Anti pumping relay and its operational concept

The anti-pumping relay allows the breaker to close only once for each press of the 'close' pushbutton (or rotation of the handle) or Anti-pumping relay cancels the persistent closing
signal after successful completion of the closing operation.

If a fault exists on the circuit before the breaker is closed, the breaker will close and immediately trip before the operator has a chance to release the close button (or handle). The anti-pumping relay prevents the still-active close signal from trying to reclose the breaker.

Many breakers are not rated for multiple successive reclose operations. If an anti-pumping relay is not used, the rapid close-open-close-open... series can result in destruction of the breaker and harm to the operator.