Before permitting pump mode operation, AR1 checks that battery voltage exceeds 12.25 volts. Below this threshold, the battery is considered insufficiently charged to reliably restart the pump, and pump mode is forbidden.
AR1 also requires that both TimeON and TimeOFF exceed 10 minutes. This minimum cycle time prevents excessive starter wear that would result from very rapid cycling—if cycles are shorter than 10 minutes in either phase, recirculation mode must be used instead.
If the user has requested pump mode via the Home Assistant dashboard but these safety conditions are not met, AR1 automatically downgrades to recirculation mode and publishes a status message to MQTT topic home/sprinkler/driver/info with the content "DOWNGRADED". The dashboard can display this message, informing the operator why their selection was overridden.
When conditions improve (battery charges above threshold, or operator increases timing values above 10 minutes), AR1 upgrades to pump mode and publishes status "PUMP".
This automatic mode selection ensures that the system never enters an unsafe configuration while still giving the operator maximum control authority when conditions permit.
A special case exists when both TimeON and TimeOFF are set to zero. Intuitively that suggests "don't cycle the water on and off", so consistent with that AR1 sets the valve to allow water through uninterrupted irrespective of pump/recirculation mode. That is, the P1 valve is set to pass-through position and remains there.
The shed cooling system (P2) offers analogous flexibility via TimeON2 and TimeOFF2 configuration.
For shed cooling, when both TimeON2 and TimeOFF2 are set to zero, P2 follows the pump: it comes on when the main pump starts and turns off when the pump stops. This pump-linked mode provides passive shed cooling whenever the diesel pump is running without requiring the operator to manage shed cooling separately.
When TimeON2 is greater than zero and TimeOFF2 is zero, P2 operates in forced continuous mode regardless of temperature. This allows the user to force cooling on continuously if they want maximum cooling. When TimeON2 is zero and TimeOFF2 is greater than zero, P2 is kept off and no cooling water flows. When both values are greater than zero, P2 runs timed intermittent cycles identical to P1's recirculation mode behaviour.
For more background and technical detail refer to Intermittent spray Mode, Flow, pressure and sprinkler requirements.
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