FAQs.
Growers
If you are a grower or farmer and would like to install our soil sensors, please contact Entelechy for information on your local dealers, and integrating our probes into your existing or new telemetry system. Alternatively, simply ask your trusted local agronomer or agtech provider to source EnviroPro for your new or current monitoring system.
Telemetry Dealers / Agricultural Suppliers
If you would like to become an EnviroPro® Reseller, please contact us.
There are two major advantages to using the bentonite & sand slurry install method.
1 – Optimal sensor-to-soil contact AND
2 – Removal of probes is significantly easier
At Entelechy, we believe the accuracy and reliability of the data is paramount. The disruption of soil, and movement of objects in the soil, such as roots and rocks, that occurs during the boring process creates voids around an installed probe, whether it is tapered or not. Voids skew the probe’s readings due to the vast differences between the dielectric properties of the contents of the voids and the surrounding soil.
In conditions below saturation, voids present as air pockets. In saturated conditions, preferential flow will fill voids with water. While the presence of rock, roots and other solid matter in the soil cannot be controlled, voids can be eliminated with the use of a bentonite & sand slurry due to it’s ability to expand and fill any empty space around the probe.
Bentonite & sand slurry has minimal effect on the readings produced by an EnviroPro® probe.
Approximate electric field of single sensor – EnviroPro vs Competitor
This is because EnviroPro® sensors have been uniquely designed to have a much larger field of influence than other capacitance probes of similar diameter. With such a large sample size, 2-3mm of slurry makes a relatively small difference to it’s readings. Additionally, air pockets or water pockets caused by preferential flow are eliminated with the use of a bentonite slurry. Air and water have significantly different dielectric properties to soil, so they have a much greater skew on results than a bentonite slurry, which has similar dielectric properties to soil.
We recommend using TruGel 100, which can be purchased directly through Sibelco.
Alternatively, you can contact us to arrange shipments of small quantities.
Entelechy sell easy to use installation kits/ augers and recommend the use of a bentonite and sand slurry to ensure sensor-to-soil contact and to make them easier to remove/relocate.
For full instructions on how to install our probes and how to prepare a slurry, see our Installation Manual.
EnviroPro® probes are all 3.35cm in diameter.
Each sensor is 10cm/4in with the first sensor starting at the top of the probe.
Yes. This can be achieved by purchasing an upgrade key from Entelechy or via your supplier. There are two methods to execute the upgrade using the key(s).
1. Using an EPCD config unit with Evaluate Program.
2. Sending the key via your logger’s transparent mode using SDI-12 extended commands (This method is only available on G series probes, and only if your logger supports transparent mode).
The field of influence refers to the size of the electric field emitted by a sensor, and ultimately determines the volume of soil that it can measure. EnviroPro® boasts a larger FOI than competitor probes of similar diameter due to it’s unique sensor design. A larger FOI means a greater sample size, minimizing the effect that slurry, objects, roots and air pockets have on readings and producing more meaningful measurements of the local soil.
SDI-12 (Serial Digital Interface at 1200 baud) is the serial communications protocol used by EnviroPro® and other intelligent sensors to communicate with data loggers.
It is used to request data from the probe using a set of commands as outlined in the document below:
The SDI-12 standard operating range is 9 – 16VDC. Our recommended operating range for EnviroPro® soil probes is 7 – 16 VDC. However, EnviroPro® soil probes will still operate correctly with as low as 6V on our standard 5m / 16ft cable with a single device connected to SDI-12 bus. The ability to work with a lower voltage can be a significant advantage in battery powered systems.
Yes. However, in scientific or research settings where maximum accuracy may be required, soil probes should be calibrated to soil type on site at the time of installation. Soil type calibration is different to our factory calibration which is to ensure life-time sensor-to-sensor and probe-to-probe repeatability, which is of highest importance in all applications. Ultimately, the daily water usage of the crop is a clear indicator to assist farmers in making optimal irrigation decisions, even without additional soil type calibration.
EnviroPro® soil probes are used in many applications spanning multiple industries around the world. Soil probes are most often used by the farming industry, and applications include turf, trees, flowers, vegetables, citrus, vines, cane fields, grains and dry-land crops, and many other plantations of varying scale.
EnviroPro® soil probes have been used in stadiums, including the new Perth Stadium, golf courses and race tracks. They’re often the probe of choice for scientific research organisations, government departments, local councils, and educational institutions and are currently used by many of Australia’s top universities and major government departments.
Check the Current Trials section of our Case Studies page for access to live data from trials being conducted by some of our customers.
There are many reasons to choose EnviroPro®! We know our probes are ahead of the competition in reliability, repeatability and accuracy.
EnviroPro® sensors have been uniquely designed to have a larger field of influence than competing probes of similar diameter, to allow for greater sample size. Both pro and standard models also employ clever techniques to compensate salinity and moisture measurements for variations in temperature, as well as compensating for moisture over-read caused by the presence of salinity. This is incredibly important, as without this compensation, all capacitive soil probes will read higher than the actual moisture content in saline soil. Irrigation decisions based on the over-read of moisture by un-compensated competitor probes could damage the crop or impact yield volume or quality.
While some probes require occasional re-calibration in the field, EnviroPro® soil probes are individually calibrated in factory to ensure life time sensor-to-sensor and probe-to-probe repeatability. This allows users to collect and compare trustworthy data at any depth, from anywhere on their property, and to learn from historic events and trends and apply this knowledge during future events.
