Soil Moisture Sensor
Contents
1. The WET Sensor measures water content electrical conductivity and temperature in soils composts and other artificial growing media In five seconds the probe can provide a measure of water content over the range of 0 to 80 pore water conductivity from 0 to 600 mS m and temperature over the range of 0 to 40 C The WET sensor is used with e HH2 Reader which needs to be loaded with the sensor s unique calibration Data can be viewed on the Reader and downloaded to a computer Installing WET Sensors If the WET sensor is to be installed in a fixed location remember that although the sensor housing is waterproof the connector used to attach it to a HH2 Reader is not You will have to find some means of ensuring that water does not enter the connector Installation equipment procedures and considerations are the same as for ThetaProbes Please see ThetaProbes on page 17 or refer to the WET User Manual WWw mea com au Page 38 Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 4 Wiring Guides GBug Wiring Diagram Gypsum GBug Connector Blocks Red Blue 1 Green 2 Yellow White Black 3 Brown 4 Violet GTBug Wiring Diagram Gypsum GTBug Connector Blocks Red Green Yellow Oe White Black Brown CO Temp Violet v zu k www mea com au Page 39 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 4 GDot Switch Box Wiring Gypsum Switch Box Connector Blocks Red Blue 1 Green 2 Yellow2. 4 Auger the first hole Remove the auger to clean the flukes frequently Hint Put the soil removed from the hole in its own pile You will use it to help seal the sensors WWw mea com au Page 13 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide E A 5 Pour half a cup of water down the hole to ensure correct seating of the sensors Soil removed 125ml from hole J Fig 10 Auger a hole Fig 11 Wet the hole 6 Push the sensor cable through the pipe from the bottom Hold the cable taut and use the pipe to gently push the sensor into the hole Use the marks on the pipe to ensure the sensoris at the intended depth Fig 12 Use the PVC pipe to insert the gypsum block in the hole 7 Withdraw the pipe Pour a handful of earth down the hole and gently compact with the dowel WWw mea com au Page 14 EB Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide J 8 Add the bentonite and sand mix and backfill the hole to 25 mm from the top 9 Use more earth to complete filling the hole lt gt A A Fig 13 Add earth and Fig 14 Add the bentonite Fig 15 Cap the hole with tamp and sand mix earth and tamp 10 Use the permanent marker to label the sensor wire with the depth installation date and sensor number a cattle tag can be used for this Fig 16 Mark the cables with the block number and depth 11 Connect the
3. Sprinkler or Microjet Irrigation e Wetting patterns tend to be shallower under sprinkler irrigation than drip or furrow irrigation e Suggested depth for the shallow detector is 20cm and for the deep detector is 40 cm Note that it usually takes 20 mm or more of irrigation to activate a detector at 20cm depending on soil type and on how dry the soil is before irrigation e For sprinkler systems that apply small amounts of water each day or second day e g microjets or centre pivot depths of 15cm and 30cm are more suitable 5 cm and 20cm to the rim of the funnel Detectors will usually not be activated by applications under 15mm unless the soil is quite wet before irrigation Fig 41 A pair of FullStops under sprinkler irrigation Wwww mea com au Page 33 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide E Furrow Irrigation Detectors should be positioned half under the furrow and half under the bed with the extension tube rising through the shoulder of the bed Suggested depth for the shallow detector is 20 30cm and for the deep detector is 40 60cm from the base of the furrow Deep rooted crops with less frequent irrigation would require deeper placement Fig 42 FullStops under furrows Required Tools and Equipment 20cm and 5 10cm augers or shovel and trowel if you don t have access to the augers Tape measure Portable EC Meter MEA2272 for monitoring salinity levels Nitrate and nitrite tes
