1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. Decagon Devices Manuals
  4. Accessories
  5. EC-5
  6. User manual

Decagon Devices EC-5 User Manual

Soil moisture sensor
Hide thumbs Also See for EC-5:
Table of Contents

Advertisement

Quick Links

Download this manual
EC-5
Soil Moisture Sensor
User's Manual
Version 2

Advertisement

Table of Contents
loading
Need help?

Need help?

Do you have a question about the EC-5 and is the answer not in the manual?

Questions and answers

Subscribe to Our Youtube Channel

Related Manuals for Decagon Devices EC-5

Summary of Contents for Decagon Devices EC-5

  • Page 1 EC-5 Soil Moisture Sensor User’s Manual Version 2...
  • Page 2 Decagon Devices, Inc. 2365 NE Hopkins Court Pullman WA 99163 USA (509) 332-5600 Trademarks: “ECH2O” is a registered trademark of Decagon, Devices, Inc All rights reserved.. ©2001-2012 Decagon Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    1. Introduction ....1 EC-5 Specifications ....1 Customer Support .

  • Page 5: Introduction

    EC-5 User’s Manual 1. Introduction 1. Introduction EC-5 Specifications Measurement Time: 10ms (milliseconds) Accuracy: at least 0.03 m all soils, up to 8 dS/m With soil-specific calibration: ±.02 m (±2%) Resolution: 0.001 m VWC in mineral soils, 0.25% in growing media Power Requirements: 2.5VDC - 3.6VDC @ 10mA...

  • Page 6: Customer Support

    EC-5 User’s Manual 1. Introduction Customer Support If you ever need assistance with your EC-5, or if you just have questions or feedback, there are several ways to contact us. Customer service representatives are available to speak with you Monday thru Friday, between 7am and 5pm Pacific time.

  • Page 7: Seller's Liability

    EC-5 User’s Manual 1. Introduction Seller’s Liability Seller warrants new equipment of its own manufacture against defective workmanship and materials for a period of one year from date of receipt of equipment (the results of ordinary wear and tear, neglect, misuse, accident and excessive deterioration due to corrosion from any cause are not to be considered a defect);...

  • Page 8: About The Ec-5

    2. About the EC-5 2. About the EC-5 The two-prong design and higher measurement fre- quency allows the EC-5 to measure VWC from 0 to 100% (VWC of saturated soils is generally 40-60% depending on the soil type) and allows accurate mea- surement of all soils and soilless medias with a wide range of salinities.

  • Page 9: Wiring Diagrams

    2. About the EC-5 Wiring Diagrams 3.5mm Plug Wiring The EC-5 comes with a 3.5mm “stereo plug” connector. This allows for rapid connection directly to Decagon’s Em50 and Em5 loggers and the ProCheck. Below is a diagram showing the wiring configuration for this con- nector.

  • Page 10: Extended Cable Lengths

    EC-5 User’s Manual 2. About the EC-5 choice is to obtain an adapter cable from Decagon. The 3-wire sensor adapter cable has a connector for the sen- sor jack on one end, and three wires on the other end for connection to a data logger (this type of wire is often referred to as a “pigtail”...

  • Page 11: Installing The Sensors

    Procedure When installing the EC-5, it is best to maximize contact between the sensor and the soil. 1. The EC-5 sensor was designed for easy installation into the soil.

  • Page 12: Orientation

    EC-5 User’s Manual 3. Installing the Sensors The sensor may be difficult to insert into extremely compact or dry soil. If you have difficulty inserting the sensor, try loosening the soil somewhat or wet- ting the soil. Never pound it in! 2.

  • Page 13: Collecting Data

    EC-5 User’s Manual 4. Collecting Data 4. Collecting Data Data Logger Requirements The EC-5 sensor is designed to work most efficiently with Decagon’s 5-channel Em5b, Em50, or ProCheck handheld readout. All Decagon readout devices use a 3.0V excitation. The sensors however, may be adapted for use with other data loggers, such as those from Campbell Scientific, Inc., for example.

  • Page 14: Connecting To A Data Logger

    Fig. 5: Data logger configuration Sample Program The following program is an example that can be used with Campbell Scientific’s CR10X data logger and our EC-5 sensor at a 2500mV excitation: ;{CR10X} ; Example ECH2O Data Logger Program for CR10X ; Wiring: ;...

  • Page 15: Scwin (Short Cut) Directions

    Execution Interval (seconds) ; Factory calibration equations for ECH2O ; probes convert mV output of ECH2O to ; volumetric water content (VWC, m3/m3) ; EC-5: VWC = 0.00119 * mV - 0.400 1: Excite-Delay (SE) (P4) 1: 1 Reps 2: 5...
  • Page 16 V.3 copy of LoggerNet, there is a tab for SCWin (Short Cut) on the tool bar. 5. Select “New” to start a new program to read the EC-5. a. Select the data logger you will be using to read the sensors.

  • Page 17: Calibration

    Sensor Calibration Values Following is a list of the both the millivolt and RAW calibration values for the EC-5, where  is the volumet- ric water content, mV is the millivolt output of the sen- sor, and where x is the RAW sensor output.
  • Page 18 EC-5 User’s Manual 4. Collecting Data The EC-5 is much less sensitive to variation in texture and electrical conductivity because it runs at a much higher measurement frequency. Therefore, its general calibration equation should apply for all mineral soils up to 8 dS/m saturation extract.
  • Page 19 ~40 - 50% VWC. Potting soil The following equations can be used to convert EC-5 output to water content in potting soil. We tested several types of potting soil (Sunshine mix, Miracle Grow Pot-...

  • Page 20: Troubleshooting

    2500mV excitations; use of these numbers with any other excitation voltage will result in erroneous readings! Troubleshooting If you encounter problems with the EC-5, they most likely will manifest themselves in the form of incorrect or erroneous readings. Before contacting Decagon about the sensor, do the following: •...

  • Page 21: Declaration Of Conformity

    Model Number: EC-5 Year of First Manufacture: 2001 This is to certify that the EC-5 ECH O soil moisture sensor, manufactured by Decagon Devices, Inc., a cor- poration based in Pullman, Washington, USA meets or exceeds the standards for CE compliance as per the Council Directives noted above.
  • Page 22 EC-5 User’s Manual Declaration of Conformity...

  • Page 23: Index

    EC-5 User’s Manual Index Index Accuracy 1 Calibration 13 for mineral soil 14 for potting soil 15 for rockwool 16 Customer support 2 Data logger 1 connecting to 10 requirements 9 sample program 10 Declaration of conformity 17 Dielectric permittivity 14...
  • Page 24 EC-5 User’s Manual Index Orientation of sensor 8 Phone number 2 Plug wiring configuration 5 Potting soil 15 Power requirements 1 Program 10 Range 1 Removing sensor 8 Rockwool 16 Seller’s liability 2 Sensor calibration 13 installation instructions 7 orientation 8...

Table of Contents