agratronix HST-1 User manual

Operators Manual
Advanced Hay Tester
Moisture and temperature tester for baled
hay, haylage, straw, and silage
ENGLISH
DOCU-M0180

Thank you for choosing our new Advanced Hay Tester. It ensures quick and easy
measurement of moisture and temperature of baled hay, haylage, straw and silage.
Patent pending automatic bale density compensation allows it to determine how
dense the bale is and to adjust moisture results accordingly for improved accuracy.
Other user friendly features include offset calibration, temperature compensation,
automatic moisture result update each time the probe is pushed forward (patent
pending), memory holding up to 1000 readings for transfer to a PC via USB, and a
backlit display. High quality materials and robust stainless steel probe ensure
durability.
Read this manual carefully to learn how to operate this device correctly.
1 Package Contents
• Advanced Hay Tester
• Battery
• Operator’s manual
• USB cable
2 Part Locator
1 Battery plug
2 Handle
3 USB port
4 Keypad
5 Display
6 Probe shaft
7 Probe tip
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3 Keypad and Display Symbols
Key functions change with the situation:
l
Power ON
Power OFF (long keypress)
Go to main menu or go back in a menu
eSelect
Alternate between temperature and moisture measurement
d
u
Navigate down or up in a menu
Select a different bale
pStart a measurement
Force a moisture measurement
Symbols at the bottom of the display indicate functions of the adjacent keys:
or Switch between temperature or moisture
measurement mode
Enter the menu
Select
Store to memory
Go back / up / down
Other display symbols:
Battery should be replaced
Malfunction. Remove the battery, wait a
short while and replace the battery. Power
on. If fault repeats, take a note of the error
code number displayed next to this symbol
and contact the manufacturer, Agratronix
Measurement memory is almost full.
See chapters 7 and 8 for instructions on
memory clearing
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4 Before use
1. Check that the probe is dry and clean and that the device appears undamaged.
2. Install or change the battery as illustrated.
3. Power on by pressing the l key.
4. Congure device settings to suit your preferences, see chapter 5.
5. Run the quick calibration procedure (see chapter 9.2).
Pull battery plug out. Release battery by pressing
in and tilting up.
Insert a fresh battery (ob-
serve polarity)
Lock battery in its place by
pressing in and down
Replace the battery
plug
5 Settings
1. Power on by pressing the l key.
2. There is a menu symbol at the bottom left corner of the display. Enter the main
menu by pressing the l key located below it.
3. Use the arrow keys uor d, until “+SETTINGS” text is chosen (light text on back-
ground) and press the e key.
The setting menu contains the following settings:
• Display language selection
• Temperature unit selection (degrees of Fahrenheit or Celsius)
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• Automatic power-off delay adjustment
• Averaging length for moisture measurement (= the number of most recent
moisture results to be calculated in the displayed average and high moisture
estimate)
• Display backlight brightness (NOTE: affects battery life)
• Display contrast (adjust this if it is difcult to read the display)
• Remaining battery capacity display
• Calibration. Quick calibration of moisture measurement (may improve
measurement accuracy). See chapter 9.2.
• Device information (this could be important upon communication with customer
service)
6 Usage
A large number of measurement results may be stored in the internal memory of
the device. You may store results for 64 different bales. Results are saved for the
calculation of average moisture and high moisture estimate and for saving on a
personal computer using the USB port. The type of each bale (e.g.hay or straw1) is
selected before measurement can start. You may choose not to store results in the
memory, but it is important to select the correct bale type to ensure proper
operation and accuracy.
Accurate measurement of moisture requires bale temperature to be known.
However, temperature measurement is much slower than moisture measurement,
as hay is a thermal insulator that very slowly warms up or cools down a strong
metal probe. Pushing into dense bales also warms up the probe due to friction.
Therefore, temperature should be measured separately, before moisture
measurement.
Power on by pressing the lkey. The tester will start with either moisture or
temperature measurement mode depending on which state it was previously. The
display will show the following information:
Temperature measurement display:
1The selection of bale types may change with geographical location and the
selection may grow with updates.
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1. Bale number (= memory slot number)
2. Bale type
3. Result of the latest temperature measurement (”---F” or ”
---C”, if there is no result yet).
4. MIN: Lowest temperature stored in memory
5. MAX: Highest temperature stored in memory
6. MEM: Latest temperature stored in memory (NOTE: when
starting moisture measurement, this value may be chosen to
be used as bale temperature for temperature compensation
of moisture.

