WATER / WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT
Relays and Controls Prevent Downtime and Extend Equipment Life
To protect the environment and provide safe water, municipalities rely on treatment plants, pumping stations, lift stations and water towers. Mile of underground infrastructure supply, collect and treat water. Gravity pipelines augmented by lift stations move wastewater through the system. In these applications, industrial controls and relays monitor and protect the pumps and compressors in the systems.
Macromatic Relays Used For Water and Wastewater Management
- Alternating relays equalize run times on multiple pump systems.
- Time Delay Relays have built-in timing to control automated operation.
- Three-Phase Monitor Relays protect equipment from damage due to voltage faults.
- Intrinsically Safe Barrier Relays protect circuits and control loads in hazardous locations.
Manufacturers of HVAC equipment use relays to protect and control critical system components. The correct sequencing and timing of fans, blowers, condensers, pumps, and compressors ensures efficient and safe operation. Relays also protect the motors in these systems from adverse conditions providing reduced downtime, lower operating costs, and extended life.
Common Challenge
Lift stations with duplex pump control are used in municipal and commercial wastewater systems throughout the United States. Their operation is critical, raising wastewater to a higher elevation to continue its flow to the treatment facility. The simplicity of alternator-based relay control makes the systems easy to maintain for decades. One issue with lift stations, however, is power outages caused by storms that can shut-down the system. This sequence of events is the last thing wanted:
- Water continues to flow into the well, potentially becoming close to full.
- The level controller (floats, level sensors, etc.) then calls for both pumps to run.
- When power is restored both contactors start in unison.
- The inrush current of normal induction motors causes the main breakers to trip.
Our Solution
If a lift station fails, wastewater can back up into nearby homes and businesses and overflow into the surrounding environment. A Macromatic Time Delay Relay provides a simple solution to avoid tripping the main breakers. By setting the timer to the ON DELAY – TIMED AND INSTANEOUS function, the start-up of the second pump can be delayed.
The instantaneous relay function is wired to the first motor starter, and the timed relay function is wired to the second motor starter. With that time delay set to 10 seconds, the lift station restarts only one pump, with the other pump starting ten seconds later. As a result, the circuit breakers will not trip when power is restored. Learn more.
Relay Solutions
Relays Provide Safe Operation and Extended Life for Water/Wastewater Management
ALTERNATING RELAYS
Alternating Relays are used in special applications where the optimization of load usage is required by equalizing the run time of multiple loads. These relays also engage multiple loads if higher simultaneous output is required.
TIME DELAY RELAYS
Macromatic offers a wide variety of time delay relays (sometimes referred to as timing relays or timers). First choose the type of mounting configuration required for your application, and then select from a variety of functions, time setting methods & output configurations.
THREE PHASE MONITOR RELAYS
Three-Phase Monitor Relays continiously monitor voltage faults to protect motors and other equipment from premature failure. These relays retain indication and monitoring even with phase loss.
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