Baseline Systems BL-5315B User Manual

BL-5315B Soil Moisture/Temperature biSensor™

Installation Guide

Connections

1. Power off the two-wire when installing devices.

2. Install all connections according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Included with the biSensor are two

®

DRYCONN

3. If needed, use polyethylene double-jacketed or UF-B UL PVC double-jacketed two-conductor solid core wire

designed for direct burial systems to connect the biSensor to the two-wire path. The sensor comes with 50ft of

wire.

4. Strip the outer insulation from the two-wire and the biSensor wire (1½”). Strip

the red and black wires on both (½”) and fasten the two red wires together

with the wire nut, then the two black wires with a wire nut, ensuring that

polarity is maintained. Verify communications with the BaseStation before

proceeding.

5. Complete the installation of the waterproof connectors as directed by the

manufacturer’s installation guide by positioning the wires, with the wire nut,

into the gel and firmly snapping the connector.

DBG® Direct Bury connectors with SmartGel®. You may also substitute DBR/Y connectors.

Burying the biSensor—See other side for biSensor placement information

1. With a flat blade shovel, cut a slit in the grass or soil for the biSensor. Widen the slit with a back and forth

motion.

2. Place the biSensor in the slit horizontally.

 In turf, position the top of the biSensor 2” to 3” deep.

 For other plant material, position the sensor in the top third of the plants’ root zone.

3. With your hands, remove any rocks or gravel touching the biSensor to ensure there are no air pockets. Firmly

repack the soil around the sensor.

4. Bury the biSensor wire deep enough to protect it from digging. Splices to the two-wire

should be placed in a small valve box. Document the location of the biSensor and

biSensor wire positions so they can be avoided when aerating and digging in the area.

5. Using a bucket of water, saturate the soil surrounding the biSensor. Make sure that the soil

around the sensor is firmly compacted. After burial, test the biSensor again from the

BaseStation.

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BL-5315B Soil Moisture/Temperature biSensor™

Installation Guide

biSensor Placement

 The sensor needs to be placed in the effective root zone of the plant it is monitoring. Usually the sensor

will be making the irrigation decision for many plants or even multiple zones of plants with similar water

needs, so it should be placed in the effective root zone of a representative plant.

 Consider your various plant types. For most sites, the ideal scenario would be to place one

sensor in the lawn, one in the shrubs, and one in the trees if these plant types are in separate

zones.

 Consider how the zones of the property can be grouped.

 Group plants that have similar water requirements.

 Group zones of sprinklers that have similar water usage and delivery characteristics such as

grass in full sun with rotors, or grass in full sun with sprays, or grass in shade with rotors, or grass in

shade with sprays, or drip zones.

 Use the functionality in your controller to set up watering strategies for the zones that are being

monitored by sensors.

 Refer to your controller’s user manual for information about configuring the watering strategies.

 Locate the biSensor within the primary zone that gets average to somewhat below average

coverage. Be careful that the biSensor isn’t buried in an area that gets substantially more or less water

in comparison to the rest of the zone.

 Bury the biSensor midway between two heads watering that location.

Notes

 Do not bury the biSensor too deep!

 If adjustments or repairs are made, make sure they do not affect the proper application of water to

the biSensor.

 Poor distribution will cause brown spots, or wet spots. You cannot compensate for distribution

problems with sensor-based watering.

For an in-depth look at soil moisture sensor technology and soil science, read

Watering with Soil Moisture Sensors on Baseline’s web site:

http://www.baselinesystems.com/mediafiles/pdf/watering_with_SMS.pdf

1-866-294-5847 Rev 11.1.2012 www.baselinesystems.com