4. soil moisture O I and climate monitoring with Certainty Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 41 Vine Street Magill South Australia 5072 p 08 8332 9044 i f 08 83329577 TAE Version 7 0 e mea mea com au oe R March 2014 w www mea com au nal E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide a Notices Copyright Copyright Measurement Engineering Australia Pty Ltd 2014 All rights reserved Under the copyright laws this manual may not be copied in whole or in part by any means without the written consent of Measurement Engineering Australia Pty Ltd Design Changes Measurement Engineering Australia Pty Ltd reserves the right to change the designs and specifications of its products at any time and without prior notice Contact Measurement Engineering Australia Pty Ltd 41 Vine Street MAGILL SA 5072 Telephone 08 8332 9044 Fax 08 8332 9577 Email mea mea com au Web Www mea com au Warranty MEA offers a 12 month return to factory warranty on all products The warranty applies to hardware software and system defects only The warranty does not cover acts of misuse by the user or third parties including misuse arising from failure to install or operate a system or its components in accordance with relevant system documentation or failure to seek advice from MEA regarding correct installation or operation of a system or its components EnviroPro probes have a 5 year warranty ThetaProbes have a 2 year wa
5. White 3 Black Brown i 4 Violet ThetaProbe Wiring 4 Pin Connector Function Colour 1 Signal Yellow 2 Signal Ground Green 3 Power Ground Blue 4 Power Supply Red EnviroPro Wiring Wire Colour to Function Wire Colour after Oct 2013 Oct 2013 Brown Power Red Green Yellow Ground Black Blue SDI 12 Blue RS 485 Yellow Wwww mea com au Page 40
6. 27 Add earth and Fig 28 Add the bentonite Fig 29 Cap the hole with tamp and sand mix earth and tamp www mea com au Page 24 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide a EnviroPro EnviroPro probes provide reliable soil moisture and temperature measurement in all soil types Multiple sensor clusters per probe at 100mm spacings allow the monitoring of moisture and temperature at each sensor depth Models which add salinity measurement at each depth are available Soil moisture readings are temperature compensated and can be salinity compensated The internal electronics are fully protected making the probes reliable consistent and very stable The EnviroPro comes with a five year warranty Each probe is supplied with 5 m of cable Designed to be completely buried the EnviroPro is out of the way when slashing spraying and harvesting Moisture profiling at 100mm intervals allow you to track the movement of water through the root zone and optimise irrigation events Following the movement of nutrients through the root zone by tracking changes in salinity allows you to optimise fertiliser applications and only apply leaching irrigations when needed EnviroPros can be used with e Plexus for continuous monitoring and the display of data on smart devices e MAX for continuous monitoring and viewing of data on a PC Www mea com au Page 25 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 4 Which Probe to Use The
7. 40 WWW mea com au Page 4 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 4 Introduction Thank you for purchasing a soil moisture sensor from MEA This guide will tell you how to install your soil moisture sensor correctly For information on how to install operate and maintain other components of your soil moisture monitoring system please refer the User Manual or System Document that was supplied with your system WWw mea com au Page 5 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide a How to Use Scotchloks Depending on what sort of sensor you have purchased you might have been supplied with an appropriate quantity of 3M 316IR Scotchloks to allow connection of the sensors to your logger or field station If you have not used Scotchloks before the following notes will be of use e Use one connector per join The connectors have three holes use one for a sensor wire and one for a logger wire leave the third hole unused e Don t strip the insulation from the wires to be joined The metal plates inside the connectors work by displacing the insulation and stripping it back can result ina poor connection 1 Push one wire from the sensor cable and the relevant coloured wire from the logger or field station into the connector as far as they will go The connectors are translucent on the side opposite the black button so you will be able to see when the wires are all the way in 2 Holding the wires in place use pliers or multi grip