Moisture measurement display:
Switch between temperature or moisture measurement modes by pressing the ekey
under the (or ) symbol on display.
If you wish to change the bale to be measured, press one of the arrow keys uor dto
browse the bale list and the ekey to select a bale. Whenever you start to measure a
new bale, select a memory slot (bale) whose type has not yet been chosen, i.e. whose
type is listed as ”----”. Alternatively, you may choose to clear the bale memory in the
main menu (see chapter 7).
Press the yellow measurement key pto start the measurement.
6.1 Temperature Measurement
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If you selected temperature measurement, current probe
temperature will now be continuously updated on the display.
You may store a temperature result to memory by pressing
the ekey located under the displayed symbol. The
stored result will then appear on display next to the word
”MEM” and the minimum (MIN) and maximum (MAX) stored
temperature readings will update accordingly and the
symbol will disappear from the screen.
To end temperature measurement, press the l key located
under the displayed symbol.
1. Bale number (= memory slot number)
2. Bale type
3. Result of latest moisture measurement (”---%”, if there is no
result yet, or e.g. <8% if bale was too dry to be measured or
e.g. >80% if bale was too wet to be measured.
5. HI: Estimate of the highest moisture inside the bale, based
on the stored values within the chosen averaging length.
6. n: Number of measurements used for calculation of aver-
age and high moisture estimate.
7. Moisture offset correction you have chosen for this bale
type as applied to the displayed result (this area is empty if
no offset correction has been set). See chapter 7.
8. Bale temperature as used for temperature compensation of
the displayed moisture result.
NOTE: This is NOT the current probe temperature.

Note: Temperature measurement settling time varies greatly with bale type. Wet and
dense gives faster settling than dry and light. Time after which 90% of temperature
change has been achieved ranges typically from 8 minutes with 60% haylage, to 30
minutes with 16% straw.
6.2 Moisture Measurement
Unless you have recently measured moisture of this bale, the meter will ask for bale
tem-perature before moisture measurement can start. There are up to 4 ways to give
the tem-perature, chosen by pressing the key drawn next to each option:
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Measure bale temperature now. Remember
that it will take a long time for the probe
temperature to reach bale temperature.
Use the latest temperature value stored
in memory for this bale (only shown if
available).
Set temperature manually. The core tem-
perature of a large bale follows the average
ambient temperature with a delay of several
days to a couple of weeks unless a decom-
position process is heating up the bale.
Use temperature value previously used for
temperature compensation for this bale
(only shown if available).
e
u
d
p

6.3 Power Off
The tester is powered off by a long press of the red lkey.
Automatic shutdown feature will power off after a pre-set delay starting from
the latest keypress. The power-off delay may be adjusted in the settings menu.
7 Functions of the Main Menu
Enter the main menu by pressing the l key located under the displayed menu symbol
. Browse the menu using the arrow keys u or d and select a function by pressing
the ekey.
Some functions allow removal of large amounts of data from the memory. The tester will
ask to conrm these operations. In this case, press the ekey to continue or the l key
to cancel.
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The tester asks you to push the probe into the bale. Hold the
tester by the handle only.
The tester estimates bale density during the push by measuring
push force and probe motion. It uses the density estimate to
improve accuracy of the moisture measurement.
Push at least 6 inches deep into the bale. Make sure that there
is at least 6 inches or hay around and in front of the probe tip.
After the push has stopped, moisture measurement will start
automatically.
NOTE: If the required push force is very low, the push may not
be detected. In this case, you may force measurement to start
by pressing the pkey. Density compensation will then assume
that the bale is very light.
Result will be shown on display after measurement. You may
choose to store the result by pressing the ekey located under
the displayed symbol. Average (AVG) and high moisture
estimate (HI) values will then update on display and the
symbol will disappear from the screen.
If you now push the probe deeper into the bale, moisture will be
measured again. You may also pull the probe out of the bale
and push it to another location.
When done probing the bale, exit moisture measurement by
pressing the lkey located under the displayed symbol.
Once bale type and bale temperature have been set, moisture measurement may start:

