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Coupling Shaft
 
Pump Turbine Blades
 
Pony
Motor

Pumping Mode

Pump Turbine Unit

Compressed air is injected below the Turbine to exhaust the water to a lower level. At this point the incoming electricity is used to start the Pony Motor (see inset) which drives the Pump Turbine Unit in the reverse direction.

  • The Pony Motor Explained

    When the water is being pumped back up from the lake to the reservoir, the process reverses and now this section in the Machine Hall operates as a Motor instead of as a Generator. In a motor, electrical energy is converted in mechanical (rotational) energy. While electricity is flowing through the coils in the stator, the rotor experiences a force that causes it to rotate. When the machine hall is operating in this mode the pump, as well as the motor, rotate counter clockwise.

    The Pony Motor at Turlough Hill follows the same principles as would apply to the starter motor in an average gas or petrol car. The function of the Pony Motor is to get the main motor going initially. In the power station, the electricity used on the Pony Motor is taken from the National Grid while in a car the electricity is taken from the battery in the engine. If the battery is dead then there is no electricity source hence the car won't start when you put the key in the ignition.

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Pumping Mode - Pump Turbine Unit