PumpPal hits headline local news!

Gulf News, 2 October 2025

Tankman creates solution to very Waiheke-specific problem.

A frustrating reality on Waiheke is we often get hit with rough weather and power cuts, which mess with our water tank pumps and can leave us without running water. Tankman Waiheke

co-director Marty Howard says he figured that was a solvable problem. And after a year and half

of noodling, prototyping and testing created PumpPal - a water pump system with a backup

battery that automatically kicks in when power is interrupted.

Marty says he had always known it was an issue but didn't know the full impact

it had on people until he and Duncan Styles bought Tankman from the previous owners a few

years ago. "The problem struck me between the eyes as soon as I got on the job," he says.

"You've got people climbing up ladders to get a bucket of water out the top of their tank, in the

middle of a storm - just so they can tip it down the dunny."

Hospitality businesses and schools must close because they have no running water and the toilets aren't working. In many island homes, similar problems occur, and they don't always end when the power comes back on. Marty says standard pumps are sensitive to power fluctuations. Often it's just a case of having to go turn the pump off and on to get water flowing again, "but sometimes the pump's damaged and doesn't come back on," he says. "It has an error or a meltdown and people need us to come around and do something to fix it.

Sometimes the pump loses its prime, and we have to come and bleed the air out of the line if it

has been off for too long and their system is configured a certain way."

Marty says he originally trained as an electrical engineer, so he took on finding a solution to the

problem as a side project.

In his research he couldn't find a backup power system and pump unit out there that was right

for Waiheke - so he decided to make one. "Through testing I quickly concluded that the normal

pumps use too much power anyway. The bog-standard pumps just go on full bore or turn off,

and if you're just running one tap you don't need that."

However, Marty says, variable speed pumps which used to be too expensive for home systems

have become more affordable. "These new kinds of variable speed pumps also use 40 to 70

percent less power - so that's off your power bill for a start. And that brings it in the range of

being able to run it off some [onboard] power supply for a decent length of time." The final PumpPal model uses a battery pack that will keep water flowing for at least 24 hours without external power and automatically switches to battery power within a millisecond of a power cut. "Obviously, if there's a power cut, you're probably not going to be running the washing machine or dishwasher, but you'll probably want to have showers, get a drink, wash your hands and so on," he says. "And with careful water use, it will last a lot longer."

Marty says hospitality businesses and schools can also benefit from his invention, just with a

bigger battery.

For further information, sales and trade enquiries phone Marty on +64 9 372 7270 www.tankman.co.nz or pop into the Tankman showroom - 116 Ostend Road, Waiheke Island.

#tankmanwaiheke #waterpump #tankman #offrgridliving #waihekewater