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8 USB Data Transfer
Measurement results stored in memory may be transferred to a personal computer using
the USB port. Pull out the USB plug and use the supplied cable. Software required for
data transfer will be available on our web page at http://agratronix.com.
9 Cleaning and Maintenance
Store the tester in a dry place, protected from direct sunlight. Remove the battery
before long term storage. There are no user serviceable parts inside the device.
Do not remove the screws and open the unit.
MOIST.OFFSET The moisture display may be adjusted to match an oven
test or another reference method using the moisture offset
setting.
Once set, the offset correction will be applied to all moisture
measurements of the same type (e.g. all hay bales). The ad-
justment will not affect results previously stored to memory.
Use the arrow keys u or dto adjust the offset. You may
clear the offset by pressing the arrow keys u and dsimul-
taneously. Conrm your adjustment by pressing the e key
under the displayed symbol.
As a reminder, the offset will be displayed above the mois-
ture result on the moisture measurement screen in small
letters (e.g. OFFSET +0.6%). The offset will also be shown
upon bale selection.
NOTE: Offset correction will only work well fairly close to the
moisture where it was originally set. Therefore, if you apply
offset correction for wet haylage, please clear the offset
before measuring dry hay.
T-COMP. Set bale temperature for use in temperature compensation
of moisture measurement. See chapter 6.2.
+SETTINGS Enter the settings menu. See chapter 5
CLEAR AVG/HI Clears average and high moisture estimate for the currently
selected bale. All measurement results remain in memory.
Therefore, if you later increase averaging length in the set-
tings menu (see chapter 5), previous results will be included
in calculation again. If innite (∞) averaging length has been
selected, this function will not have an effect.
CLEAR BALE Clears the bale type of the currently selected bale and
erases all measurement results stored for this bale.
CLEAR ALL Clears the entire measurement memory. All moisture and
temperature results and bale type selections will be erased.

9.1Cleaning
The device may be cleaned by wiping with a damp cloth. Do not use strong
detergents or running water.
The tip of the probe must be kept clean and dry to retain measurement accuracy. The tip
should be wiped dry and clean immediately after use, before it becomes difcult to clean.
Stubborn stains may be removed by gently wiping with a damp
soft scouring pad.
9.2Quick Calibration
Moisture measurement accuracy may be improved by periodically performing the quick
calibration procedure. We recommend it to be done at least always after storage. It is
more important for measurement of dry bales than wet.
If you often measure bales whose core temperature is very high or very low, it may be
benecial to calibrate near the bale temperature. To do this, leave the probe inside such
bale for e.g. 15 minutes, and calibrate immediately after pulling it out.
Quick calibration is performed as follows:
1. Verify that the probe is clean and dry.
2. Power on and select “CALIBRATION” in the settings menu.
3. Hold the tester so that the entire probe is surrounded only by clean, dry air with no
objects closer than 30 cm to the probe in any direction. Do not touch the probe.
4. Start calibration by pressing the e key.
Result of the quick calibration will be stored to memory. It will be effective until
the next quick calibration, or factory calibration during service or until you reset factory
defaults (see chapter 9.5).
NOTE: Incorrectly performed calibration may weaken measurement
accuracy signicantly!
9.3 Factory Calibration
The Advanced Hay Tester can perform full factory calibration, where the device is checked
and calibrated at its entire moisture range. Push force measurement and temperature
measurement will be checked and rmware may be updated.
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9.4 Updates
We may publish rmware updates that improve measurement accuracy or usability.
Updates are installed via the USB port using a personal computer. Updates and
update instructions will become available on our web page at http://agratronix.com.
9.5 Factory Reset
If the tester does not function as expected - for example, if you have chosen a
language that you do not understand - factory default settings may be restored as
follows: Power off with the lkey. Press the ekey and keep it pressed. Press the
lkey once, to power on tester. Lift the e key when conrmation screen
appears. Accept factory reset by pressing the pkey.
Factory reset sets all settings to their factory default values, selects the default
language (usually English), clears offset correction of all bale types, erases the
entire measurement memory and clears the quick calibration. Factory calibration
remains untouched.
10 Instructions for Best Accuracy
Always average several results, as bales tend to have signicant local variation
in moisture, quality and density. The higher the bale moisture, the more measure-
ments should be averaged and the more important it is to use temperature com-
pensation correctly.
There must be a sufciently thick layer of hay in front of the probe tip and around it,
at least 6 inches to all directions. Do not push to a hole from a previous measure-
ment or closer than 4 inches to a previous measurement.
When measuring small square bales, push from a direction where the probe is
surrounded by as much hay as possible. Avoid loose areas between sections of
square bales.
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Push the probe using the handle and the end of the handle. Do not touch the probe
during a push or measurement. Otherwise push force measurement or the electrical
moisture measurement may not function as intended.
Take care not to bend the probe, especially when pulling it out of a bale. The
probe is made of strong steel, but it is quite thin to keep required push force reason-
able. It is easiest to pull the probe out of a bale by grabbing the top of the tester as
illustrated below.
When measuring a bale with thick wrapping, puncture the wrapping with the
probe tip before measurement to make sure the force required for making a
hole in the wrapping will not affect density measurement.
Accuracy of the moisture measurement may be affected if a strong heating
reaction (“sweating”) is in progress, or if the bale has spoiled, or if the effect
of preservatives has not yet fully stabilized.
Keep the probe clean and dry. Any other electronic devices possibly
connected to the bale must be powered off during measurement.
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Do not push the probe all the way to the soft core of a round bale. Do not push to the
at end of a round bale.