EnviroPro® soil probes are designed and manufactured in South Australia, and are long-life, fully encapsulated instruments to ensure maximum immunity to environmental degradation.
Our probes have been proving their excellence in farming, scientific research, education and mining industries for over 20 years and carry an unmatched 5 year warranty.
If you would like to know more, please contact us or visit our products page for more information.
Yes. Entelechy have standard and heavy duty installation kits available.
For information on available accessories and installation kits, visit our products page.
EnviroPro® probes can be removed with the EnviroPro® Extraction Clamp.
For instructions on extracting EnviroPro® probes, please see our Installation Manual
Standard EnviroPro® soil probes can be upgraded to output salinity metrics with an upgrade key which can be purchased from Entelechy. Please contact Entelechy if you would like to purchase an upgrade key.
The probes can be upgraded using an EPCD (EnviroPro® Configuration Dongle) and the Evaluate software installed on a computer or by sending the key via your logger’s transparent mode using SDI-12 extended commands (This method is only available on G series probes, and only if your logger supports transparent mode).
Your logger is using “M” commands to retrieve data.
EnviroPro soil probes comply to the SDI-12 communication protocol. Early versions of this protocol can only support 9 sensor readings from each node. Later versions can support more than this using “C” (concurrent measurement) commands rather than “M” (measurement) commands. Try re configuring your logger to use “C” command, or contact your logger supplier for assistance.
By default 120cm EnviroProbes return measurements from 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100 and 120cm depths when presented with ” M” commands.
By default 160cm EnviroProbes return measurements from 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140 and 160cm depths when presented with ” M” commands.
The EnviroPro® probes are SDI-12 compliant. This standard can support up to 62 unique node addresses, or 62 individual sensor devices, including any devices other than EnviroPro® soil probes.
However, the number of probes you can connect to your logger is ultimately dependent on the logger and how many it can support. There are memory and power considerations and other factors that determine this limit.
Any SDI-12 compliant logger can be connected to EnviroPro® soil probes.
The SDI-12 standard states –
“The SDI-12 bus is capable of having at least 10 sensors connected to it, each with 200 feet of cable. With fewer sensors, longer cable lengths are possible.”
EnviroPro® sensors have been designed to meet or exceed this standard.
EnviroPro® cannot guarantee cable lengths beyond this specification, since the number of devices, the types of devices, and the cable guage used can all affect the performance of the SDI-12 bus being used.
Providing the protocol layer is still SDI-12 compliant, an RS485 half duplex hardware implementation may be used. EnviroPro® can provide an SDI-12 to RS485 converter if required. (Contact Entelechy or your supplier for more information.)
Our soil probes are fully encapsulated, providing long term stability and immunity to environmental damage and aging. They are manufactured to the highest standards and are designed with accuracy, repeatability and long term durability being paramount. They carry an un-paralleled 5 year warranty against defect or failure and should be expected to last many, many years beyond that.
None. EnviroPro® soil probes are completely maintenance free.
No. Every EnviroPro® soil probe has been individually factory-calibrated for life. This ensures life-time sensor to sensor and probe to probe repeatability, which is imperative when collecting data in multiple locations and over long periods in order to identify trends based on historical events.
Please note that factory calibration is different to soil type calibration, which, if required, should be done using soil from the install site at the time of installation.
EnviroPro® probes may be removed and relocated using EnviroPro® removal and installation tools.
For instructions on how to extract and install EnviroPro® probes, please see our Installation Manual
Yes. EnviroPro® soil probes are warranted against manufacturing defects or failure for a period of 5 years from date of purchase.
Contact your supplier in the event that you need to return products under warranty.
An EPCD is an accessory that connects an EnviroPro® probe to a computer to assist in easily configuring or upgrading EnviroPro® soil probes.
They can also to be used to read and display instantaneous readings from EnviroPro® probes, independently of loggers, as well as re-configure probes or carry out basic diagnostics.
Yes, all EnviroPro probes utilise salinity error correction. Without salinity compensation, all capacitance probes will read higher than the actual moisture content in saline soil.
Irrigation decisions based on the over reporting of moisture content could damage crops or impact yield or quality.
Pro models have the added ability to output salinity (EC) metrics to allow for monitoring of salinity leaching and fertiliser events.
This depends on a large variety of factors, so there is no single answer for all cases. The purpose of your soil monitoring system and therefore your accuracy requirements, as well as site-specific characteristics such as soil types, topography and weather factors, all influence the number of soil probes required. The best way to know how many sensors you require is to consult your agronomist or telemetry provider.
Monitoring soil moisture across the root zone helps in decision making around how much and when to irrigate crops or pasture to minimise wastage. Getting the timing and amount right can minimise crop stress related to under or over irrigating. Over irrigation can also cause leaching, where applied fertilisers or nutrients are flushed by excess water through the soil, out of reach of the plant and into groundwater, as well as runoff of contaminated water into waterways. These issues have detrimental environmental effects, in addition to the wastage of water, energy and fertiliser. Getting water and fertiliser inputs right can improve yield quantity and quality.
In dryland cropping, monitoring soil water content and sub soil moisture reserves can help with early decision making around crop selection and sowing timing, as well as tracking crop water use and water infiltration depth during rain events. Measuring soil conditions over a period of a few years can help to predict yield based on historical trends. In pasture, this data can help make early stock management decisions.
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EnviroPro® Reseller Access
EnviroPro® Resellers can get access to more useful downloads and content such as application forms and compliance documents with a Reseller Access login.