Leaf Porometer Operator’s Manual
7. Care and Maintenance
68
Maintaining the Seals & Teflon Disk
When you clean your sensor head, be sure to check the con-
dition of the seals, and make sure that they are making full
contact with the leaf. If the seals require replacement, a
spare set has been included in your Leaf Porometer ship-
ment. Also, the Teflon disk should be replaced if it be-
comes excessively dirty. If you need more replacements of
either component, contact Decagon.
Replacing the Seal.
In the event a seal falls off, you can
simply replace it by peeling off the adhesive paper on the
back and replacing the old seal. If the seal is very loose, it is
best to peel it off and replace it in the same manner. When
you replace a seal, look to see if the area you will be applying
has dirt or soil particles, as these can prevent the adhesive
from applying fully. You might try wiping the area with a
slightly damp cloth before applying the new seal.
Replacing the Teflon filter disk.
A spare set of Teflon fil-
ter disks have also been included. To replace the disk, use a
sharp object and
carefully
remove the disk. Then, handling
the disk around the edges (using tweezers is advised), insert
the spare.
Porometer Sensor Head Re-Conditioning
In some situations, the humidity sensors in the leaf porome-
ter can be adversely affected by exposure to chemicals. This
is most commonly encountered when the leaf porometer
has been exposed to vapors from volatile organic com-
pounds. We have confirmed reports of sensors being
affected by obvious sources of volatile organics such as
storing the porometer in a shed with gasoline cans. The
signs of sensor "poisoning" can be manifest as a lack of