8. detection sensor when used below a set of GBLites WWW mea com au Page7 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide E 4 Sensor Site Selection The following section relates specifically to the placement of gypsum block sensors under different types of irrigation but the principles will apply more broadly to other types of soil moisture sensor Therefore sections dealing with site selection for some other types of sensors covered in this manual may refer you back to this section Drip Irrigation Install the sensors at the edge of a 10 15cm radius centred under the dripper Dripper line 150mm 150m Hamm m Fig 1 Place the blocks in a circle around Fig 2 Place the blocks through the the dripper as shown wetting onion The deepest block serves as a drainage sensor Hint If you have more than one gypsum block install each block in its own hole Stacking sensors in the same hole can lead to leakage down the hole and makes it impossible to replace individual blocks if later required WWww mea com au Page 8 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide J Sprinklers Install the sensors in a straight line 10cm apart in a location where the sprinklers are delivering their rated output Under tree crops place the blocks under the drip line of the canopy Fig 3 Gypsum blocks under sprinklers Fig 4 Under sprinkler irrigated tree crops place the blocks under t
9. return unexpected results The quantities and method described below will make enough slurry for the installation of two 80 cm probes 1 Mix 100gm of bentonite and 1 kg sand together in a bucket Pentorite Fig 30 Mix the bentonite and sand www mea com au Page 27 JJ Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide K 4 2 Pour the dry mix through a funnel into a two litre plastic bottle Pour one litre of clean water into the bottle 4 Put the lid on and shake until thoroughly mixed The slurry is ready for use after 15 minutes Mix 2 litres Fig 31 Pour the dry Fig 32 Add the water Fig 33 Shake until mix into the completely container mixed Hint Always shake the mixture before application the sand might settle in storage Wwww mea com au Page 28 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide At SJ How to Install EnviroPro Probes 1 Measure the length of the probe Use the tape measure and the adhesive tape to mark the auger 3 5 cm longer than the probe to be installed Fig 34 Mark the auger 3 5 cm longer than the length of the EnviroPro 2 Auger a hole 3 5 cm deeper than the probe to be installed Use the tape measure to check the depth after the auger is extracted to ensure that part of the hole wall has not collapsed or that other material has not fallen into the hole 2 2 2 2 2 Fig 35 Augerthe h
10. sensor to the logger or display WWw mea com au Page 15 Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide ae gy Installing GBLites in Shallow Root Zones In many vegetable crops the root zone is very shallow under 20 cm The active feeder roots of citrus particularly when grown in sandy soils can also be quite shallow GBLite sensors can be installed at shallow depths by laying the sensor horizontally in a hole opened up with a spade or trowel Wet the bottom of the hole and carefully backfill with moist soil gently compressing the soil to remove air pockets Fig 17 Sensor laid on its side to monitor shallow rooted crops GTBug Temperature Sensor The temperature sensor should be installed between 100mm and 150mm where daily fluctuations in surface temperature are minimised This sensor can simply be placed in a hole of the correct depth and backfilled gently compacting the soil as you go Improving the Sensor to Soil Contact In reactive clay soils and in light sands the installation procedure can be modified to improve soil to sensor contact This avoids problems with clay soils shrinking away from the sensors or with sandy soils drying down faster than the sensor can respond Before installing the sensor 1 Make a 50 50 slurry of water and clay loam sourced from elsewhere on site if available 2 Coat the sensor ina thin layer of slurry then install Www mea com au Page 16 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Gui
11. 2 for deeper installation 32mm 11 4 PVC pipe or similar 300 mm longer than the deepest installation depth 12mm dowel 100mm longer than the PVC pipe Active Gel Bentonite MEA2197 Dry builder s sand 4 times the quantity of bentonite Tape measure notebook tags permanent marker or tape for marking Wwww mea com au Page 18 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide mt a How to Install ThetaProbes Surface Measurement e For surface measurement the stainless steel rods can just be pushed into undisturbed soil Rods fully TECNI Fig 18 Surface measurement with a ThetaProbe Hint Make sure the stainless steel rods are completely covered If any part of the rods are uncovered soil moisture readings will not be accurate e Ifthe probe is going to be left in place it is a good idea to insert it at a slight angle eg 10 20 so that water running down the outside of the probe is less likely to pool around the rods e Try to ensure there are no air pockets or stones around the electrodes as this will reduce the quality of the measurements A Take care not to bend the rods Do not handle the probe by its cable Repairs can be costly and time consuming Www mea com au Page 19 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide r 2 e Inhardground use of the ThetaProbe Insertion Kit is recommended Place the guide block on the ground at the sampling location Place the
