Why You Can Trust CNET Add a smart sensor to your water softener for $89
The Pentair Connected Salt Level Sensor ensures that you'll never accidentally run out of salt again.
One less thing to worry about: running out of salt in the brine tank.
My house is pretty smart these days. I've got lamps connected to smart switches, a doorbell linked to my phone and even Wi-Fi sensors that notify me if there's a water leak somewhere. But where, oh, where is the smart gadget that alerts me when my brine tank is out of salt?
If your house sits on a well, you probably know what I'm talking about. Most water softeners rely on a big tank full of salt, and if you forget to refill it before the salt runs out... ugh. Your water will taste terrible, stain your sinks and toilets, possibly even ruin your laundry. Total nightmare. And it doesn't seem to matter how many calendar reminders I set for myself, I somehow manage to let the tank get too low at least once a year.
Huzzah! Pentair just introduced the Connected Salt Level Sensor, which is exactly what it sounds like. And for a limited time, Cheapskate readers can get 10% off with promo code INTRO10. To my knowledge, this discount isn't available anywhere else.
That discount knocks the price down to $89.10 -- still a little pricey, but, honestly, if you've ever dealt with the aforementioned hassles, you know it's worth it.
The sensor clips onto the edge of the tank. Pentair's app walks you through the setup process, which requires you to have a bag of salt on hand (so it can do "before" and "after" measurements). This didn't work quite right for me the first time: I got stuck at one of the steps, and there was no way to back out of it. I literally had to restart the whole thing, which also meant dumping in another bag of salt.
But then it was smooth sailing, and I've already received one notification informing me that the salt level has reached the halfway point. I also like that the app measures total salt usage, allowing me to compare from month to month.
I'm happy to have this tool in my smart-home arsenal. It's a bit of a splurge, but so worth having.
Your thoughts?
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