WaterMate : Control system

WaterMate : Control system »
Not watering for more than a few seconds - pump shutdown

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ianmac
06 Jul, 11:27
Failing to water on both circuits, plenty of juice according icon, plenty of water. At the appointed time it makes sounds like it's starting then before water flows it cuts out . Any ideas please

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Chris
ADMIN
06 Jul, 11:29
Hi Ian
We are getting alerts that your pump might be about to fail, but that might be a false alert. I've set your control box to update firmware ( to 2023063000 ), after which, in the next half hour, you'll be able to turn off a feature called "pump shutdown" which stops the pump when it detects high current draw. The risk of turning off this feature when there is a real pump fault is that the fuse might blow, but that is replaceable so it's not terminal.
Chris

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ianmac
06 Jul, 11:38
OK thanks Chris, I'll do that when I get home many thanks Ian

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Spud
15 Jul, 08:51
Hi, I have been experiencing the same issue when trying to manually water, pump starts, then stop after 1 - 2 seconds. Have removed solenoids and checked there's good water supply but issue persists. Any ideas please? Thanks.

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Chris
ADMIN
30 Jul, 08:46
Hi Spud - if the pump outlet is open ( no valves or drippers ) then a short pumping time is most likely to be the control unit doing a "fault shutdown", which is detecting high power consumption. This can happen when the mini pump is potentially about to fail. If you have a pro pump, the control box might be shutting down a little cautiously, in which case on the control box settings ( via the device dashboard, not the web app ), turn the "pump fault shutdown" feature off.

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ianmac
02 Aug, 09:24
Hi Chris, your suggestion fixed the problem, however this morning found tomato plants wilting and dry as a bone. Seems the watering may have stopped, noticed that last data reading was 9.01 on 31 July. Any ideas ? Many thanks Ian

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ianmac
02 Aug, 09:35
Update....control box is dead. Will get a new fuse in later today and let you know. Ian

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Chris
ADMIN
02 Aug, 09:41
Hi Ian - that definitely sounds like the pump shutdown was doing its thing and preventing the fuse from blowing, but the pump is pulling too much current. Are you using the replacement pump we sent you in May?

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ianmac
02 Aug, 14:48
Yes

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ianmac
02 Aug, 15:47
The fuse had gone, box is now active, waiting to see what happens when the pump activates.

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ianmac
02 Aug, 16:04
Hi Chris, the new fuse has blown. Pump started and before any water emerged it cut out. What next ?

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Paul S
02 Aug, 21:47
Hi Chris,
Us online solar users really could do with that email alert feature working again for "failing to connect to the server", it might have gave Ian a bit of a warning that something was wrong, it certainly helped me from having a few crisp plants in those early days.
Regards Paul

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Chris
ADMIN
03 Aug, 06:53
Hi Ian- two pumps ( one new ) blowing the fuse is veru unusual; is it a 15A fuse you're using?
Paul- yes I'm considering doing that when time allows.

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ianmac
03 Aug, 08:11
Hi Chris, no , it's a 10A. That is what was fitted when received and what was recommended as replacement back at the beginning. Happy to get a 15 to put in if you say it's OK and not likely to harm other components in the unit. Ian

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Chris
ADMIN
03 Aug, 08:17
Hi Ian - yes - go ahead with a 15A and let me know if that sorts it. The pump should be pulling no more than 5A in normal use however, so the fact that it's blowing a 10A fuse suggests a problem. Can you try it with the pump in the air - a dying pump runs with an intermittent / hunting speed as we assume the bearing is failing. If it's pulling more than 10A continuously, there is a high risk that other components will get hot and potentially burn out with longer pumping cycles, but it's OK to run the pump long enough to see if it sounds OK. The pump itself might get hot if the bearing is failing. Run it for no more than 10 seconds to start with.

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ianmac
04 Aug, 09:10
15A fuse installed, seems OK so far. With the pump out of the water and set to run it does so with a steady sound ...no change over 10 seconds or so.

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Chris
ADMIN
04 Aug, 11:31
OK, great - let's keep that 15A in place and I will keep an eye on things from here too.

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ianmac
04 Aug, 11:35
Will do ....many thanks

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Ian
06 Sep, 09:33
Hello,

I'm having exactly this problem. Since installing a few months ago the system was doing what it thought but recently, it will start for a second or two at its set times then cut off. Plenty power, plenty water, no other obvious problems. Where do I go from here, please?

Ian Howie

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Theo_Harvst
ADMIN
06 Sep, 09:41
Hi Ian

Are you running a Pro or a Mini system? Does it sound like the pump is straining at all or making unusual noises?

Theo
Harvst

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Paul
04 Oct, 19:45
I'm having the same issue too - pump comes on for a few seconds then stops. It had been running fine throughout the summer, but the last month it hasn't worked properly. It is fully charged. I've tried turning off the fault shutdown feature but that hasn't helped. Thoughts welcome!

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Paul S
04 Oct, 21:27
Hi Paul,

One thing to check is the filter in the inlet side of the valves, more info in this link, link

Regards Paul

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Paul
07 Oct, 09:58
Thanks - cleaned out the filter which was a little dirty but not too bad. Hasn’t made any difference. In the few seconds it runs I can hear water starting to emerge which suggests there is still water pressure in the system. What might I try next?

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Paul S
07 Oct, 23:53
Hi Paul,
Is this a PRO or Mini pump?
Do you have a strainer fliter on the end in the tank, check if clean.
You could also try,
Removing the supply water pipe from the solenoid valves. aim away from anything and try a manual water, if the pump keep's going, the control unit, pump & filters would seem okay, the next thing is remove the outlet from the valves, manual water again and check the flow on Zone 1 and 2, if the flow is still good check all the outlets are clean. ( I use shrubblers and they have started blocking after a few weeks )
Regards Paul


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