ProH2O Water Leak Detection

Between 30 metres and 305 metres of ProH2O Water Leak Detection cable can be connected to a ProH2O Professional unit.

Alternatively, up to 1,000 metres of ProH2O Water Leak Detection cable can be connected to a ProH2O Module unit.

Water leak detection cable should be firmly attached using self-adhesive U clips or similar. These can be screwed through to ensure the clip does not become loose. When using the detection cable on the floor, ensuring the cable does not have any air gaps under it will give the quickest response to a leak. Any gaps between the surface and the cable decreases the response time and increases the required amount of water needed to trigger an alarm.

If the detection cable is to be run alongside a pipe, tie wraps or equivalent should be used to secure the cable at intervals no greater than 150mm (6″) to prevent sagging.

The sensitivity of the ProH2O Professional and Module units is set during manufacture to provide an optimum level of protection against significant leaks which are a threat to mission critical or other sensitive equipment.

As a guideline a minimum of approximately 100ml of standing water on a surface, at least 4mm (0.15″) deep and 150mm (6″) long, in contact with at least 150mm (6″) of detection cable is necessary to trigger an alarm.

It is important to note that when using the leak detection cable underneath a pipe a continuous flow of water at approximately 5l/min will need to be pass over a minimum of 125mm (5″) of cable to trigger an alarm.

The following pre-terminated lengths of water leak detection cable are available:

• 3.75m (12ft)
• 7.5m (25ft)
• 15m (50ft)
• 30m (100ft)
• 50m (164ft)
• 100m (328ft)

Custom lengths are also available on request but incur a small surcharge.

The ProH2O Professional unit incorporates integrated alarm location which will automatically determine the distance along the length of cable to the water leak. The module is designed for simple and straightforward installation and operation.

Yes. Many fire alarm control panels and building management systems provide outputs which can be programmed to activate when a certain input is triggered such as the detection of a water leak.
These outputs are often used to activate/deactivate door retaining magnets, roller shutter doors or similar things but they are ideally suited to activating electric solenoid valves controlling the flow of water.

In most cases, the alarm volt-free relay contacts on the ProH2O Professional or Module unit will be used to trigger an alarm condition on the fire alarm control panel or building management system by switching in a low resistance. The control panel can then be programmed to activate a particular output operating an electric solenoid valve switching off the flow of water.

Yes. The ProH2O Water Leak Detection Cable is constructed to minimise false alarms, including the use of a nonconductive polymer braid, by preventing the sensitive parts of the cable from touching conductive materials even though the cable may be laid directly onto a conductive surface.

The ProH2O Module continuously monitors the detection cable for faults along the length of cable. To test the detection cable will detect a leak either dip the cable into a tray containing a reasonable amount of water or take a piece of conductive wire (less than 22AWG) and touch it between two black cores on adjacent sides of either a red or blue core at some point along the cable.

To verify a piece of cable without powering up the system, disconnect the length of cable from the ProH2O Module and use a multimeter to test for resistance between the two outer most pins on the connector at one end of the detection cable with the end of line plug attached at the other end. In normal conditions the resistance should be approximately 1.8Mohms. Placing a section of the cable into a tray of water should reduce the resistance between the outer most pins to approximately 1Mohms.

In normal operation, removal of the end of line plug should put the module into fault.

Simulating an alarm condition and testing for a fault following one of the methods mentioned above verifies the integrity of the cable along its whole length. The detection cable must be completely dry for a fault condition to be detected.

The system should be regularly inspected at least once a year to ensure correct operation. This should include visual examination of the control units and detection cable. The detection cable should be clean and free of dust or other contaminants for maximum effectiveness.