**NOTE ** Prices may vary so Check both of these links on amazon & Flume directly for best Price!
This is a comprehensive guide to the Flume 2 Smart Water Meter.
By installing this, I found that I had a water leak of 0.28 gallons /minute for months, and I had no idea. Odds are, you wouldn’t know what’s going on with your water usage until your bill showed up. But leaks can do some serious damage long before you’d ever know.
So how bad was my leak? Well it turns out 400 gallons a day…a truly jaw dropping number!

For about $180 USD, this is an absolutely great deal. Installation is really straight forward.
There’s a chance the Flume 2 wont work with your water meter. So head over to this link to check compatibility.
Step 1:
Go to the App Store (Apple or Google Play) on your phone. Search for and download the “Flume Water” App.

Step 2:
If you are new to Flume, then open up the Flume App on your phone and click the “Sign up” button (as shown below).

Step 3:
Enter your user information into the screen below, and click the “Sign Up” button when you are done.

Step 4:
Flume will send you a text message with a verification code. Please enter that code when you get to the screen below. If you don’t receive a verification code, please verify that you entered the correct mobile number. If the mobile number is incorrect, you can click the link that says “Wrong Mobile Number?” and enter a new phone number.

Step 5:
On this next step, please enter the data about your home. This data is used configure your leak rules later in the process. Here are some hints about how to fill out some of the trickier questions:
Location Name – Give your location a name. This should be something like “Honeysuckle Cottage”, “The Gables”, “Main House”, “Vacation Home”, “Beach House”, or anything you want it to be! This is useful if you have multiple Flume devices on multiple homes.
Insurance Company – This is optional, but some insurance companies may give discounts if you have a Flume device.
Irrigation Type – If you have any sprinklers, then just enter “Sprinklers” here. Otherwise choose the type of irrigation that is most prevalent in your yard.
Residents – Sometimes the number of residents in your home varies depending on the time of year. Just enter an average number of people that are typically in your house. This is used to compare your water usage with others.
Irrigation Cycle Time – Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between a leak and irrigation. If you let us know the longest amount of time that you irrigate at any one time, this will help us with our leak detection.

Step 6:
Because you are installing a Flume 2, be sure to select “Flume 2” when asked which device type you are installing.

Step 7:
Next, you need to scan the bar code that is located on the bottom of the Flume Bridge. The Bridge is the smaller of the devices. When you click the “Scan QR Code” button, you may be asked if Flume can access the camera on your phone. Please click “OK” to allow this
To scan the barcode, just point your camera at the QR Code. If you can’t get the barcode to scan, you can enter the code manually by clicking “Enter the code here”.

Step 8:
Next, you need to scan the bar code that is located on the bottom of the Flume Water Sensor. The Water Sensor is the larger, gray rectangle.
To scan the barcode, just point your camera at the QR Code. If you can’t get the barcode to scan, you can enter the code manually by clicking “Enter the code here”.’

Step 9:
Next, we need to connect the Flume Bridge to your home’s WiFi network. In most situations, your Flume bridge can be placed anywhere in your house. However, here are a few placement guidelines that will help optimize battery life:
If you have a second story, place the bridge on your second floor in a location that has a direct line of sight to your meter.
If you don’t have a second story, try to place the bridge in a location in your home that is closest to your meter.
It is best to place the bridge in a location that has a clear sight line to your meter at all times. If objects such as cars are frequently blocking the path between your bridge and meter, then you may want to move it to a different location.
Wherever you place the bridge, make sure that the blue WiFi light comes on (and is solid). This will indicate that your bridge is connected to your network.
Once you’ve found a good spot for your bridge, plug the Bridge into an outlet. For this step, you should choose a location that is close to your router. Click “Continue” once the power light comes on.
Note: You will receive a popup to allow Flume App to access your location. This is required by iOS/Android in order to set up Wifi. You must select ‘OK’ or ‘Yes’ to continue installation. We do not track location information through the app. You can turn off after completing the installation.

