One board in the pump panel: alarm callouts, pump health, gauge readings and hot breakers
Software: $49 per station per month (LTE data and callouts included)
Concept, not for sale yet. Tell us if you want it; that decides what we build.
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How it fits together
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01
The whole PumpStation
One board in the pump panel watches floats and pump current, reads the discharge gauges with a camera and checks the breakers for heat.
02Brain
ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8
The brain: it runs the pumpstation firmware program
03
Floats and pump clamps
High-level float, contactors, generator and each pump's current
ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · Optocouplers and SPI ADC · 8 on/off, current samples
04
Gauge camera
Photographs both pump discharge gauges every 15 minutes
ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · USB 2.0 (UVC) · MJPEG frames
05
IR flash LEDs (x2)
Light the gauges for each photo, day or night
ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · GPIO to MOSFET, same lead · 25 ms flash pulse
06
Thermal eye on door
Sees heat on breakers, contactors and overloads
ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · I²C over 4-wire lead · 32 x 24 temperatures
07
LTE-M radio
Sends alarms and readings; calls out during power cuts
ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · UART (AT commands) · MQTT messages
08
Strobe relay and buzzer
Switches the station strobe on a high-level alarm
ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · GPIO via MOSFET · Strobe on/off
09
Backup cell
Keeps the radio calling when mains fails
ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 · Ideal-diode power OR · 3.6 V backup power
10
All connected
8 key parts, one program, and your phone
What it is
One monitoring board for a small pump station that does three jobs.
What it does
Who it's for
Small towns, water districts, HOAs, RV parks and mobile-home parks with lift or booster stations.
How the parts connect
Every part, what links it to the brain, and how the data reaches your phone. A solid line is a cable; a dashed line is a radio link.
The program
for (;;) {
vTaskDelay(pdMS_TO_TICKS(1));
inputs = scan_inputs(); // opto outputs, 50 ms debounce
if (ads_ready()) ct_rms = ads131m04_read(); // SPI, per-cycle RMS
for (each changed input) {
if (is_alarm(input)) modem_publish("alarm", alarm_json(input));
update_cycle(&pump, input, ct_rms);
}
if (due(GAUGES, 15 * MIN)) {
frame = uvc_grab_with_flash(25); // usb_host_uvc + GPIO flash
read_needles(frame, cal, &gauge); // psi per dial, with confidence
}
if (due(THERMAL, 10 * MIN)) roi_heat(mlx90640_frame(), sht40_read(), &heat);
if (due(SEND, 15 * MIN)) modem_publish("station", station_json(&pump, &gauge, &heat));
}To your phone
Phone call, SMS and a web app on any phone
One screen for each job PumpStation does.
High levelOvernight the high-level float trips at lift station 4. The board phones the on-call list in turn until someone presses 1.
Pump healthEvery pump run is logged with its current and pump-down time. Over two weeks pump 2 draws more current and pumps down slower: likely debris.
Gauge readingEvery 15 minutes a small camera on the panel stand flashes and reads both discharge gauges, so nobody drives out just to look at them.
Panel heatA thermal eye on the inside of the panel door watches the breakers and contactors. One phase running hotter than the other two is flagged early.
App screens with sample data. The interface is in development.
| High-level alarm | Station 4 high level, press 1 | At once |
|---|---|---|
| Pump current and capacity | Pump 2: 14.8 A, 86% of normal | Each pump run |
| Discharge pressure | Pump 1: 21 psi (normal 24) | Every 15 min |
| Panel hot spot | P2 contactor L3 +9 °C over L1/L2 | Every 10 min |
| Power state | Mains off, on backup cell | At once |
The camera sees only the gauge board and photos stay on the device; only numbers leave. No inbound ports.
CAD design · Design rev A, 27 Oct 2026: CAD, fit checks and assembled 3D model done; not built
| AI processor | Espressif ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N16R8 on the LiftStation board, with a Nordic nRF9151 as the cellular radio |
|---|---|
| Sensors | Eight isolated inputs for floats, contactors, generator and door · Two Magnelab split-core current clamps, one per pump · OV5640 USB camera with two 850 nm infrared LEDs on the panel stand · Melexis MLX90640 thermal array (110°) and SHT40 air sensor on the panel door |
| Connectivity | Nordic nRF9151: LTE-M or NB-IoT, MQTT over TLS · Voice call, SMS and web app · Relay for the station's local strobe or horn |
| Power | From the panel: Mean Well HDR-15-24 DIN supply (electrician-installed), about 0.6 W on average (est.); Saft LSH20 backup cell for the power-cut call |
| Enclosure | Lives inside the station's existing NEMA 4X panel; printed board carrier and cover, black thermal eye pod, white camera head with a black hood and post clamp |
| Dimensions | Board 130 x 100 x 31 mm; thermal eye 50 x 40 x 32 mm; camera head 64 x 48 x 89 mm with hood and clamp |
| Weight | ~0.6 kg in total without leads (est.) |
| Ingress rating | Board inside the NEMA 4X panel; camera head outdoor, IP65 design target (not tested) |
| Alarms | High level, pump fail, power cut, generator, door; voice and SMS with acknowledgement |
|---|---|
| Pumps | Current, run time, starts and pump-down rate per pump |
| Gauges | Up to 6 dials in view, read every 15 minutes, day or night |
| Panel heat | Breakers, contactors and overloads, phase against phase, every 10 minutes |
| Panel | TS35 DIN rail, 24 V from the panel, about 1 hour with an electrician |
|---|---|
| Camera | Clamps on a 2 in stand post, 1.5 m lead, 0.3–1 m from the gauges |
| Thermal eye | Magnets on a steel door, 0.6 m lead, 10–20 cm from the breakers |
| Radio | LTE-M or NB-IoT; signal check before the installer leaves |
Targets for production units; they may change during development.
Hardware: $1,690 per station incl. 2 current clamps, gauge camera and thermal eye; electrician install quoted per site
Software: $49 per station per month (LTE data and callouts included)
Target pricing. Bought separately, LiftStation AI ($1,390 + $39/month), GaugeRead AI for 3 gauges (3 × $349 + 3 × $12/month) and PanelHeat AI Lite ($390 + $12/month) add up to $2,827 + $87/month per station. Parts cost about $308 per station at qty 1 (est.).
$1,690 + $49/mo
All three jobs at one station.
$1,490 + $45/mo per station (5+)
Every station of a town or district on one page.
Custom
Utilities and pump contractors.
Indicative launch pricing in USD, excluding taxes and shipping. Final pricing is confirmed before any balance is charged.
Community
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From the product lab · ideation phase
It does the job of LiftStation AI (alarm callouts and pump health), GaugeRead AI (reading analog gauges) and PanelHeat AI (heat on breakers and contactors) with one brain, one radio and one app in the station's own panel. Bought separately they cost $2,827 + $87 a month per station; PumpStation is $1,690 + $49 a month (target).
No. Wet wells are hazardous areas. PumpStation reads only the safe side of the floats' existing relays and the contactor contacts in the panel, and the camera looks at the gauges on the discharge pipe outside.
No. It has no pump control. Its one relay only switches the station's local strobe or horn.
No. It watches the plastic bodies of breakers, contactors and overloads between surveys and flags one phase running hotter than the others. It cannot see bare copper behind covers, it is not a fire detector, and your survey and maintenance plan stay as they are.
We do not claim an accuracy yet. Before the pilot every design must read 95% of bench gauges within ±2% of full scale, and the app holds a reading it is unsure of instead of sending it.
No. It is a concept in design; the CAD and fit checks are done, but it has not been built or tested. We are not taking orders, reservations or deposits.
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