Turf-Tec MS6-W User manual

Turf-Tec International Digital Moisture Sensor - Copyright 2011
Page 1 - www.turf-tec.com
Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor
From the inventors of one of the first moisture
sensors available to the turfgrass industry comes
the new Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor.
The Turf-Tec Digital Moisture
Sensor has been developed
to determine soil moisture in
the soil profile. The unit has
an adjustable foot which
allows you to determine moisture at
the one inch, two inch, three inch or
four inch depth without changing
probes. This will insure you can
determine the soil moisture above,
below and in the turfgrass rootzone
for maximum water savings and plant
health.
Simply slide the adjustable foot
to the desired depth, insert the
Turf-Tec Digital Moisture
Sensor into the soil and press
the “Read” button near the
digital display. The read out is
a percentage of soil moisture that is held within the air space
in the soil.
This state of the art unit is designed to work in all soil types and salinity ranges.
The probes are also easily replaceable. The Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor
uses a newly designed electrical conductivity sensing circuit that gives quick and
reliable readings of soil moisture. With years of science behind the sensing
results, there is no easier way to test for soil moisture.
MS6-W - Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor
Replacement parts:
MS6-P001- Turf-Tec Digital
Moisture Sensor probes (Set 2)

Turf-Tec International Digital Moisture Sensor - Copyright 2011
Page 2 - www.turf-tec.com
Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor - MS6-W
1. Step one, screw in probes- Do not over
tighten but be sure probes are very tight.
2. Wet area on green with irrigation water and
extend probes to 1 inch level.
3. Insert probes 3-4 times in soil to clean them
before use each day.
4. Insert into wet area on green at 1 inch level.
5. Press read button.
6. If reading over 100% - Adjust meter internally
until reading is at 100% to compensate for salts
and minerals in soil. (See instruction manual
page 5)
Readings
0-25% Dry
25-75% Ideal
75% - 100% Wet
(Over 100% - adjustment must be made to unit)

Turf-Tec International Digital Moisture Sensor - Copyright 2011
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Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor Instructions
Specifications
Construction: Plated steel and anodized aluminum.
Dimensions: 39 Inches tall (Assembled)
Read out: Meter reads 0 - 199% scale
Probes: Replaceable set of probes*
Battery: One - 9 Volt Battery
Operating Instructions
(1) Remove unit from box and attach spikes. Note there are
two different color spikes, one Blue and one Black. You
must attach one of each color to the Meter foot in order for
the unit to work correctly*.
(2) Next push adjustment button in with thumb and slide foot
to desired depth, (Each hole is in one inch increments) and
button will lock into place.
(3) Push power button to the "On" position by pressing in.
(4) Press the red “Read” button to zero out the meter.
(5) Insert probes slowly into turf. If resistance is met, DO NOT
FORCE, either move to a new location or make a
hole for the probe with a suitable tool.
(6) Press the “Read” Button.
(7) Read the digital read out and record the reading.
(8) Take several different readings to get an average
idea of moisture content at each level in the soil.
(9) Note –Pressing read each time the probe is out of
the soil will zero out the readings.
(10) After finished taking readings, be sure to turn unit off
to conserve battery life.
(11) If digital read out is faded, install a new 9 volt battery.
Correlating Readings
Remember that each soil is unique and reading for one type soil will be different from
another type soil. The best way to find out your soil moisture readings is to take a
Moisture Sensor reading at field capacity; this will tell you what the "Wet" readings are in
your particular soil type. This is accomplished by saturating the soil with your irrigation
water and taking a reading. This will give you the “High” reading. If numbers are above
100% see the calibration section. You should also measure moisture in a dry area and
this will give you your “Low” threshold. By watering until the soil reached the middle of
these two numbers will give you the best turfgrass health.

Turf-Tec International Digital Moisture Sensor - Copyright 2011
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Correlating Readings continued
1. Readings on the scale are in percentages. 0% - 25% indicate low moisture. In
this range, plant roots have difficulty absorbing moisture. Therefore, this must be
considered a danger condition.
2. 25% - 75% indicate medium moisture or the ideal range.
3. 75% - 100% indicate a wet soil, which denotes too much water. Readings over
100% are possible and most likely indicate the presence of salts or minerals in
the soil. See "Adjustment of Readings - Calibration" Section.
4. Normally, after irrigation or rain, the read out will indicate wet or saturated soil.
This condition will change in about an hour, when dealing with normally draining
soils, to the 25 - 75% range.
5. To calibrate the readings on your area - Run your irrigation cycle for as long as
you usually run during dry conditions. (If you do not have irrigation, test the area
right after a soaking rain of at least one half inch.) One hour after irrigation or
rainfall, take soil moisture readings at the 1", 2" 3" and 4 Inch level. Record
these readings.
6. These numbers are your baseline reading of your soil at field capacity. “Field
capacity” means that the soil is holding all of the water it can after the
gravitational water has drained from the top four inches of the soil profile.
7. After field capacity readings have been recorded for each area with unique soils,
you can use this range as your "Wet" moisture readings. You will never want to
irrigate above these numbers as the soil will be saturated and turfgrass health
will decline. Soils and Readings
A soil in good tilth consists of 50% solids, 25% air spaces and 25% water. Rain or
irrigation water will temporarily fill all of the voids in the soil. Depending on the porosity of
the soil or its capacity to hold water, good soils will drain in about an hour. This
gravitational water and will move down into the soil profile. Normally, it will take about an
hour for this gravitational water to move down after it is applied to turfgrass areas.
As the turfgrass plant uses the water held in the soil, which is at “field capacity”, air
begins to fill the voids occupied by the water, allowing the root system to take in oxygen.
As water is used up in the “field capacity” range, it can be noted on the meter over time.
Learning to use your Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor as a guide to irrigation practices
will greatly reduce the guesswork in developing and managing quality turfgrass areas.
Different soils and their moisture readings
The Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor tells the amount of water in the air space that is in
the soil. A one to two year old USGA sand based golf green or sand based athletic field
that is saturated will show a very small amount of moisture because of the air space in
the soil and its ability to drain the water quickly at field capacity. An area constructed
from clay, soil, silt or other native materials will show a much higher reading when
saturated.
The main objective in using this tool is to be sure you calculate your field capacity for all
areas of unlike construction. On Golf Courses, Greens, Tees and Fairways will require
three different ranges for wet, good and dry readings. Athletic field may have different
soil characteristics if wear areas have been re-built or re-seeded with different soil types.
Once these areas on your property are noted, they will not change much over time
unless a total renovation or re-construction is undertaken.

