Gen3 flow meter: leak detected in vegetable garden?

Still trying to understand how the new hardware will work. If the flow meter is installed in the main line how would it know there is a leak in the vegetable garden?

Also, is it correct that it only detects flow down to 0.5GPM? Most slow leaks wouldn’t register then, correct?

Finally, there is no shut off valve, only flow sensing, correct? So if there is a leak that registers above 0.5 GPM the app would only be able to tell you about it but you’re out of luck if you’re not home, right?

BTW, I read the materials released here and here prior to posting but they didn’t answer my questions.

For example:

Is leak detection only active when a zone is watering? I have a few spray heads with older non-pressure regulated bodies that trickle leak even when the zone is off. Would the flow meter be able to alert me to how much water is lost?

Specs say it only measures down to 0.5GPM but this conflicts with this statement:

“The flow meter detects broken heads, ruptured pipes, and even low-flow leaks with highly-sensitive, state-of-the-art Vortex technology…”

Also, what if I don’t have a backflow preventer? We use reclaimed water - if one is installed I can’t see it - everything is below ground.

also, just to make sure - usage with reclaimed water systems is supported, yes?

We currently have three types of anomaly detection with our flow software.

  1. High Flow Leaks - If we detect a flow rate X% above your baseline, we will notify you and disable that zone if auto shut off is enabled. So this could be 10%+ above your .5 GPM. (based on how you configure it)
  2. Low Flow - Flow rate X% below baseline. We will not shut off your system, but we will notify you of the problem.
  3. Inactive System Flow - System is not operating but some level of flow is detected. We will not shut off your system, but we will notify you and describe some common problems. (Stuck valve, etc)
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Thanks @timber, how is the baseline calculated? And will we have the ability to set a new baseline? Ex. I change rotor nozzles to a higher GPM nozzle - will that show up as a high flow leak and shutdown watering for that zone even though it was intended?

Also, need a ruling on this:

We have a calibration flow that you can run against a single zone or all zones. This allows you to set and change the baseline anytime you make an adjustment.

The calibration run itself will not trigger any alerts as it’s considered to be different then a normal schedule or Quick Run.

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Assuming the vegetable garden is a zone on your sprinkler system, we’d be able to connect usage with the time the controller was running.

Sounds like these heads might be draining from gravity? The water leaking might just be residual left in the pipe after the valve closes. If it’s a constant leak, than you might have a bad diaphragm in your valve.

Can you clarify the water source? Reclaimed water from a pond or rainwater system?

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Hi @emil - more info: https://www.mymanatee.org/home/government/departments/utilities/wastewater-system/reclaimed-water/about-reclaimed.html

It’s treated water, but not potable/suitable for human/animal consumption or use.

It works with all existing irrigation hardware (rotors/spray heads, etc) as far as I know so I’m not sure why a flow meter would be a problem. Just wanted to check.

In another response, you mentioned that the flow meter is not recommended for underground installation and @franz mentioned that there would be some further announcements about underground systems, so I’m holding off on gen3 for now.