PoolDeck
One hub by the pool pump: the gate, the fence strip and leaks at the pump, in one family app
One kit for a backyard pool does the jobs of PoolGuard Latch and WaterLeak: a DeckHub on the fence post beside the equipment pad is the one brain. It hears every gate close from the LeafPod (home, bounced, stalled, propped), photographs the 900 mm strip outside the fence with its own camera and a far ClearZone pod, and reads two leak pucks under the pump and filter plus probes on the return pipe and pump motor (water under the pump, freeze risk, pump did not run).
- Who buys it
- Families with a backyard pool in the US and Australia who already pay a pool service; pool fence installers and pool service companies as the sales channel.
- Why it pays
- Bought separately, our PoolGuard Fence Kit ($199) and a WaterLeak home unit ($199) cost $398 with two apps and two Wi-Fi devices at the fence line. PoolDeck is $249 (target) with one app and one box on Wi-Fi. A pump seal left dripping wets the motor bearings and shortens the motor's life (VEVOR guide); a replacement pump is about $600–1,200 fitted (est.).
- Target price
- $249 kit (target): DeckHub, LeafPod + PostTag, far ClearZone pod, 2 pad pucks, 2 probes; no subscription
- First-minute wow
- One app card at 4 pm: 'Chair against the fence, east side', and under it 'Water under the pump, pump running 2 h'. The gate, the fence and the pump pad, one box.
What the research found
And how this design answers it
- Two products, two Wi-Fi boxes at the fence line → one DeckHub on home Wi-Fi; the gate pod and the far camera pod talk to it over ESP-NOW
- WaterLeak's LoRaWAN radio and gateway are for apartment buildings → dropped; the pad leak inputs are wired into the DeckHub over one 3 m lead
- TankWatch's pan finger needs a drain pan, and a pool pad has none → new pad puck keeps its two stainless heads 0.35 mm over the slab
- TankWatch's pipe clip resized for 1.5 in PVC pool pipe: water temperature and freeze on the return line, pump run hours from the motor shell (est.)
- The DeckHub is the first ClearZone camera, powered from the pad's GFCI outlet, so only the gate pod and far pod need batteries
- Life safety: no drowning, barrier or compliance claim; the fence and the listed latch stay the barrier
Use case
Saturday afternoon at the pool
ParentPool service technician
- 01Trigger: the pool tech services the filter, leaves the gate propped on a hose, and a pump lid O-ring starts weeping
- 02Detection: the LeafPod reports PROPPED; 40 minutes later the pump puck goes wet with the pump running
- 03Alert: one card 'Gate A propped open', then 'Water under the pump, pump running'
- 04Action: the parent shuts the gate and books the tech back for the O-ring; the log shows both times
Outcome: The gate is shut the same afternoon and the leak is fixed before the motor bearings get wet
How it works
Architecture
- 01
Sense: LeafPod on the gate (gyro + Hall gap), DeckHub and far pod cameras on the fence posts, leak pucks and DS18B20 probes on the pad
- 02
Decide: close classification on the LeafPod; strip change map and pad rules on the DeckHub's ESP32-S3
- 03
Send: ESP-NOW from the battery pods to the DeckHub; home Wi-Fi with MQTT over TLS from the DeckHub only
- 04
Tell: one PoolDeck app with gate, fence strip and pad cards, a gate chirp, and a weekly pool summary
Hardware
Real parts, buyable today
Bill of materials: about $168 per kit at qty 1 (est.): DeckHub with pad kit about $85, LeafPod about $43, far ClearZone pod about $39.
| Block | Part | Why this part |
|---|---|---|
| DeckHub (brain) | Seeed XIAO ESP32S3 Sense + Pololu S7V8F3 + 2 x AA L91 backup + M8 socket, on a listed 5 V plug | Camera, radio and pad inputs in one box on the fence post by the pump; about 77 h on AA after a power cut (est.) |
| LeafPod + PostTag | XIAO ESP32C3 + Adafruit 4438 LSM6DSOX + TI DRV5055A4 + 2 x AA, N42 magnet | Unchanged from PoolGuard Latch; ESP-NOW to the DeckHub |
| Far ClearZone pod | XIAO ESP32S3 Sense + S7V8F3 + 2 x AA on a 12° post wedge | Unchanged; covers the fence run the DeckHub cannot see |
| Pad leak pucks | 2 printed pucks, each with 2 x M3 A2 pan heads 0.35 mm over the slab | TankWatch's contact rule, on a slab instead of a pan |
| Pad probes | 2 x DS18B20 stainless (Adafruit 381), one in a Ø48.3 pipe clip | Freeze risk on the return line and pump run hours from the motor shell (est.) |
Mechanical
Printable CAD
11 parts, generated from code and checked as closed solids. Pick a part to inspect it, or download the STL files to print.
Loading the CAD…
Real CAD · drag to rotate · scroll to zoomReal CAD · swipe sideways
Bought hardware fitted inside this part (checked in the CAD: nothing collides with the plastic)
- DeckHub casedeck-hub-case.stl · ASA
- DeckHub liddeck-hub-lid.stl · ASA
- DeckHub post wedgehub-wedge.stl · ASA
- LeafPod baseleafpod-base.stl · ASA
- LeafPod lidleafpod-lid.stl · ASA
- PostTag magnet holderpost-tag.stl · ASA
- ClearZone casezone-case.stl · ASA
- ClearZone lidzone-lid.stl · ASA
- ClearZone post wedgezone-wedge.stl · ASA
- Pad leak puckpad-puck.stl · ASA
- Return-line probe clipprobe-clip-48.stl · ASA
Open risks we are working on
- Buyers may treat a gate or fence-strip monitor as a barrier, compliance check or drowning-prevention device despite the wording
- ESP-NOW range from the gate to the pad post through glass panels and planting is untested (T-R1)
- Pump run hours from motor-shell temperature are an estimate; variable-speed pumps on low may barely warm the motor (T-P2)
- Splash from the pool, rain and hosing the pad can wet the pucks: alerts need 'pump on and wet for 10 min' rules (T-P1)
- Pool automation (Pentair, Hayward) and camera brands could add a pad-leak input or a still-object zone in software
- The DeckHub plugs into the pad's outlet: it must be a listed adapter under an in-use cover, never inside the printed box
Design stage only: nothing on this page is for sale. Specifications and prices are targets.