12. How to Install a ThetaProbe Vertically 1 Use the marker or tape to mark the auger and the PVC pipe with the installation depth s Fig 23 Mark the auger and pipe with the installation depths Hint When marking the PVC pipe remember to allow for the length of the sensor 2 Make a dry 1 part bentonite to 4 parts sand mix Venonte Fig 24 Mix the bentonite and sand www mea com au Page 22 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide K A 3 Auger a hole Hint It is recommended that the hole be augered approximately 10 off vertical to help prevent water pooling at the rod array 4 Thread the probe cable and connector if fitted through the PVC pipe and use this to push the sensor down the hole pushing the rods into the undisturbed earth at the bottom of the hole Take care not to bend the rods Soil removed from hole V Fig 25 Auger a hole Fig 26 Use the PVC pipe to insert the ThetaProbe into the hole www mea com au Page 23 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide Be SJ 5 Pour a handful of earth down the hole and gently compact with the dowel 6 Fill the hole to 25 mm below the surface with the dry bentonite and sand mix gently tamping as you go Use more earth to complete filling the hole Do not overfill as this will form a surface cap which will shed water away from the sensor I A Fig
13. choice of probe will be determined by the depth of the root zone or profile depth to be monitored and the parameters to be measured All EnviroPro probes can measure soil moisture and soil temperature EC equipped models also measure electroconductivity EC at each depth Moisture Temp Sensing Points Length cm EP04 v v 4 46 5 EPO8 V v 8 86 5 EP12 v v 12 126 5 EP16 Vx v i 16 166 5 EPEC04 v v V 4 46 5 EPECO8 v v Vx 8 86 5 EPEC12 v v Vx 12 126 5 EPEC16 v v V 16 166 5 Sensor Site Selection Please see Sensor Site Selection on page 8 Although this section deals with the placement of gypsum blocks under different types of irrigation the considerations apply equally well to EnviroPro sensors Required Tools and Equipment e 36 38mm Auger MEA2189 e Tape measure e Permanent marker or tape for marking e 1kg of fine sand eg Unimin AFS85 grade e 100gm Bentonite civil grade eg Unimin Active Gel 150 MEA2197 e 1L clean water e Small bucket with lid e Funnel e Two litre plastic bottle with lid Wwww mea com au Page 26 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide me E How to Prepare the Bentonite Sand Slurry The EnviroPro should be installed using a fine sand and bentonite slurry to ensure there are no air gaps between the probe and the surrounding soil Hint EnviroPro probes are calibrated for use with the bentonite sand slurry described in this section Probes installed using a different slurry may
14. de 4 ThetaProbes ThetaProbes are a type of soil moisture content sensor The probe consists of a waterproof housing containing electronics with an array of stainless steel electrodes at one end for direct insertion into undisturbed soil and a power signal cable at the other ThetaProbes measures soil moisture content with an accuracy of 1 over the range of 0 to 60 of volumetric soil moisture content This level of accuracy makes the probe suitable for use where soil moisture levels are to be tightly controlled and in critical applications such as hydrology soil stability studies soil water profiling pollution monitoring water leakage detection from pipes and dams ground truthing and forestry ThetaProbes can be used with e MEAs MAX soil moisture loggers for continuous monitoring and viewing of data ona PC e HH2 Reader to provide spot measurements that can be downloaded to a PC WWW mea com au Page 17 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide Sensor Site Selection Please see Sensor Site Selection on page 8 Although this section deals with the placement of gypsum blocks under different types of irrigation the considerations apply equally well to ThetaProbe sensors Required Tools and Equipment Surface Installation Soft ground no tools are required Hard ground a ThetaProbe insertion kit and a hammer Buried Installation Spade or trowel for shallow installation 45 mm Auger MEA219
