Gadgetory

today we're taking a look at the fortress Z water and temperature sensor selling online for about 50 bucks of various retailers now most flood sensors have two or three metal probes called leads that extend from the body when those leads make contact with water they detect an increased conductivity and they set off an alarm of some sort what distinguishes flood sensors from each other is their details the problem is the fortress seawater and temperature sensor doesn't really have many of those details it's a z-wave sensor meaning that with the z-wave gateway like smart things or Piper it can communicate with you using an app it also chirps when it comes in contact with water but other than that it really doesn't do much although the device has temperature sensing hardware the feature doesn't work with smart things or Piper two of the biggest z-wave gateways despite having so few features though the fortress c earns a couple of points for its simplicity it's pretty easy to set up and it's one of the easiest sensors to directly associate with other z-wave devices direct association is basically a process that helps you establish communication lines between two z-wave devices that in turn decreases dependency on a hub in an emergency situation these pros are pretty small in comparison with the cons of this product though overall the fortress seawater and temperature sensor really only kind of works but I really can't recommend it except to some DIY errs who want a really simple process for direct association be sure to check out more of our smart home coverage at cnet com for cnet appliances I'm Dave fries