Rialco 84010 Flood Alarm with 11 inch Sensor Arm; 1-Pack

These are best suited for hanging as shown, rather than floors or flat surfaces (IMHO). Mine worked well in my tests and is a bit louder than some. Decent value for the price, I think. This design is a bit different than most others and well suited for hanging on a tub or basin (or whatever) to prevent overflow. Can also be used for leak detection, but the wire is very stiff, so in some situations the simpler, "just sit it down on the floor" designs are easier to use. But this is better if you need to feed the "detector" into an enclosed area or pan.

This seems too good to be true, but it is. Just take it out of the box, put the batteries in correctly and put it on the floor where you are nervous about flooding. It makes a nice loud alarm when the contact at the end of the flexible sensor arm gets wet. Simple, effective. I've tested mine several times, works great. I consider the alarm loud enough to wake me, but not loud enough to alert a neighbor if I am not home. I bought two of these for my tub area and washing machine area (I live on a condo third floor). To be extra safe I bought two different units (similar in overall function and design) from Swann. I have the Swann ones next to the Rialco units for redundancy. I'll update this review if necessary.

I returned the Rialco 84010 Flood Alarm because it was not loud enough to be useful. I received a phone call from James J. Boyle IV, President of Operations, Quality e Companies, which shipped the alarm. Mr. Boyle said he would be sending me a check for $5.22 to cover postage I had incurred with my order. I was not satisfied with the alarm, but I was with the reply I received from Mr. Boyle.

Ordered two of these. One package had clearly been opened and messily repackaged. Battery didn't work in that one. The package for the other unit was fine and the battery worked. Both alarms work but signal sound is not very strong. Definitely would NOT ORDER OR RECOMMEND. I also ordered the Zircon 64003 Leak Alert and it works great!

Construction is less than first rate, and the sound level is too low to be heard on the main floor if there is water in the basement where the alarm is. In my tests, it does seem reliable in that it does detect water & alarm goes off. Best use would be on the same floor where you can hear it. Also this is more $$ than the Swann one also on Amazon, which is quite a bit louder.

For the price I paid it was pretty good alarm that I use in my boat. I put it in the bilge area as an early warning to possible flood problems, but placement must be carefully considered and it is very sensitive to water. Overall not a bad unit, kinda like a cheep smoke detector, works with no frills. Somewhat cheaply made and will see how long it lasts in a very damp environment.

I purchased one of these units over a year ago after having an attic a/c condenser drainage leak... which caused minor damage to a ceiling. I didn't what to find out ever again that I had a leak by seeing water drip from the ceiling, have to repaint - or worse. This simple unit uses a 9 volt battery and emits a loud alert tone similar to a smoke alarm. I have since purchased additional units to install near my basement water heater, and perhaps near the washing machine.... great for any place with potential water leakage! I rigged the attic unit with some velcro to stick it in the location I wanted, and will likely use that method elsewhere - makes it easy to remove to change the battery (which I remind myself to do annually) and easily replace it in the same spot. This inexpensive tool could save hundreds - even thousands of dollars on water damage repairs - not by preventing them of course, but by alerting you immediately so that you can stop the problem right away.

Used as a tub alarm and did not work well. I had to return it.