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?
Door sensor, and since last update above it is working good.
I can also say, that mine works also (almost) without any issues. Cutting the wires on the back of the rain module PCB did the trick. It’s tilted for 45° but It dries quite fast.
Well, the only issue that I have is related to the door sensor. Sometimes it becomes unavailable and it stays that for a couple of hours. On the last occasion, it happened during the night, when it was -6°C outside, so maybe due to a voltage drop. It reports 53% of the battery (still the first installed). The distance between the Xiaomi Gateway 3 (AlexxIT integration with the supported firmware version) and the aqara sensor is ~8 m (obstructed by a big sliding door).
If it will happen more frequently, I’ll get a new housing with a bigger space for the 2×AA battery case & solder two wires to the battery contacts of the sensor. Putting two lithium batteries should improve the battery life (by a factor ~15x, solely by comparing the CR1632 and 2*AA capacities). The working voltage might then be high enough and not drop below the operating limit when cold. What do you think?
Reminds me of this. Maybe you can do something similar?
Not sure if some insulation might help with your low temps?
Have you checked that the battery voltages are the same?
I was looking at using 18650’s for something but the voltage was too high…
Thanks for the tip, I’ll definitely try that to extend the battery life of the rain sensor. If the range will be improved, even better.
But it could be that the problems were already solved. I’m using now a longer USB cable (I’ve found somewhere this suggestion), so the gateway was moved farther from other electronics (Asus PN41 mini PC, Velux KLF 200, Android TV box). Another detail that was changed is the power source - before, the gateway was plugged into the Android TV box (USB 2.0 port, rated as 5V/0.5 A), and now it’s charging from the mini PC (USB 3.2 gen1, probably 5V/0.9 A). The specified input of the gateway is 5V/1A.
I’ll report it here if I notice another fall-off of the device. But the current temperatures are now above 0°C…
It’s time to change the battery and this is how it looks like after 4 years in the sun and rain.
despite the oxidation, it still works.
Perfect! Thanks for sharing your experiences, Ben. I’m also delighted with how well it works. Extremely reliable. No problems after I switched to a longer USB cable. My Home Assistant journey started with the rain sensor and the need for automatic closing of the pergola in case of rain. Now I have become addicted to home automation. The rain sensor was my only Zigbee device, now I’m willing to add dozens of different ZB devices. I was using Xiaomi Gateway 3 which worked well, but it’s time to switch to Zigbee2MQTT. Can I ask you if anyone uses the Aquara door sensor (rain sensor) with the Sonoff Zigbee Dongle Plus (via Z2M)? Does it work fine, how does it affect the battery life of the sensors (good battery life is crucial for us using sensors outside, at low temperatures)?
I use them with z2m. Usual aqara nonsense, with disconnections sometimes.