11 Technical Data
Battery 9 V alkaline battery, IEC type 6LR61 tai 6LF22
Dimensions 32” x 4.25” x 2”, probe length: 20”,
weight (with battery): 2 lbs.
Moisture
measurement
range
Hay and haylage: 8% … 80%, Straw: 8% ... 25%, Hay
Silage: 30% ... 84%, Corn Silage: 40% ... 76%, Alfalfa:
8% ...75% (percentage of water in weight at 59°F (15°C)
temperature)
Moisture
measurement
accuracy2
10% to 20%: 1.4%
20% to 30%: 2%
30% to 50%: 4%
50% to 70%: 6%
Reference
method for
moisture
determination
Oven dry method according to ISO 6496:1999, EY N:o
152/2009, with samples acquired using a core sampler
drill from the depth of moisture measurement
Moisture
measurement
Electronic impedance measurement
Density
compensation
Automatic, based on push force and motion
measurement
Temperature
compensation
Semi-automatic, optional
Operating
temperature
range
Handle/display: 14°F ... 122°F (-10°C ... +50°C),
Probe: 14°F ... 176°F (-10°C ... +80°C)
Temperature
measurement
range
14°F ... 176°F (-10°C ... +80°C)
Measurement
memory
64 bales, with total of 1000 moisture or temperature
results
2 Instructions in chapter 10 must be followed to achieve full accuracy. Typical
accuracy specied for baled timothy/fescue mix without preservatives. Accuracy
with other products may vary. As substantial variation in measurement accuracy
is possible, the manufacturer will not accept any claims for direct or consequential
damage due to incorrect display.
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12 Warranty
This product has a warranty valid for one (1) year from the date of purchase.
The warranty covers the materials and workmanship. To claim the warranty,
the customer should return the defected product to the Manufacturer at the
customer’s own expense.
The warranty claim must be accompanied with the description of the
fault, copy of the sales receipt and customer’s contact information.
The manufacturer, Agratronix will repair or replace the defected product and
return it as soon as possible.
The warranty does not cover any damages that are caused by incorrect or
careless use of the product, installation that does not correspond to the
provided instructions and other damages which may arise due to causes
beyond the control of the manufacturer.
The liability of Agratronix is limited to the price of the product at a maximum.
Agratronix does not accept any responsibility for any direct, indirect or
consequential damages that are caused by the use of the product or the fact
that the product could not be used.
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Toll-Free 1-800-821-9542
330-562-2222
FAX [phone]
www.AgraTronix.com
10375 State Route 43
Streetsboro, OH 44241
USA
Manufacturer’s Contact Information

Manual del
Operador
Probador avanzado de heno
Medidor de humedad y temperatura para
heno en balas, heno enfardado,
paja y ensilado
ESPAÑOL
DOCU-M0180

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