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Protecting the measuring site
SWT4 User Manual v3.1
5 Protecting the measuring site
5.1 Theft and vandalism
The site should be protected against theft and vandalism as well as
against any farming or field work. Therefore, the site should be fenced
and signposts could give information about the purpose of the site.
5.2 Cable protection
Cables should be protected against rodents
with plastic protection tubes.
Contact Delta-T for further information.
5.3 Frost
5.3.1 Protection against frost
Tensiometers are filled with water and can be damaged by
frost.
Do not store filled Tensiometer at temperatures below -5°C. Do
not leave filled Tensiometers overnight in your car, in a
measuring hut, etc.
Do not fill the Tensiometers with Ethanol, as this is corrosive to
some materials (i. e. PMMA) and will destroy these.
Also it is not recommended to fill the Tensiometers with Decalin, mono-
ethylene-glycol, di-ethylene-glycol, etc. These could harm any of the
materials, destroy the ceramic cup or leak into the soil.
SWT4 and SWT4R Tensiometers may remain installed during the
winter if the cup is below 20 cm. Then the frost will enter the cup slowly
without damaging the pressure sensor. The reading will jump to a
constant value. After unfreezing the Tensiometer will continue to work.
But as this depends on the climate of your region, please contact
Delta-T if you intend to install Tensiometers in extreme temperature
zones.