15. er and lightly firm it down Break up the sides of the hole before returning more soil as smooth sides can restrict the growth of roots and the movement of water Pack soil around the sides and under the funnel to keep it firmly in place hold the outlet tube out of the way the deeper narrow hole does not need to be packed with soil Fig 46 Check the Fig 47 Fill the funnel Fig 48 Pack under the depth with soil funnel with soil Wwww mea com au Page 36 EB Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide Fr E J 10 Return the rest of the soil to the hole in the layer order in which it was extracted 11 Soil should be firmed down by hand but not compacted 12 Use the trowel to break up the top edge of the hole 13 All the soil should be returned to the hole leaving a slight hump which should settle after rain or irrigation After settling check that the soil is level so that water does not run away from or toward the detector 14 Push the tubing stake supplied with the FullStop into the end of the outlet tube this will prevent insects and soil from entering and blocking the tube and use it to position the tube away from the detector aN Fig 49 Backfill the hole Fig 50 Fitthetubetothe Fig 51 Install the tubing tubing stake stake For more information please visit www fullstop com au WWw mea com au Page 37 Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 4 WET Sensors
16. he drip line of the canopy WWw mea com au Page 9 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide Furrow or Flood Irrigation Locate the sensors about 2 3 of the way down the run just ahead of the tail or backup water This is the area where water penetration is usually the poorest With tree crops locate the sensors on the side of the tree that will get the hot afternoon sun Fig 5 Placement of gypsum blocks under furrow irrigation Centre Pivot or Linear Lateral Move Irrigation Place the blocks at locations down the length of the pivot between towers just ahead of the start point Fig 6 Placement of gypsum blocks under pivot irrigation Wwww mea com au Page 10 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 4 Required Tools and Equipment In addition to gypsum blocks the following tools and equipment are required for installation e 25mm Auger MEA2193 e Masking tape or electrical tape e 13mm 1 2 PVC pressure pipe 1 2m in length or about 300mm longer that the depth of the deepest block you are going to install e 12mm dowel about 100mm longer than the PVC pipe e Trowel e Bucket amp water e Two small funnels e Bentonite civil grade eg Unimin Active Gel 150 MEA2197 2kg pack will cover 15 20 sensors Hint Use only powdered active gel bentonite Bentonite is also sold in granulated form granulated bentonite is unsuitable for sensor installation as it does
17. he extension tube cause the indicator flag to pop up to show that the wetting front has arrived The indicator flag is held up with a magnetic latch and must be pushed down to reset it If the soil is still very wet the flag will pop up again An outlet tube at the base of the FullStop allows water collected in the funnel to be extracted using a syringe and tested for EC and nitrate levels Unlike the other sensors in this guide the FullStop requires no power source Readers Loggers or software www mea com au Page 31 EB Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide kK Sensor Site Selection FullStops are sold and generally used in pairs with one unit at one third of the root depth and the second at two thirds of the root depth Drip Irrigation e The detector must always be placed directly under a dripper Suggested depth for the shallow detector is 30 cm and for the deep detector is 60 cm e Deeper placement is required for widely spaced drippers or long irrigation intervals Shallower placement suits closely spaced drippers frequent irrigation or shallow rooted crops e _ Itis common for detectors to respond quickly under drip because all the water is being concentrated around the dripper with dry soil between drippers In such cases less water should be applied more often Dripper line Fig 40 A pair of FullStops under drippers Wwww mea com au Page 32 EB Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 5 gy
