TheMODEL 253 AND 253-L (WATERMARK 200) SOIL MOISTURE
SENSOR is warranted by CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC. to be free from
defects in materials and workmanship under normal use and service for twelve
(12) months from date of shipment unless specified otherwise. Batteries have
no warranty. CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC.'s obligation under this warranty
is limited to repairing or replacing (at CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC.'s
option) defective products. The customer shall assume all costs of removing,
reinstalling, and shipping defective products to CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC,
INC. CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC, INC. will return such products by surface
carrier prepaid. This warranty shall not apply to any CAMPBELL
SCIENTIFIC, INC. products which have been subjected to modification,
misuse, neglect, accidents of nature, or shipping damage. This warranty is in
lieu of all other warranties, expressed or implied, including warranties of
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC,
INC. is not liable for special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages.
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253 Table of Contents
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The Watermark 200 (CSI sensor Models 253,
253-L, 257, and 257-L) provides a convenient
method of estimating water potential between 0
and 2 bars (wetter soils) with a Campbell
Scientific CR10, 21X, or CR7 datalogger. CSI
Models 253 and 253-L are for connection to the
AM32 or AM416 Analog Multiplexers. Models
257 and 257-L connect directly to a datalogger.
The Watermark block estimates water potential.
For applications requiring high accuracy, call a
Campbell Scientific applications engineer for
information on precision soil moisture
measurement systems.
The Watermark consists of two concentric
electrodes embedded in a reference matrix
material. The matrix material is surrounded by
a synthetic membrane for protection against
deterioration. An internal gypsum tablet buffers
against the salinity levels found in irrigated soils.
If cultivation practices allow, the sensor can be
left in the soil all year, eliminating the need to
remove the sensor during the winter months.
2. INSTALLATION AND REMOVAL
Placement of the Watermark is important. To
acquire representative measurements, avoid
high spots, slope changes, or depressions
where water puddles. Typically, the sensor
must be located in the root system of the crop.
1. Soak the sensors overnight in irrigation
water. Always install a wet sensor. If time
permits, allow the sensor to dry for 1 to 2
days after soaking, and repeat the soak/dry
cycle twice to improve sensor response.
2. Make a sensor access hole to the depth
required with a 7/8" rod. Fill the hole with
water and push the sensor to the bottom of
the hole. Very coarse or gravelly soils may
require an oversized hole (1 to 1-1/4") to
prevent abrasion damage to the sensor
membrane. In this case, you will need to
"grout in" the sensor with a slurry made
from the sample soil to get a snug fit in the
soil.
Snug fit in the soil is most important. Lack
of a snug fit is the premier problem in
sensor effectiveness. In gravelly soils, and
with deeper sensors, sometimes it is hard
to get the sensor in without damaging the
membrane. The ideal method of making
the access hole is to have a "stepped" tool
that makes an oversized hole for the upper
portion and an exact size hole for the lower
portion. In either case, the hole needs to be
carefully backfilled and tamped down to
prevent air pockets which could allow water
to channel down to the sensor.
FIGURE 1.1 253 Soil Moisture Sensor
A length of 1/2" class 315 PVC pipe fits
snugly over the sensor collar and can be
used to push in the sensor.
You can leave the PVC in place with the
wires threaded through the pipe and the
open end taped shut (duct tape is
adequate). This practice also makes it easy
to remove sensors used in annual crops.
When doing this, solvent weld the PVC pipe
to the sensor collar. Use PVC/ABS cement
on the stainless steel sensors with the
green top. Use clear PVC cement only on
the PVC sensors with the gray top.
1
253 AND 253-L SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR
=
−
3. When removing sensors prior to harvest in
annual crops, do so just after the last
irrigation when the soil is moist. Do not pull
the sensor out by the wires. Careful
removal prevents sensor and membrane
damage.
4. When sensors are removed for winter
storage, clean, dry, and place them in a
plastic bag.
NOTE: The black outer jacket of the cable
is Santoprene® rubber. This compound was
chosen for its resistance to temperature
extremes, moisture, and UV degradation.
However, this jacket will support
combustion in air. It is rated as slow
burning when tested according to U.L. 94
H.B. and will pass FMVSS302. Local fire
codes may preclude its use inside buildings.
3. WIRING
The model 253 sensor is supplied with two green
leads from Watermark. The leads from the
Watermark electrode are connected directly to
the H and L inputs on the AM32 or AM416. The
lead coming from the center of the sensor is
connected to H and the lead from the outer
portion of the sensor to L. The wires can be
differentiated by the grooved strip in one of the
leads of the green wires. On the 253-L, Campbell
Scientific splices a two conductor shielded cable
to the two conductor green cable supplied from
Watermark. The black conductor is connected to
H, the white conductor to L, and the shield wire to
G or . A 1kΩ resistor at the datalogger is used
to complete the half bridge measurement.
