di Series User/Software Manual
33
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Scheduling Maintenance
If you are unsure of how your dipperLog will perform in your site’s environment, we recommend you
to schedule site inspections and physically examine your dipperLogs and their function periodically
during the course of the deployment.
NOTE: If you do not check your site regularly, you will not know how the monitoring
environment is affecting your equipment.
Each time that you inspect your dipperLog it is recommended that you take manual water level
measurements. These measurements can be logged and compared to the readings of the dipperLog
to ensure the dipperLog is performing properly. If your readings are not accurate, it may be time to
clean your dipperLog. Sensors will experience some longterm drift from their original calibrated state,
but not following the maintenance suggestions in this document could cause sensors to be less
accurate at a quicker rate.
Manual measurements can be taken using a Heron dipper-T Water Level Meter. These
measurements can then be compared to the readings of the dipperLog to ensure accuracy over time.
Determining how often you visit your site is based on your monitoring environment. In good quality
freshwater, like a municipal production well, inspecting a dipperLog and taking manual readings may
be done once a season; whereas physical cleaning of the dipperLog may only need to be cleaned
once a year. Meanwhile, in harsher environments, like a contamination site, inspections and cleaning
should be more often.
NOTE: Your maintenance schedule will be based on your past experience, familiarity with the
monitoring site, and results of previously scheduled site inspections.
Preventative Maintenance
If you are familiar with the conditions of your monitoring site, and know you are going to require extra
corrosion resistance, or protection from ice accumulation, there are precautionary steps that can be
taken.
To prevent icing, the easiest method is to lower the dipperLog to a point in the water column below
the frost line or ice formation depth. In shallow streams, wetlands or ponds where icing/ freezing may
reach to the bottom, install the dipperLog in a vented stilling well embedded into the bottom of the
water body beyond the frost line. Alternatively, place the dipperLog inside, rubber balloons filled with a
non-toxic, non-corrosive anti-freeze solution or saltwater solution (dipperLog-TOUGH only). The anti-
freeze solution will protect the dipperLog from ice expansion; yet transmit any pressure and
temperature fluctuations.