18. not swell quickly enough to form a plug e Fine dry builder s sand eg Unimin AFS85 grade 8 kg to mix with 2 kg of bentonite e Tape measure notebook tags amp permanent marker WWW mea com au Page 11 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 4 How to Install Gypsum Blocks 1 _ Pour a couple of litres of clean water into the bucket and place the gypsum blocks in to soak Hint If the blocks are GB Heavies remove the foil wrapping first A It is enough to soak the blocks for five or ten minutes Do NOT soak the blocks for long periods eg overnight as this will shorten their usable life 2 Make a dry 1 part bentonite to 4 parts sand mix Two kilograms of bentonite mixed with eight kilograms of sand will make approximately enough to install sixteen gypsum blocks depending on the installation depths and augering tolerances Fig 7 Soak the blocks Fig 8 Mix the bentonite and sand Hint The bentonite sand mix forms a plug that prevents water running down the disturbed soil in the hole and making the blocks wetter than the surrounding soil Www mea com au Page 12 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 3 3 Mark the auger and the PVC pipe with tape at the installation depths gt SSS Fig 9 Mark the auger and pipe with the installation depths Hint When marking the PVC pipe remember to allow for the length of the sensor
19. ole Fig 36 Check the depth www mea com au Page 29 EB Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide Fr WS J Pour slurry into the hole until it is half full 4 Push the probe into the hole until the top is 35 mm below the soil surface Apply a maximum of 15 kg of force to the probe Avoid causing sharp bends in the cable where it enters the probe 5 The slurry should ooze up around the instrument and slightly overflow the hole If you do not see any slurry carefully extract the instrument mix up some more slurry and add to the hole 6 Backfill to cover the probe Fig 37 Fill the hole half Fig 38 Insert the Fig 39 Cap the hole with full of slurry EnviroPro extracted earth 7 Trench the cable in to a depth of 100mm or deeper to protect it WWw mea com au Page 30 Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 4 FullStop Wetting Front Detectors The FullStop provides a cost effective method of assessing whether too much or too little irrigation is being applied to detect water logging and to monitor nutrient and salt levels in the soil The heart of the FullStop is a funnel shaped collector which is buried in the soil As moisture moves through the soil profile a wetting front it converges in the funnel and collects in a reservoir in the base of the unit An indicator flag is fitted to an extension tube which protrudes above ground When water collects in the base of the funnel floats within t
20. or to Soil Contact a aaxaiaiaaansasasasansasanannnsananann 16 ThetaProbes enn ee Dee ne ene ee uu u uu 17 Sensor Site Selection oeer naidi ehia aE ENRE 18 Required Tools and Equipment 2 siaiissasassassasaanansanaaaasaaaaanaaaaaa 18 How to Install ThetaProbes inianinsaananaasanaanaanannanaananaanaanaanaaaalaanaaaana 19 ENVIrOPI O een eS eee ee eee ee 25 Which Probe to US roic eana a E AE E A 26 Sensor Site Selection isaiaaiaasananaanannannanaananaanaunannanaanaananaanaanaanan 26 Required Tools and Equipment rsrsrs 26 How to Install EnviroPro PrOb s uuu usa aasyaaaqiqaqkaqaqasayaaqawqa 29 FullStop Wetting Front Detectors 11 31 Sensor Site Selection scarsie eak ia 32 Required Tools and Equipment I a aa 34 How to Install FUIStops eisirean Ee 35 WET Sensors phic crs cine hice cee etn eee eee cetacean eee 38 Installing WET SensorsS 3 sdinanlislusbsuenduri kaludassstilusarbadik avignsng snaradada u 38 WWW mea com au Page 3 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 4 Wiring GWides_ LLULLU I eee a al ee eee 39 GBUG Wiring Dlagr 1 L NI aqapana shana 39 GTBUG Wiring Diagram a ua an iaaa aE 39 GDot Switch Box Wiring LLL aasawa k altan kanska 40 ThetaProb e WINng ssssnasubnans bia n a a a 40 Envir PrO WINING uu uu uu a a sdba lsskakaa sks asa b akka E
21. preparation rods into the holes in the guide block and gently tap them into the soil until the heads contact the guide block e Withdraw the guide block and preparation rods and insert the probe Fig 19 Fitthepinstothe Fig 20 Hammer the pins Fig 21 Push the probe guide block in into the holes www mea com au Page 20 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide mt K Buried Installation The need to monitor a particular part of the root zone can require a buried installation Even with a shallow installation it might be preferable to bury the probe to provide protection for it ThetaProbes can be installed either horizontally or vertically depending on the depth of installation and installation equipment available How to Install a ThetaProbe Horizontally The probes may be installed horizontally in shallow sites The sensor should be inserted into undisturbed soil on the face of the trench 1 Atthe monitoring site excavate a trench down to 10cm below the intended sensor depth Clean off the face of the hole at the required depth 2 Push the rods into the side of the hole until the soil comes in contact with the probe body 3 Route the sensor cable out of the hole to the surface it can be sheathed in conduit to protect it against damage 4 Carefully backfill under and around the sensor Fig 22 ThetaProbe installed horizontally Www mea com au Page 21 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide gy