4. MEASUREMENT
Instruction 5, AC Half Bridge, is used to excite
and measure the model 253. Recommended
excitation voltages and input ranges are listed in
Table 1.
4.1 CALCULATE SENSOR RESISTANCE INSTRUCTION 59
Instruction 59, Bridge Transform, is used to
output sensor resistance (Rs). The instruction
takes the AC Half Bridge output (Vs/Vx) and
computes the sensor resistance as follows.
Rs = R1(X/(1-X))
where, X = Vs/Vx (Output from Instruction 5)
A multiplier of 1 should be used to output
sensor resistance (Rs) in terms of kΩ.
4.2 CALCULATE SOIL WATER POTENTIAL
The datalogger can calculate soil water
potential (bars) from the sensor resistance (Rs)
and soil temperature (Ts). See Table 2.
The need for a precise soil temperature
measurement should not be over emphasized.
Soil temperatures vary widely where placement
is shallow and solar radiation impinges on the
soil surface. A soil temperature measurement
may be needed in such situations, particularly in
research applications. Many applications,
however, require deep placement (5 to 10
inches) in soils shaded by a crop canopy. A
common practice is to assume the air
temperature at sunrise will be close to what the
soil temperature will be for the day.
4.2.1 Linear Relationship
For applications in the range of 0 to 2 bars, the
water potential and temperature responses of
the Watermark can be assumed to be linear
(measurements beyond 1.25 bars have not
been verified, but work in practice).
The following equation normalizes the
resistance measurement to 21°C.
R
R
21
=
10 018
s
− (.* )
dT
[1]
TABLE 1. Excitation and Voltage Range
DATALOGGER mV EX RANGE FSR
CODE
21X50014± 500 mV
CR1025014± 250 mV
NOTE: Do not use a slow integration time as
sensor polarization errors will occur.
where
= resistance at 21°C
R
21
= the measured resistance
R
s
dT = (T
T
s
-21)
s
= soil temperature
Water potential is then calculated from R
the relationship.
SWPR
0 074070 03704
.* .[2]
21
SWP = Soil W ater Potential (bars)
21
with
2
253 AND 253-L SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR
4.2.2 Non-Linear Relationship
For more precise work, calibration and temperature
compensation in the range of 0.1 to 1.00 bar has
been refined by Thompson and Armstrong (1987),
as defined in the non-linear equation,
but a 107 Probe is part of your
system, measure air
temperature in the early morning
(6:00 A.M.) and assume that will
be the soil temperature for the
day:
02:P92If time is
01:360minutes (seconds--) into a
02: 1440minute or second interval
03:30Then Do
Step 4. Make the resistance measurements.
It may be appropriate to make
measurements only once or twice a
day. This example makes
measurements twice a day at 6:00 AM
and 6:00 PM:
05:P92If time is
01:360minutes (seconds--) into a
02:720minute or second interval
03:30Then Do
As a general guide, Watermark 200
measurements indicate soil moisture as follows:
0 to 10 centibars = Saturated soil.
10 to 20 centibars = Soil is adequately wet
(except coarse sands,
which are beginning to
lose water).
30 to 60 centibars = Usual range for
irrigation (except heavy
clay).
60 to 100 centibars = Usual range for
irrigation for heavy clay
soils.
100 to 200 centibars = Soil is becoming
dangerously dry for
maximum production.
9. TROUBLESHOOTING
To test the sensor, submerge it in water.
Measurements should be from -.03 to .03 bars.
Let the sensor dry for 30 to 48 hours. You
should see the reading increase from 0 to 150+.
Put the sensor back in the water. The reading
should run right back down to zero in 1 to 2
minutes. If the sensor passes these tests,
consider the following.
3. When the soil dries out to the point where
you are seeing readings higher than 80
centibars, the contact between soil and
sensor can be lost because the soil may
start to shrink away from the sensor. An
irrigation which only results in a partial
rewetting of the soil will not fully rewet the
sensor, which can result in continued high
readings from the Watermark. Full
rewetting of the soil and sensor usually
restores soil/sensor contact. This is most
often seen in the heavier soils and during
peak crop water demand when irrigation
may not be fully adequate. The plotting of
readings on a chart is most useful in getting
a good picture of this sort of behavior.
Reference
Thompson, S.J. and C.F. Armstrong,
Calibration of the Watermark Model 200
Soil Moisture Sensor, Applied Engineering
in Agriculture, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 186-189,
1987.
Parts of this manual were contributed by
Irrometer Company, Inc., manufacturer of the
Watermark 200.
1. Sensor may not have a snug fit in the soil.
This usually happens when an oversized
access hole has been used and the
backfilling of the area around the sensor is
not complete.
2. Sensor is not in an active portion of the root
system, or the irrigation is not reaching the
sensor area. This can happen if the sensor
is sitting on top of a rock or below a hard
pan which may impede water movement.
Re-installing the sensor usually solves this
problem.
8
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