21
Occasional rod bending is normal, and can be expected
during the course of sampling. Longer rods will be more
susceptible to bending than shorter rods. If bending oc-
curs, rods should simply be bent back to parallel position,
perpendicular to the TDR block. Measurements will con-
tinue to be accurate provided that rods are reasonably
close to parallel.
If care is not taken to reposition rods to a parallel posi-
tion, subsequent pressure on the rods will accentuate the
bending and may cause the rods to break.
Rods should be considered maintenance items that may
need to be replaced over time, depending upon the nature
and frequency of sampling. The rods will wear most rap-
idly in sand
-
based root zones.
