Neptune water leakage protection system: pros, cons, reviews

Leaving a house or apartment unattended, even for a short time, we risk: there are too many engineering systems in our home, which, in the event of an accident, can cause significant harm. One such system is plumbing. You can protect yourself and your home from a flood using the Neptune leak protection system. This is one of the companies that supplies the market with ready-made solutions for the most common options. It is also possible to assemble your own system from components – with specific properties.

Use the promo code STROYCHIK to get a 15% discount on the entire line of Neptun products when buying on the official website.

Purpose and functions

The Neptune water leakage protection system is designed to localize accidents on the water supply in houses, apartments and other premises. It consists of ball valves with electric actuators, which are closed in case of an accident at the command of the control unit. The presence of water at the most likely points is controlled by sensors – wired or wireless. As you can see, in terms of functionality and composition, it is no different from other similar systems. But there are also some peculiarities.

Conveniently enough, there are ready-made solutions for the most common cases. The site has tabs where possible options are collected by groups. Water leakage control Neptune has ready-made solutions for such situations:

• For apartments with centralized hot water supply and for those options when hot water is heated independently.
• For private houses with water supply from a well or a well. The difference is that at the same time as the supply is shut off, the power to the pump is turned off.
  

• For heating and water supply in apartment buildings.
• For pools. In this case, the taps do not overlap, only the emergency system turns on, and it is up to the person to decide which taps to shut off.

When an alarm occurs, the controller energizes the rotary gear motor, which turns the shut-off ball, shutting off the water. At the same time, an audible alarm is activated. If you need to resume operation after an accident, you must restart the control unit: turn off and turn on the power. As you can see, everything is simple.

Features and differences

It is almost impossible to talk about the general features of Neptun flood protection: the systems are too different, with a different set of functions and equipment. Water leakage control Neptune is implemented on the basis of 5 controllers, and they have a different set of functions.

In the simplest versions (all modifications of the SKPV), the water is simply blocked by a signal from the sensors. Only wired leakage sensors work with these models and there cannot be many of them – 5 or 10 pieces. There are no additional features. No checking the functionality of sensors, no testing cranes. Nothing. More recent developments have more features:

• several tens of wireless sensors and several hundred wired ones can work;
• the ability to integrate into the smart home system, fire or burglar alarms, dispatch services;
• added automatic health check – taps are closed and opened once or twice a month (depending on the type of block);
• they can manage a large number of ball valves;
• added backup power – four batteries;
• the ability to work from 12 V.

The most important feature of the Neptune anti-flood system is the ability to manually close and open taps when using Bugatti taps. To do this, there is a special lever on the crane drive housing. It needs to be turned all the way. This lever can also be used to track the closure of the water in case of an accident.

In other systems, manual closing is possible after removing the gearbox, for which it is necessary to unscrew two (Hydrolock) or four bolts (Akvastor). By the same principle, you can access the manual closing or opening of the tap in the cheapest and simplest of the kits – Neptune Aquacontrol. So not all Neptune systems are equipped with the same ball valves. Be careful when choosing.

SENSORS

Protection against water leakage Neptune has two types of wired and wireless sensors. In sensors of any type, a board is installed, which is designed to protect against accidental operation. To eliminate false alarms, the contacts are separated by a certain distance. An alarm is only generated if both contacts are in water.

Please note: Neptune wireless sensors operate at a frequency of 433 kHz. This is not very good, since the signal at this frequency does not always reach through the walls. And this is one of the important shortcomings.

There are wired sensors for outdoor installation – their contacts are located in the lower part of the case. They are simply placed on the surface. There is a modification for flush mounting – “flush” with the level of finishing material (floor tiles). This version has a regular round shape with a diameter of 54 mm. It is convenient to make a hole under them with a “crown”. Functionally, they are no different. The floor-mounted version is available with cords of different lengths – 2, 5 and 20 meters. As you can see, there are sensors for different cases and requirements.

Wireless sensors have different ranges – 50 m line of sight (RSW) and no range limitation (SSW 01). The second option also turns on the sound alarm itself. This option is suitable for controlling devices located far from home – a pit with a pump installed in it, baths, etc.

Ball valves with actuators for automatic shut-off of water

The valves that are used in Neptune water leakage control systems are full bore (do not narrow the section, do not create problems for the flow of liquid), diameter – from 1/2 to 2 inches.

The most budget set – NEPTUN AQUACONTROL – uses ball valves manufactured at a Chinese factory. The valve body, ball, stem and gears are made of brass, seals are made of PTFE and rubber. The maximum pressure is 16 bar. It is precisely this parameter that you should pay attention to: in high-rise buildings, often when testing systems, they can give more pressure. If you are looking for flood protection for a private home, this pressure is enough. But there is one more thing: the power supply of this crane is only from 220 V.

If you do not trust Chinese products, pay attention to other kits. They use cranes from the Italian company Bugatti. They are characterized by high working pressure – up to 40 bar. These valves will withstand even severe water hammer, higher fluid temperature (up to 120 ° C), high drive torque (from 9 to 16 Nm). Power supply – from 220 or 12 V.

