Any geniuses here have a cheap alt for a pump failure alarm?

irish farmer

Active Member
Easy way is to wire a low watt bulb to your pump, put it whare you can see it. So if the bulb is lit your pump is running. Not sure if that would suit you it works for me
 

Mr. Good

Active Member
Easy way is to wire a low watt bulb to your pump, put it whare you can see it. So if the bulb is lit your pump is running. Not sure if that would suit you it works for me

Yeah that's a great idea!:eyesmoke:

Wait....what if the pump still has juice but has stopped running...clogged...siezed..w/e..

Then what?.....Hmmmbongsmilie
 

Mr. Good

Active Member
Visually check it more often.
...And that's why I am debating Green LED lights being harmful to plants during the lights out period.:mrgreen:

Still looking for an electrical idea for this...

Something that will send out a buzz or an alarm should the pump not work.

I use the Aeroflo...perhaps inside a tube? If there were to be some sort of a sensor in the tube (low voltage) that when the tube goes dry the circuit is interrupted and an alarm goes off? The circuit could use the 1/2 inch of water sitting at the bottom of one tube to complete a circuit right?bongsmilie
 

tom__420

Well-Known Member
Buy a nice pump and you won't have to worry about it failing. I haven't heard of many pumps just stopping working
 
i have a aeroflo 60 just ended my 3rd week. my lines are barely spraying and they have only been used for 3 weeks(baught new ones). havent had trouble with clogged lines before could my pump be going out? its only like 6 months old
 

riddleme

Well-Known Member
get a pressure/flow gauge that reads low pressure and the take the mercury switch out of an old style non digital thermastat (house heating)

get a doorbell or something that makes noise and hook its power to the mercury switch take the plastic cover off of the gauge and glue the mercury bubble to the gauge needle when the pressure drops the mercury turns on power to the noise maker and wala you have an alarm :bigjoint:

it's not rocket science but it 'll work

PS I've been an electronics tech for 36 years
 

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
you need a normally closed flow switch. ( a flow switch is a electrical switch that activites when fluid flows thru a pipe)
connect the common to the power that supplies the pump. connect the normally closed contact to the positive lead on your notification appliance (light, buzzer, siren whatever)
connect the neutral of your notification device to the same neutral that connects to the pump.

tadaa!

now if power is on and the pump isnt running you will get an alarm..........

ps- make sure the power going to the flow switch is picked up directly off the pump, that way if the pump is off, but the power is still on (cuz the pump timer is not running or whatever) you wont get an annoying alarm.
 
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