Limited-time deal: Flume 2 Smart Home Water Monitor & Water Leak Detector: Detect Water Leaks Before They Cause Damage. Monitor Your Water Use to Reduce Waste & Save Mone - $199

I bought this unit, it's great to monitor water usage and leaks. Between this and my Sense energy meter, I can montior all my utilities. But battery life is around 6-10 months depending on conditions. I think they changed the wording from 1 year battery to up to 1 year. They do have an extra slot so you can slot in 2 battery packs at once to extend the runtime. I'd honestly recommend that unless you plan to dig it out at least once a year. But yeah, the batteries are energizer lithium in a proprietary casing. The batteries are arranged in series and parallel, so its 4 AA lithium batteries giving you 3v. The price for the proprietary battery pack isn't terrible considering the cost of energizer lithium AA batteries, but shipping does add to it.

I actually bought some AA battery holders for hobby kits, the ones that put two batteries in, adding up to 3v, and soldered them directly to the battery terminals. This way, I can use whatever batteries I like. I used 4 AAx2 holders in total. So I used 8 AA lithium batteries total. If you're going to do the same, make sure you rough up the terminals with a file and use some flux to get the solder to stick to the terminals and the battery holder wires. Be careful to solder the wires to the correct polarity, they are labeled. I almost fried mine reversing the polarity. I'd probably also recommend throwing in any desiccant packs you have into the unit before closing it up if you do this. Since the batteries are more exposed then the proprietary casing the company provides.

You could also in theory reuse the proprietary casing, but you do need a battery welder for the thin nickel strips. And the special torx bit to open it (My ifixit kit had it). But I didn't feel like buying the welder, so I went with the battery holders.

My unit only lasted for 3-4 months, despite investing in the genuine $15 battery packs. After purchasing the $15 battery packs for the second time and having them last for just another 3 months, I decided to discard the entire device. Changing batteries 3 times a year is not what I had in mind when I bought it.

I bought this unit, it's great to monitor water usage and leaks. Between this and my Sense energy meter, I can montior all my utilities. But battery life is around 6-10 months depending on conditions. I think they changed the wording from 1 year battery to up to 1 year. They do have an extra slot so you can slot in 2 battery packs at once to extend the runtime. I'd honestly recommend that unless you plan to dig it out at least once a year. But yeah, the batteries are energizer lithium in a proprietary casing. The batteries are arranged in series and parallel, so its 4 AA lithium batteries giving you 3v. The price for the proprietary battery pack isn't terrible considering the cost of energizer lithium AA batteries, but shipping does add to it.

I actually bought some AA battery holders for hobby kits, the ones that put two batteries in, adding up to 3v, and soldered them directly to the battery terminals. This way, I can use whatever batteries I like. I used 4 AAx2 holders in total. So I used 8 AA lithium batteries total. If you're going to do the same, make sure you rough up the terminals with a file and use some flux to get the solder to stick to the terminals and the battery holder wires. Be careful to solder the wires to the correct polarity, they are labeled. I almost fried mine reversing the polarity. I'd probably also recommend throwing in any desiccant packs you have into the unit before closing it up if you do this. Since the batteries are more exposed then the proprietary casing the company provides.

You could also in theory reuse the proprietary casing, but you do need a battery welder for the thin nickel strips. And the special torx bit to open it (My ifixit kit had it). But I didn't feel like buying the welder, so I went with the battery holders.

I created a 3D printed battery case that can be used with it https://www.printables.com/model/...attery-box [printables.com]

Check with your local water company. Some give rebates or offer discounts for theses type of devices. In Marin county CA they have these for 59 bucks after a 25 dollar rebate.
https://flumewater.com/partners/marin/

If you sold these pre-made (I don't have a printer) I'd absolutely buy one. My Flume 2 has been sitting idle for almost a year, as the battery packs have only lasted 6 mo. on avg. and I refuse to buy more at their insane price.

Check with your local water company. Some give rebates or offer discounts for theses type of devices. In Marin county CA they have these for 59 bucks after a 25 dollar rebate.
https://flumewater.com/partners/marin/

Hopefully y'all with battery issues are contacting flume. Mine died after 10 months, they looked at it remotely, then said "your unit is faulty, another is on the way. Discard the first one". My father did the same.

Unfortunately the utility company soon after handed my father's to him. "You can't put stuff on our meter" 🤪