Taps closing time – 21 seconds. This is a good time. There are systems in which the tap closes faster (Aquastorage), but they have little torque. There are systems in which the applied force is greater (Hydrolock), but the valves close up to 40 seconds. So Neptune water leakage control is in the middle in this parameter. Whether that’s good or bad is up to you.

Pay attention to another important plus of Neptun Bugatty cranes for Neptune – manual control of the ball valve is easily implemented. For this, a special lever is brought to the body. To close or open the tap manually, you need to smoothly move the lever to another extreme position.

Controllers

Water leakage control Neptune is implemented on the basis of control modules with different functionality:

• SKPV mini 2N. The simplest control device, which, based on the sensor signal, closes the tap and turns on the sound alarm. A maximum of 5 sensors and 2 taps can be connected to it. Works only from 220 V, does not have a backup power supply. It is installed in a regular standard socket. If you need an inexpensive controller, this one works stably. The disadvantage is that there is no backup power.
  

• SKPV 220V DIN and SKPV 12V DIN. It differs in the installation method – on a DIN rail and a large number of connected equipment: up to 8 taps and up to 6 sensors. It is produced in two modifications – powered by 220 V and 12 V. It is similar in functionality to the SKPV mini 2N: only close the taps on a signal from the sensor. If you decide to install the anti-flood controller in an electrical cabinet, this option will be convenient.
•  NEPTUNE BASE. The functionality does not differ from the options described above. The difference is that it is wall mounted and allows you to control 6 taps and 20 wired sensors. Can be connected to other systems: smart home, alarm, dispatch systems. The function of checking the performance of cranes has been added – they turn once a month.
• NEPTUNE PRO W. Added backup power – from 4 lithium batteries. On a backup source, the Neptune water leakage control can work up to 1 year. Allows you to control 4 cranes, receive signals from 375 wired sensors. They can be divided into 4 zones. When a leak signal from the sensor occurs, the zone is identified on the panel (LED lights up). In addition to checking the status of the cranes once a month, it displays their status. Please note: it is possible to connect an external power source (batteries as an option).
• NEPTUNE PRO W+. It differs from the previous one in that it allows servicing also 31 wireless sensors. But it can work on batteries for no more than 3 days.

The latest versions – PRO and PRO + – can operate from 220 V or 12 V, have an indication of a low charge of the backup power supply. When connected to an external backup source (battery), 6 taps can be controlled. Type of installation – invoice.

Three controllers have an additional “dry contact”. Through it, you can organize the connection of an external device, for example, an external alarm.

Ready-made sets

If you need a flood protection system, there are two ways to go – assemble your own system from components or choose one of the ready-made kits. Ready kits are assembled on the basis of more modern controllers – Base, Pro, Pro +. All of them check the performance of cranes at least once a month, but they can work with a different amount of equipment.

Use the promo code STROYCHIK to get a 15% discount on the entire line of Neptun products when buying on the official website.

The Neptune system is represented by various sets:

• Aquacontrol. If you need inexpensive leak protection from a trusted manufacturer, this is the right kit. The Base controller and Chinese-made ball valves are used. The kit comes with two taps, two wired sensors. As you can see, the system is small, but it will provide protection for a one-room apartment or a small cottage.
• Base Light. For apartments without centralized hot water supply. Includes Neptun Base controller, one Bugatty motorized ball valve, two wired sensors.
• Bugatti Base. The best option with wired sensors for apartments with centralized hot water supply. Contains two Bugatti taps and three wired sensors.
  

• Bugatti Pro W. Based on the Pro W controller. Wired system with optional power supply (with batteries). Of the differences – compatibility with external services, the ability to connect a large number of wired sensors.
• Bugatti Pro W+. The set includes a control unit of the same name, which is distinguished by the ability to service wireless sensors.
• Neptune PROFI Smart+ (new). The system allows you to block the water supply and will inform you about an accident with sound and light signals, as well as by sending a PUSH notification to the user’s smartphone.

What is good, in any of the kits you can add taps and sensors. Their maximum number is determined by the type of control unit used and the number of connected equipment cannot exceed their capabilities. Functions and capabilities also depend on the controller.

Neptune system: advantages and disadvantages

If we compare the Neptune water leakage protection system with the closest competitors (Hydrolock and Aquastorage), the equipment is less powerful (except for the last two controllers), but also the most budgetary. On the one hand, this is not bad – it is hardly worth overpaying for unused capacity if you have a small apartment or house and 6-8 sensors are more than enough for you. So for ordinary apartments and medium-sized houses, such capacities are quite enough. On the other hand, if necessary, you will have to install a second control unit or change it to a more powerful one.

The disadvantage of budget solutions is the lack of backup power. This is really bad. They turned off the light – no one controls the leakage of water and anything can happen. Moreover, the operation algorithm does not provide for closing the water when the power is turned off (this is how Aquastorage works). The only thing you can do is manually close the taps if necessary.

Here’s something else worth knowing. The first Neptune systems did not work on ball valves, but on valves with electric drives. Since the valves are less reliable, the system often failed. In this regard, they began to use only ball valves. This increased the cost of the equipment, but there were many fewer complaints and failures, and reviews on the use of the Neptune water leakage control system in recent years have been positive.