Herb Smoaker
Member
I'm designing an aero system and came up with an idea for an easy to make backup pump system that will automatically switch to a second pump in the event the primary pump fails due to for example mechanical failure, internal electrical failure or clogged filter. I know what I want it to do for my purposes but figured others might be interested so I'd like to make it more universal. The issue I'm unsure about is how long to wait for a lack of pumping before switching over to backup. I assume aero and hydro would want different times, say something like 3 hours for aero, 24 for hydro before switching pumps. What I'd like is input on these times, what should they be, would two fixed times be sufficient, would an adjustable time be worth the extra programming effort and perhaps extra components needed (switches and indicators, etc)?
In this system, a second pump, perhaps a cheaper one, would be plumbed to the output of the first, check valves maintaining proper flow. A sensor wired to the controller would be placed in a spot where water should cycle, the two pumps plugged into the controller, and the controller plugged into the wall or better yet a UPS backup. If the controller senses no water within the prescribed time, it will switch to the backup pump, indicators alerting such.
Is there any interest in such a system, does one already exist? I am almost a total newbie to aero/hydro so maybe there isn't even a need for this but it seemed like cheap insurance for times my garden will be unsupervised for a couple days or so.
In this system, a second pump, perhaps a cheaper one, would be plumbed to the output of the first, check valves maintaining proper flow. A sensor wired to the controller would be placed in a spot where water should cycle, the two pumps plugged into the controller, and the controller plugged into the wall or better yet a UPS backup. If the controller senses no water within the prescribed time, it will switch to the backup pump, indicators alerting such.
Is there any interest in such a system, does one already exist? I am almost a total newbie to aero/hydro so maybe there isn't even a need for this but it seemed like cheap insurance for times my garden will be unsupervised for a couple days or so.