LeakAlertor 5000 Technical Reference Manual

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LeakAlertor Technical Reference Guide
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©2014 n Solutions, LLC. All Rights Reserved. LeakAlertor™ Patented & Patents Pending
NOTE: This guide has been written to give water utility and industry experts an overview of the actual
operation and methodology the LeakAlertor employs in order to correctly identify various types of toilet
leaks. If you do not wish to read this overview, please skip to the "Key Points" section at the end of this
booklet, which covers the main technical points of the product

Introduction

One of the most critical design objectives for the LeakAlertor was simplicity of installation and use.
Achieving that objective without any user setup or calibration required developing a unique sensor
technology and a correspondingly complex mathematical process, which would allow the product to be
placed on virtually any tank and flapper based toilet. The combination of the sensor technology and
mathematical process allows the LeakAlertor to be deployed on hundreds of different types of toilets
using various fill valves, flappers, and fluctuations in water pressure (even on the same toilet), while
simultaneously ignoring external noise, incidental bathroom "disturbances", and all kinds of non-toilet
related interference.

How Does It Really Work?

A leaking flapper will produce a drop in the water level inside the toilet tank, causing the fill valve float
(or pressure sensor) to activate, which usually lasts several seconds. This phenomenon is often referred
to as a "phantom flush". As the flapper continues to leak, this process repeats itself. When a fill valve
action occurs (phantom flush or actual flush), water is forced into the tank at a rate which is a function
of the water pressure, toilet feed-valve, and the ports of the fill valve itself. The pressurized water
produces turbulence inside the tank, which in turn produces vibration. The LeakAlertor has been
designed to specifically identify and isolate the vibration signature of a fill valve action and qualify it as
a normal flush cycle, a refill action in response to a leaking flapper (or tank leak), or in a worst-case
event, a wide-open flapper or flush valve.
Because every toilet's vibration signature is different, the LeakAlertor must first "learn" its
environment. After attaching the product to the toilet and pulling the battery activation tab, the user is
instructed to flush the toilet. The LeakAlertor then mathematically models the toilet as a function of the
vibration due to water turbulence, committing the "flush signature" to memory. The flush signature is
used to help determine other toilet characteristics, such as whether or not the flapper is leaking (see the
"Technology Options" section for other modeled and data logged
characteristics). The modeled flush signature is also used to
determine when an actual flush is taking place so that upon
1
completion of the entire flush cycle , the user can be alerted. The
various alerts are as defined on the next page.
1
The definition "Entire Flush Cycle" (as pertains to the operation of the LeakAlertor) consists of pressing down the flush handle; the
emptying and refilling of the toilet bowl; the refilling of the toilet tank by the fill valve; plus a slight delay after the fill valve float has
terminated the entire flush cycle while the LeakAlertor processes information.
(REV-D)
those facilitating the testing and evaluation process.
During installation, LeakAlertor employs the first flush to qualify the normal acoustic environment while
continuing to model the environment through the detection of water turbulence and vibration. There may be
circumstances when LeakAlertor is unable to qualify the acoustic environment. The user may fail to initiate the
first flush during installation or some toilets may be extremely quiet, producing minimal vibration, due to a very
quiet fill valve, low water pressure or both. In these instances LeakAlertor is designed to use certain preset
variables and will attempt to learn the toilet characteristics over time. This may take several days; depending on
what data is or isn't modeled when the unit is first installed, the mechanical operation, normal use of the toilet and
any associated background noise. Extensive testing and actual field data has shown that in most instances,
LeakAlertor will mathematically model the toilet and detects leaks in just a few hours, or overnight at most. As
long as the product is placed somewhere on the outside of the toilet tank and the battery pull-tab is removed,
LeakAlertor will figure out what it needs to know in order to monitor the toilet for leaks.
What are the parameters used to identify a leak? First, it's important to understand that a single phantom flush does
not qualify as a leak
"cry wolf" product that overreacts to possible extraneous noise, the device first looks to discount background noise
such as fans, vibration due to HVAC systems, hair dryers, stereos, etc. Second, the mathematical modeling
algorithms are very complex due to the extraordinarily high number of variables which must be taken into
consideration. Statistically, most bathrooms will have "quiet" periods when they are not in use – those times are
optimum for LeakAlertor to evaluate the toilet for leaks, so leaks are often qualified during the overnight or quiet
periods. When a leak is identified, an internal software flag is set. At the conclusion of the flush cycle (when the
toilet is subsequently flushed), the LeakAlertor will alert the user that it has identified a leak with the flashing
lamp and by beeping, the urgency of which corresponding to the severity of the leak detected (or flash
everything is okay). Until the leak is fixed, the unit will continue to alert the user every time the toilet is flushed.
After 500 phantom flushes, the LeakAlertor will beep and flash after each qualified phantom flush. However, when
a wide-open flapper is detected, the LeakAlertor will begin to produce a continuous alarm until the problem is
corrected. In those situations, the LeakAlertor waits until twice the normal flush duration before beginning to flash
the RED lamp and beep.
2
Although it can be argued that a single phantom flush is certainly the result of a leak (water loss from the toilet tank), the LeakAlertor is
designed to identify fill valve actions over intervals of time. An extremely slow leak may not cause enough fill valve actions within a given time
frame in order for the LeakAlertor to qualify a leak. Empirical data suggests that leaks which constitute less than several gallons per day may not
be detected by the LeakAlertor because of the long span between fill valve actions.
1. The GREEN lamp flashes: there is no leak. Everything is "okay".
2. The RED lamp flashes and the LeakAlertor beeps: the flapper (or the toilet itself) is
leaking OR the flush valve is wide-open. The more significant the problem, the greater the
urgency of the alert. When a wide-open flapper is detected, the alert is constant until the
problem is corrected. The longer a leak goes uncorrected, the more the urgency of the alert
increases. NOTE: When the initial flush cycle has been detected after the user pulls the
battery tab during installation, the RED
completed.
3. The YELLOW lamp flashes and a single beep is heard: the battery is low and needs to be
replaced.
The LeakAlertor contains other capabilities that are important to know and understand by
2
. The LeakAlertor is looking for both continuous and intermittent leaks. Rather than produce a
lamp illuminates until the flush cycle has
RED
GREEN if