Wireless pump
runtime monitoring
Run hours, number of starts and the current each pump draws, logged automatically. Sense-i nodes read the pump motor current or a run-status contact and send it to the cloud, so servicing follows real duty.
THE PROBLEM
Pumps fail quietly, and the duty pump usually wears first
Booster sets, transfer pumps, sump and sewage pumps, chilled and condenser water pumps: most run in duty and standby pairs that are meant to share the work. In practice the duty pump often runs for months while the standby sits idle, and the first sign of trouble is low pressure or a flooded pit.
Two patterns cost the most. Short-cycling, where a pump starts and stops many times an hour because of a pressure switch or a leak in the system, wears contactors and motors fast. And uneven duty, where one pump carries the full load. Both are invisible without a record of starts and run hours.
Hour meters on the panel, where they exist, are read by hand once a month. That is too slow to catch either pattern.
HOW WE SET IT UP
From starter panel to run-hour report
Current or status contact
We read the pump motor current with a clamp-on CT, or take a volt-free run contact from the starter where one is available. Either gives a reliable run signal without changing the pump control.
Starts, hours and trend
RIOD Live counts starts per hour and totals run hours per pump. The current trend shows a pump drawing more or less than normal for the same duty.
Rules for the patterns that matter
Alerts fire when starts per hour exceed a limit, when a pump runs far longer than usual, or when the standby has not run for a set period.
Fits basements and remote pump rooms
Pump rooms are often below grade with poor Wi-Fi. 4G nodes report directly, and LoRa or Zigbee with a gateway covers rooms that need a longer reach.
AT A GLANCE
Pump runtime monitoring
- Measured
- Motor current trend, inferred run state, starts and run hours
- Hardware
- Sense-i current sensing nodes, or a node reading a run-status contact
- Connectivity
- 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, BLE. LoRa or Zigbee for hard-to-reach rooms
- Power
- 12 V adapter from the panel supply, or battery
- Where data goes
- RIOD Live or your server, PDF and Excel run-hour reports
- Engineering note
- Runtime monitoring complements the pump protection; dry-run protection stays with the level switch or motor protection relay
FAQ
Questions buyers ask us
How do I log pump run hours remotely?
Fit a current sensor on the pump motor supply or take a run-status contact from the starter, and connect it to a wireless node. The node reports the running state, and the cloud platform totals run hours and counts starts for each pump.
How can I detect pump short-cycling?
Count starts per hour. A healthy pressure booster set starts a handful of times an hour; a pump with a failing pressure vessel or a system leak starts far more often. RIOD Live counts starts from the run signal and alerts above a limit you set.
Can it protect the pump from running dry?
Dry-run protection belongs in the pump control, through a level switch or a motor protection relay that trips the pump directly. Runtime monitoring adds the record around it: a pump running unusually long or drawing low current is flagged so someone checks it.
Can we rotate duty and standby pumps based on hours?
The run-hour report shows which pump has carried the load. Many teams use it to change over duty manually. Automatic rotation can be built with the relay outputs on the node, designed together with your pump panel.
Want to see how hard each pump works?
Tell us how many pumps, how they are controlled and where the pump rooms are. We will propose the sensing and connectivity for each.