Product Review: Leak Alertor 6000

The video covers most things, but some things not covered are covered there.

I was impressed by the logic in the Leak Alertor 6000. After thoroughly testing one it became apparent that the unit is much more than just a water level detector. An example is that is able to detect flapper leaks by monitoring multiple flushes to identify a persistent problem.

The companies website says it can detect

  • Wide-Open/Stuck Flappers
  • Toilet Overflows
  • Leaking Flappers/Flush Valves
  • Fill Valve Equilibrium
  • Tank Leaks
  • Water spilling into the overflow tub

The LeakAlertor 6000 does what it claimed to do and by all appearances is a quality product. Therefore, I give it a 5 star rating.

First the assumption is that the toilet user stays in the room long enough for the toilet tank to fill. Thus the user is aware of the alert if present. The unit does have an audible alarm, of course, and depending on your hearing you may or may not hear it in another room. It took about a minute on average for the Leakalertor 6000 to trigger an alarm for a stuck open flapper. However, it is a great deal louder than the nearly silent sound of water (money) slowly slipping down the drain.

Another assumption is you’re willing and able to change the battery when the time comes. Notwithstanding situations where the alert is allowed to sound for long periods of time, the company says the battery should last about two years. That sounds about right. In normal operation the lights are off unless the toilet is flushed or an alarm occurs. Changing the battery is pretty simple, though you need to use a tool to pry the case open and a toothpick or similar item to push the battery out of its cradle. Both are very hard to do with just fingers. The battery is the common and inexpensive CR2032 battery that you probably already have in drawer somewhere.

It is not required that you make the repairs, and no repair instructions are offered. But there is plenty of repair advice, including right here on DIY Plumbing Advice. Calling a plumber who does toilet repair will be able to do what’s needed. Assuming you retain and can find the instructions for re-setting the LeakAlertor. I suggest a Ziplock bag having instructions inside tapped somewhere obvious. Another idea is to also keep the correct flapper for future use in a Ziplock bag as well. While the lights on the Leakalertor 6000 are generally green is good and red is bad, there are various patterns to the lights where the meaning is not obvious, and a consultation with the instruction sheet (or website) will be desired.

A Leakalertor 6000 was provided to us for an unbiased review. We had some trouble with the first one, but a call to the company in Pennsylvania (a real human in the USA) determined that the unit had failed and promptly sent us a new one. It's possible we broke it with numerous tests and resets. The second one worked perfectly.

The need to reset the Leakalertor 6000 is rare, but doing so requires finding a toothpick or similar device to poke the reset button. I think it would be better if it was accessible from the outside of the case. The reset button can also be used to put the unit into a test mode where the red light illuminates while the water is going down, and green light when the water is going up. Having the reset button on the outside would probably lead to users pushing it a lot more than they should, but still it was an inconvenience to have to find something to reach it with.

The Leakalertor also is made in a less-expensive previous model, the LeakAleter 5000. (Though no longer for sale on their website). That model operates by listening to the activity in the tank instead of using electrical probes. Leakalertor also has models in the works designed for property managers that can electronically alert maintenance personnel, and versions that can shut the water off automatically.

Preventing Leaks

Checking your water pressure to the house and keeping it below 80 PSI will prevent premature fill valve (Ballcock) Failure. Some water districts deliver water at too high of pressure for indoor piping and fixtures. A pressure reducing regulator is used to lower the excessive pressure if present. Such a valve is not immortal and 10 year life expectancy is reasonable before they fail. So, even if you have a pressure regulator it needs to be checked to insure it’s working. If a regulator is too old then failed, the resulting high pressure could enter the house, that then could cause the fill valve to “runaway” or continually run in the toilet tank and cause the Leakalertor to signal a problem. Suggesting the fill valve/ballcock is defective when actually the pressure is too high and even a new fill valve will run continually. So in a way, the Leakalertor 6000 could tell you if the pressure regulator for the whole house has failed. As a plumber I get calls monthly for running toilets that do not need repair… the pressure reducing valve to the whole house is the cause and replacing just that stops the toilet running.

See our videos on water pressure for more information on this topic.

Another cause of water leaks in toilets is when the flush handle sticks and holds the flapper open partly, or all the way. A smooth working flush handle/device is required to be connected to the flapper for correct flushing cycle to be started and ended.

See our video on How to replace and buy a toilet flapper

Yet another cause of running toilets is if the bowl fill tube is placed too far down below water level into the overflow tube. This is a pencil diameter tube connected to the fill valve running a couple inches over into the vertical overflow tube that is about an inch in diameter. If the smaller tube is inserted to below the tank’s water level will siphon water from tank (through the ballcock valve mechanism) through the bowl-fill tube and into the overflow tube. This will cause the tank level to drop until the level in the tank is so low that i causes the fill valve to replenish the lost/siphoned water. This condition has symptoms exactly like a leaky flapper but replacing the flapper will not stop the leak/siphon. To correct this problem, raise the smaller bowl fill tube to above the water level. A part is sold to attach the bowl fill tube to the overflow tube correctly.

See our video on How to find and fix a toilet leak

It should be noted, while most fill valves will fit most toilet tanks, flappers are not so universal. There are 2” flappers, 3” flappers, ring seals that fit under a cylinder that replaces the common flapper and several other unique ways to seal water in a toilet tank. Wasting water could be one result of the wrong flapper, even if it fits the flush valve and holds water. The timing of how long the flapper remains buoyant is what meters how much water is allowed to leave the tank and flow into the bowl to cause a siphon flush. This timing is unique to the flapper design and while sometimes adjustable, timing is everything… Dye or food coloring in the tank water can tell you if a flapper leaking, as the color will show up in the bowl if leaking past the flapper. Stores sell tabs for this reason, or just food coloring will be easy to find.

To purchase, visit http://leakalertor.com