Remote agricultural pump gauge reading
Irrigation and borehole pumps are often kilometres from the farm office. A battery camera on the pump's pressure gauge sends readings with time stamps, so the farm manager knows the line is pressurised without driving out to check.
THE PROBLEM
Is the irrigation actually running?
On large farms, plantations and greenhouse estates, pumps run on schedules across many fields. A burst lateral, a blocked filter or a pump that has lost prime shows up as a pressure change at the pump, but only someone standing in front of the gauge sees it.
Field sites are hard for conventional monitoring. There may be no mains power near the gauge, cellular coverage varies from one field to the next, and dust, sun and rain all reach the equipment.
A battery camera on the existing gauge gives the manager a pressure record per pump. Planning the site well is what makes it work: power, coverage and placement.
HOW WE SET IT UP
Planned for field conditions
Coverage checked at the pump
We check signal at each pump location during the survey. Up to 25 images are held in flash, so a weak link delays readings rather than losing them.
Battery sized to the schedule
The target is at least a year at one reading a day. More readings during irrigation hours shorten that, and external power can be used where the pump panel has a supply.
Built for outdoors
The enclosure, from plastic to metal or custom, is chosen for sun, dust and rain, and mounted so the camera stays shaded and clean.
Readings by field
Each pump is named on the dashboard by farm and field. Alerts tell the manager when pressure is out of band during a scheduled irrigation window.
AT A GLANCE
Agricultural pump gauge reading in brief
- What is measured
- Pump pressure with time stamp
- Hardware
- Vision AI optical meter reader at the gauge, outdoor enclosure
- Power
- Battery, target at least one year at one reading a day. Optional external power
- Connectivity
- Coverage checked at each pump during the survey, up to 25 images stored locally
- Data
- MQTT over TLS 1.2 to RIOD Live or your own server
- Outputs
- Pressure trends by field, alerts, PDF and Excel reports
- Planning notes
- Battery life depends on capture frequency, and rural coverage is assessed per site
FAQ
Questions buyers ask us
How can I monitor an irrigation pump without power at the site?
Use a battery camera reader on the existing pressure gauge. It photographs the gauge on a schedule and sends the image to the cloud, where the reading is extracted.
How long does the battery last on a farm pump?
The target is at least one year at one reading a day. More frequent readings during irrigation shorten that, and external power can be used where the pump has a supply.
What if there is no mobile signal in the field?
We check coverage at each pump during the survey and plan around weak spots. The device stores up to 25 images and sends them when it reconnects.
Can it tell me the pump has stopped?
A pressure reading that drops during a scheduled irrigation window points to a stopped pump, lost prime or a burst. The platform can alert on that band.
Pumps too far away to check every day?
Tell us how many pumps you have, how far apart they are and how often you want a reading. We will plan coverage and power with you.