Automatic Pump Running Time Out

[petenash]

I live in the mountains of Mallorca and the isolation means water by truck which is then pumped around the house and garden by one of two electric pumps. I have a challenge. If a hose is left turned on at the tap but off at the hose head then the heat slowly allows the hose to become elastic and the pump keeps getting a signal for water and eventually the hose fails or the head flies off!! OK I should always turn off at the tap. This means the pump now pumps my precious water down the hill. I have five toilets and they also occasionally stick on "flush" (gritty water etc) This also means my valuable and expensive water is pumped to the septic tank and eventually the tank is empty. Is there a run limit switch that I can fit to the pumps so that after an hour or two they time out and are switched off? This would have to be automatic as sometimes I have to be away for a day or two. Any ideas please?

 

[roys]

I have had to do a similar thing.  My water is from a well, where I have a well pump, the well pump keeps running until the pressure gets up to 3 Bar when it cuts out, Pump stays off until outlet pressure drops to 1 bar when the pump starts again.

So in the past I have had a burst hose etc so the pump never got up to 3 bar as it was feeding a burst and so never cut out.  What I did was wire in an Omron timer across the pump 220 V AC supply and if the pump kept running for more than 2 minutes it set of a very loud siren which could be heard any where on the property.  When I am away from the property I switch of the pump supply.

So in answer to your question yes it can be done with a timer but unless you are happy and competent in wiring this up I would be very careful on the way forward.  I can supply more details of circuit but I am deliberatly holding back as I don't want you killing yourself.