Emergency pump drive recovery

Keeping irrigation pressure available after a failed pump drive.

How Controler helped keep irrigation pressure manageable during a failed turbine pump drive condition without bypassing equipment protections.

Pump station HMI screen showing live system information

Problem

A golf course had a failed turbine pump drive and needed a controlled temporary way to operate while waiting for replacement equipment.

Challenge

The course needed a practical manual operating path without bypassing controls protections, alarms, Auto requirements, pump interlocks, or VFD and full-voltage safeguards.

Solution

Controler created an emergency operator screen and control logic that clearly showed live PSI/GPM, individual pump controls, emergency operating status, and blocked invalid or stale selections.

Screens from the Emergency Full-Voltage Workflow

The screens show the actual operator path: a dedicated emergency screen for activating full-voltage (FLV) operation and a pump station HMI view with live pressure and flow information.

Emergency full-voltage screen with activate and deactivate controls and individual turbine pump ON/OFF controls
Emergency full-voltage (FLV) screen with activate/deactivate and individual turbine pump ON/OFF controls.
Pump station HMI screen with live pressure and flow information
Pump station HMI view showing live pressure, flow, alarms, and system status.

Operator Workflow

  1. Operator opens the Emergency Full-Voltage screen.
  2. Emergency mode is activated intentionally.
  3. Available turbine pumps can be selected with clear ON/OFF controls.
  4. The HMI continues showing live PSI and GPM so the operator can manage the irrigation window.
  5. When the emergency mode is deactivated, stale selections are cleared.

Protections Preserved

The control system still required

  • Pump Auto requirements
  • Alarm requirements
  • Output interlocks
  • Emergency mode activation
  • Valid operator selections
  • Clear deactivation workflow

The VFD side was blocked

  • Failed VFD command path blocked
  • VFD analog output forced to zero
  • Full-voltage path controlled separately

Result

The failed VFD was prevented from operating, while required Auto and alarm safeguards stayed active. Operators could continue managing pressure and flow with clear screen controls while the control system preserved alarms, Auto requirements, and output interlocks.

The course could keep managing irrigation pressure without bypassing the control system.

Get clear options before the next irrigation window.

Get a Free Pump Station Audit