with a plumber to do it for you.
- Your budget is stretched thin and you know even a more economical, lightweight water monitor can save you big time over having nothing in place.
Why is it so easy to install a Phyn Smart Water Assistant?
- Pick a sink.
- Shutoff both the hot and cold water lines, disconnect the hoses, and place the Phyn sensors in between the shutoffs and supply lines.
- Plug it in and connect it to your Wi-Fi.
No cutting into existing plumbing.
No plumbing expertise.
If you know which way to open a jar of peanut butter and use a smartphone, you can do this!*
What is the difference between a Phyn Plus and a Phyn Smart Water Assistant?
#1. A valve.
There is not a shut off valve in the Assistant. Phyn Plus gives you the ability to cut off the water if you are not at home or within range of your phone if a critical leak occurs.
Instead, the Phyn Smart Water Assistant will provide you with contact information for a local plumber through HomeAdvisor through the Phyn App. *Be aware that HomeAdvisor is a pay service. As in, a participating contractor must pay for every qualified lead they get through HomeAdvisor. While the Phyn app is doing a great service to provide the information, YMMV.
#2. Where you put it.
Under a sink, not on the main supply line.
However, the benefit of the Phyn Smart Water Assistant is to have every other last feature of Phyn, when you can’t install a Phyn.*
Sure, it would be nice for it to shut off the water in the case of an event, but on the other hand, the Phyn Smart Water Assistant is easy to move with you! Just reverse the order of the super easy install and you’re out! It’s part of the 80% of the easy stuff to pack that only takes 20% of the time.
#3 Exact measurements in the Phyn app.
There is no getting around it: a Phyn Plus accounts for every drop going past the main water entry into the house with an ultrasonic flow sensor. The Phyn Assistant utilizes two high definition pressure sensors, but because of it’s location, it is not going to be as exact when it comes to logging what each fixture uses.
A preview of the Phyn Smart Water Assistant smartphone app interface.
The gotchas?
#1. It takes power in a place where there often isn’t an optimal outlet.
Most of us are into looks.
I’m not going to lie, I admired this sleek looking picture of the Phyn Smart Water Assistant on the website and then cringed:
In all the apartments I’ve lived–and even now in a house–the closest outlet was next to the sink. Snaking a cord from the cabinet door and around to the outlet is less than ideal. It could probably be hidden by some sort of object. Just know that going in.
Maybe you have an extra outlet under your kitchen sink? The single outlet under my kitchen sink is maxed out with the disposal and dishwasher. Maybe you only have one or the other in your residence and have a spot open?
Still, the benefits greatly outweigh the aesthetics.
#2. If your apartment or multi-dwelling residence has a shared plumbing, it is effective–as a communal value to everyone. It would tell you there is a leak, but who knows if it is your unit or the next. However, you would be doing your neighbors / landlord / self a sort of public service.
I had to share this new technology with you as I found out about it last week–so new it is on preorder until September 25th.**
Just because I went with a Flo doesn’t mean I don’t cheer for both companies.
This kind of technology is needed! After you experience it yourself you realize it wasn’t a nice-to-have after all.
We all pay for insurance, whether we have rental insurance or homeowner’s. So if this kind of technology is widespread and leaks are stopped as they start, there is less damage, insurance pays out less, and we all pay less in premiums.
It is also less hassle to you because you do not have to balance huge repairs and your job while living in the mess an undetected critical leak leaves behind. There are other benefits mentioned here: Protect Your Home From Plumbing Leaks: Flo and Phyn
If you are in an apartment, condo, rental house, or any other residence where you can’t tap into main line, the Phyn Smart Water Assistant might be the perfect answer for your water monitoring needs.
*OK, maybe more like a stubborn jar of spaghetti sauce, but you can get some leverage from a couple well placed adjustable wrenches under duress.
**All photos provided from Phyn.