22. rranty Support If you have questions or problems that cannot be resolved using the information in this manual contact MEA technical support using the details above If phoning ask for technical support and explain the issue Your issue will be referred to a technician for action at the earliest opportunity Quoting your MEA Job Reference Number will enable us to quickly locate your details Charges may apply for support other than warranty support Phone support is generally available Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm Central ie South Australian Standard or Summer Time Site visits will incur charges for labour travel time and where applicable accommodation and meals MEA technicians can only offer support for issues relating directly to the operation or maintenance of products supplied by MEA WWW mea com au Page 2 JJ Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide a Contents n d dola CTIOIN J R 5 How to Use Scotchloks aaaaaaaaaaaaaa nnnnnnnnnnnunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnna 6 Gypsum Blocks UU tune reece eed 7 Which Type of Gypsum Block is Suitable a 7 Sensor Site Selection a iiiasaiaainasanaanaanannannananaanaanaanaanaaaananaankanaanaaaa 8 Required Tools and EquipMents 12 111231217dd1sksnesavssasslunaka sk stssnas ldastandandi 11 How to Install Gypsum Blocks iiininiasaniasasasasaasasasansasasasanaanananaaananana 12 Improving the Sens
23. s to push the black button on the connector all the way down a Repeat for all remaining connections gt After all the blocks are connected ensure that the end of the logger cable is off the ground and pointing downward so that water is not able to collect in the cable For added protection you can wrap the end of the cable or the join itself in waterproof tape lt www mea com au Page6 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 4 Gypsum Blocks Gypsum blocks are a type of soil moisture tension sensor They report soil moisture in kilo pascals kPa Gypsum blocks can be used with e Plexus radio networks for continuous monitoring and viewing of data on your PC or smart device e MAX soil moisture loggers for continuous monitoring and viewing of data on your PC e GDot for spot monitoring GBLites only MEA s GBHeavy measures over the range of 50 to 500 kPa the range found in heavy soils having a high clay content The GBLite also known as the Watermark measures over the range of 10 to 200 kPa sand to sandy clay loam Which Type of Gypsum Block is Suitable if moisture levels are to be kept in the range where it is readily available to the plants use the GBLite regardless of soil type Where the crop is going to be pushed into deficit use the GBHeavy in soils with a substantial clay content and the GBLite in sandy soils The GBHeavy sensor also makes an inexpensive drainage
24. t strips MEA2273 and MEA2274 for monitoring nutrient levels Wwww mea com au Page 34 E Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide Gg How to Install FullStops Following are instructions for installing the FullStops using augers Hint If you do not have the required augers a shovel can be used instead of the larger auger and a trowel instead of the small auger 1 Assemble and test the FullStops according to the instructions that came with them Check for leaks and make sure the float indicator can move freely through the extension tube s Attach as many extension tubes as required for the installation depth 2 Make a hole with the large Auger This will accommodate the wide part of the funnel Hint If the soil texture changes with depth keep the different soil layers separate 3 When the hole is deep enough use the small Auger to make a hole for the bottom of the FullStop 4 Add the filter sand supplied with the FullStops to the detector until it covers the locking ring by at least 1 cm Wu Fig 43 Dig the large Fig 44 Dig the small Fig 45 Add the filter hole hole sand to the funnel Www mea com au Page 35 7a Soil Moisture Sensor Installation Guide 2 5 Place the detector in the hole and measure the distance to the rim of the funnel to check that it reaches the required depth Make sure the extension tubes are vertical Fill the funnel with soil from the same lay
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