As I said in a previous article, the house owner has now installed an electric water pump, so that we can fill a 1000 liter reservoir (“deposito”) on top of the roof, even when there is little pressure on the supply side. The problem is that this is a purely manual system and I somehow have to guess when the tank is full and carefully keep an eye on the supply flow in order not the run the motor too hot and burn it.

With the help of a friendly cockroach I managed to do that the first day. But it’s a burden and I often miss the time window when there is a bit of water flowing through the pipes.

I told you already that there is no way to get up the roof to gain access to the tank. So every technical solution must be applicable at the ground level, at the pump itself. After some googling I’m tempted to think that what we need is a “In-line Pressure Switch”. Or actually 2 of those. One at the inlet to switch off the motor when pressure is below a certain threshold (indicating that the mains water flow has stopped) and one at the outlet to switch off the motor when pressure is above a certain level (indicating that the tank is full and the floating control lever (ball-cock) has closed the tank inlet). Or whatever all these things are called — I usually point at them and call them “that there”.

Of course I don’t know diddly-squat about what I’m talking about, I’m just guessing, desperate to find an alternative to my nocturnal vigils beside the pump. If any of you has a better idea (shouldn’t be too difficult) I would be immensely grateful for your input.