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Golf Courses, Tournaments and Sporting Events
The main thing to look for before tournament play or events is not to need an actual
percentage reading of say 30% but to look for consistency. If all the greens have the
same percentage of soil moisture and they all have the same reading on the Turf-Tec
Penetrometer, they will all respond to the ball impact the same way. If all sports field
areas are also consistent, they will have the same footing and ball bounce. The key to
playability is consistency from green to green or area to area on an athletic field with the
relationship of soil moisture and compaction.
Adjustment of Readings - Calibration
The Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor comes pre-calibrated from the factory to read
100% if the probe tips are placed into most water types. If you adjust the readings, Turf-
Tec will re-calibrate your unit to factory settings if required, however the shipping
charges will not be covered under the one year warranty period.
To adjust the readings, follow the below procedure.
1. First, be sure probes are tight in the foot block. Low or sporadic readings
will occur if probes are not tight. (Do not over tighten)
2. Extend the probe tips out of foot to one inch level.
3. Wet an area that is representative of the area you will be testing (same soil type)
with your irrigation water.
4. Insert the probes into the soil 2-3 times to clean them.
5. Insert the probes into the wet area and check the digital display. If the readings
are over 100%, there is probably sodium or other minerals present in your
irrigation water or soil. That value should be determined by sending in a water
sample to a qualified lab or using an EC Meter.
6. Open the meter top by unscrewing the four screws in the face of the meter.
7. Place the probes again directly into the area of saturated soil.
8. Locate the calibration adjustment screw on the circuit board that is attached to
the bottom of the meter box. (Photo below)
Photo - calibration adjustment screw
9. Insert a small screwdriver into the calibration adjustment screw and turn slightly
until the reading on the digital display reads 100%.
10. Remove the probes from the soil and repeat the process a couple time to
be sure the probes are clean and the reading is stable at 100%.
11. Reattach face securely with four screws.

Turf-Tec International Digital Moisture Sensor - Copyright 2011
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Please note that if the readings are adjusted and rainfall occurs, the rain will often act as
sodium flush and wet readings will read lower then 100% in the soil until the sodium or
mineral levels reach the re-calibrated levels.
Probe wear and accuracy of readings
The Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor comes with two probes that have a protective
cover over the main portion of the probe with just the bottom one inch exposed to the
soil. Once the unit is calibrated for your soil, if any areas of the protective coating are
worn away or damaged, there will be more metal exposed to the soil, thus giving artificial
higher readings. Care should be taken each day before readings are made to inspect
the protective coatings on the probes and if this material is worn or damaged, now
probes should be inserted in order to achieve accurate readings.
Readings over 100%
The Turf-Tec Digital Moisture Sensor will display readings over 100%, in fact the read
out will go up to 199%. The reason for this is to alert the user that the unit should be
calibrated so that the maximum reading shown is 100% on any area on your property
that you are checking moisture on. For golf greens and sports fields, different
construction techniques, age of areas, thatch build up and renovations account for
variations in soil types and variations in organic matter content which changes moisture
readings. This is especially true when you are checking a one-inch increment zone in
the soil profile as compared to a composite moisture reading of the entire profile. By
allowing moisture to be measured at one-inch increments allows you to localize moisture
readings in the rootzone to produce the best environment for growing healthy turf.
If readings over 100% occur, follow the recalibration technique on page 5 until the
highest number is 100% on the property you will be checking. Turfgrass areas with low
organic matter now may read a lower range for that area when saturated so a repeat of
step # 2-5 on page # 5 and record the “Saturated”and “Dry”readings for that turfgrass
area. Once you become accustomed to the read-out range for that particular turfgrass
area, watering to the midpoint of the “Saturated”and “Dry”numbers will allow the perfect
balance of water and air to be in the rootzone, producing the best environment for
growing turf.