Hi @acme!
After many unsuccessful attempts, I have managed to place the device in a waterproof box, and the sensor outside very inclined so that the drops slide off and dry faster.
It works quite well, at night it no longer detects rain.
Another thing I did was change the original battery for a new one, I don’t think it has anything to do with it … But it’s something to keep in mind.
I’m waiting for more rainny days to test it more.
Good luck!
I am trying to rebuild this project here, but what is unclear for me, is whether or not you guys (or girls) use the pcb of the sensor as well.
You don’t need that extra stuff just 2 wires to the xiaomi
I have another question: has anyone tried to modify one of the Sonoff Zigbee sensors to read pressure values on a line of your house central heating?
I have no idea how to approach it sns if it is possible.
It could probably we simplified a bit since in principle I only would need a ‘low pressure alarm’ on the system to detect loss of pressure/water in the system.
My heating system has an analogue pressure gauge, but I am looking for a solution to get pressure readings (or a low pressure notification) in the Zigbee (Sonoff) platfirm here at home to have alarm notifications on my mobile any time there is a pressure issue in my central heating system.
Does anyone have experience with this, or suggestions of sensor elements which can be coupled to a Sonoff Zigbee sensor?
Hi I also am trying to recreate this rain sensor
I have a HW-028 sensor HW-028 FC-37 Raindrop sensor module
and a GS-WDS07 Wireless Door Window Sensor
But I don’t get a reading when I put drops of tap water on it.
does it not work with ‘clean’ water, and it only works with rain water?
I also put the two wires directly in the water, but also no reading .
Has anyone tried something like this before?
The door sensors are on or off (ie binary). You won’t get a pressure reading. You could however get a pressure/no pressure reading.
The problem is a sensor to measure pressure - what pressures are involved?
Hi, I understand. But what I like to do is to detect if there is daylight or darkness.
My thinking was, can a photoresistor or a Light Sensor Switch Module be connected parallel to the reed switch in a Sonoff (Zigbee) Door Sensor? Will this work and has anyone already tried this?
Anyone with this setup have some insight on changing time from closed (raining) to open (dry/no rain).
I tested the sensor (splash some water on the sensor) and detected “rain” then I wiped the water and dry it but it stayed closed (raining) for 2-3 hours before changing back to open (no rain).
Any thoughts?
Thanks
This is a test I carried on the sensor.
Immediately after having constant water (water faucet to rain module) it will trip the sensor to the close position (meaning is raining), after I stopped the water I check with a multimeter for continuity between the connections of the rain module and there wasn’t any (meaning that the sensor should switch to open) but instead it stayed in the closed position for over 2 hours and then switch back to open, which doesn’t make sense to me as there is no continuity it should actually change to open the second that there is no continuity. Anyone with a similar experience?
FYI I did not removed the reed switch, I just solder 2 wires at both poles next to the reed switch.
Could that be the problem?
same problem here. It stays “wet” (on) for 2-3 hours before reverting to “dry” (off)
They go to the rain sensor that sits on the outside
Built mine this week and I also have the condensation overnight issue, it is very sensitive! Breathing on it is enough to trigger it for 30 seconds or so.
I am not an electronics person in any form, would a small resistor on one of the lines be able to adjust the sensitivity? I notice on the little board that came with it a potentiometer to set the sensitivity when using that board, but it needs 5v to use that board.
I made a 3D printed enclosure for this setup:
I’m looking for the best option here (as probably many others). Surely, a lot of experiences gained over the past three years from many of you. Are there any disadvantages to choosing a water leak sensor over a door/window sensor?
For now, I recognize only the advatages: the battery (CR2032 vs CR1632) has a much larger capacity (+50%), the housing is already waterproof so fewer troubles with sealing the casing, soldering is not required because the contacts are already outside of the water leak sensor’s housing.
Could there perhaps be a noticeable difference in the currents that flow between the contacts in the case of closed contacts (eg., when raining), which would eventually affect the sensor sensitivity and battery life? It’s strange that the manufacturer reports the same battery life for both of the sensors. I imagine the water leakage is usually not often detected during the lifetime of the device.
Does the water leak sensor report “no water” immediately after there is no current flowing between the contacts (eg., when the raindrops module is completely dry)? In the case of the door/window sensor, it is obvious that it should work this way. I would like to open the slats of the pergola as soon as the raindrops module dries (or with a pre-set delay).
Just for info, if people have a Velux integra , with rainsensor, there is a new enhancement coming, that will add a rain sensor in HA
Yesterday I made one of this sensors, thanks for the nice idea!
But the problem is, after one hour rain 14 hours ago the rain drop PCB stays moist and gives false information. I know this was discussed before but has anyone have used one of those heated rain drop sensors? It beats the purpose of being portable but I think it will solve the problem with valse output.
I made a 3D printed holder at 45 degree angel maybe I should make one at more steep angle, but I don’t see drops on it, I feel it is moist and that is enough to trigger it. Also put some glue to prevent water getting on the back side of the PCB, that made it little bit ugly:
Here a heated rain sensor with relay output, it needs a power supply and it will start to heat below 15°C
You can find more information on sellers page at Aliexpress:
Like I said before, is there someone who used one of these heated ones? I like to know if it’s giving reliable information.
Okay, yesterday after one hour rain in the night the sensor detected moist for 12 hours long while the rain drop PCB was dry, I think some moisture get to the backside of the PCB.
So I couldn’t stand that, took off the 3D printed part and remove the PCB traces on the back side going to the wires and drilled 2 small holes in the PCB for the wires and solder the wires on the front traces. This way the back side of the PCB does not work anymore no matter how much moist gets back there.
Glued back the PCB directly to the enclosure, now if it rains it gets detected and when rain stops after couple hours it stops detecting the rain.
It is stil not accurate but it is accurate enough for me, main reason for using this sensor is for the electrical awning we have, I wan’t the awning pulled in when it rains in the summer (yeah very common here in the Netherlands in the summer 
) I was using one of the cloud based integrations but sometimes it took half hour before the rain was pushed to the alerts, this sensor goes of with one drop of rain and it is perfect for the job, besides it wil dry faster in the summer.
Here how it looks now, it is raining at the moment:
Did you use door sensor or water leak sensor?