Step 10:
The blue light on your bridge should be blinking. If it is not, hold down the small, black button on the bottom of your bridge until the blue light is blinking. The app will now ask you to go to WiFi in your Phone Settings and connect to FlumeBridgeSetup. To get to your Phone Settings click the Home button on your phone and locate the Settings app.
Note: Some Android versions will automatically connect for you, if you don’t see this screen skip to Step 11.

Select the FlumeBridgeSetup from the Network list by clicking on it. After it has connected, there will be a check mark to the left of it.

Once you have connected your phone to FlumeBridgeSetup, return to the Flume App.
Note: You will only be connected to FlumeBridgeSetup temporarily. In the next step, you will connect the Flume Bridge to your WiFi and your phone will re-connect to WiFi.
Step 11:
Once you return to the Flume App, you will see the following screen. Click the Continue button.
Next, click on the WiFi network that you would like to connect to.

You will be then be prompted to enter your home WiFi password.
Once you correctly enter your password, your bridge will be connected to WiFi!
Step 12:
Once you successfully connect to your home’s WiFi network, place the Flume Bridge and the Flume Water Sensor next to each other. During this step, they will establish a connection between the two devices. This may take up to a minute.

Step 13:
Now it is time to locate your water meter. If you have any trouble finding it, please click here for some tips on finding your water meter.
Click “Continue” on the screen below once you find it.

Step 14:
If your meter is outside in a pit, then open your meter lid. If you have any trouble doing so, click here for some tips on opening your lid.
You may need to clean off the meter face with a wet wipe so that you can read the meter clearly. Please take a clear, close up picture of the face of your meter. When done, click the “upload” button.

Step 15:
Now it’s time to attach your Flume Water Sensor to your meter. Simply stretch the rubber bands around the meter as shown in the picture below. Note how the rounded part of the water sensor fits snugly around the side of the meter. If the strap does not fit around the meter, you may need to use the second strap (included) to fasten each side of the device around the piping. Click here to see a quick video that shows how to attach the Flume Water Sensor to your meter.
Once you have strapped the Flume Water Sensor to your meter, click the “Continue” button.

Step 16:
Run a steady stream of water. Running a faucet or a hose will work best. Once the water is on, click the “Continue” button.

If you have any problems with this calibration, please click here from some troubleshooting tips.
Step 17:
Once your device has calibrated (it may take up to a minute), you will get a completion screen. Click the “Continue” button to complete your installation.
Check with your water company, as many will actually pay you for buying one of these!

After some customer feedback, Flume has removed the need to have any sort of subscription. All your data is available for you at the palm of your hand with no monthly costs.
Check out our full video review, to see how Flume helped me track down the three leaks I had in my home.
The first issue was a leaky toilet. I was prepared for the worst, but thought I’d take a peak to see what was going on. It turned out the water fill level just needed some adjustment, so the total cost to fix this was $0.
Next I had to check every single faucet, and shower and it turned out there were no leaks.
As I started preparing for this video, I noticed a portion of my yard was damp, which is very unusual in arid San Diego.
So it turned out two of my irrigation heads had a small leak. I went out and got some PVC pipe, and PVC cement and some new heads. But thanks to the cleverness of Bream my video editor, he started by just replacing the head, and not the plumbing and that did the trick.
There was one other area on the other side of my house with a leaky head. But this one just needed some teflon tape and some hand tightening.
Now I am officially at a flow rate of 0 when I have everything shut off!
This also gives me peace of mind, knowing I don’t have some leak in my roof, or crawl space wreaking havoc on my house. This is truly the greatest part about this product, the peace of mind. And now that my leaks are all fixed, I have the leak detection notification turned back on, and if anything happens again in the future, I will know!
So Mission accomplished, and now I have a better idea of how much water we actually use. Between 150-200 gallons. This data will be vital to understand how much water i’d be pulling from a well, and how much I’d have to get back in during the year.
Stay tuned for future articles and episodes on how we use this data for some epic projects. I am planning a gray water system where the water from sinks and showers, will be collected and used to water my yard. This way no net water is needed for that!