Product Manual

Digital Soil Compaction Tester / Digital
Dial Penetrometer - PN-COMP-DIG-S
Instructions
The NEW Digital Soil Compaction Tester is a
digital version of the Dial Penetrometer for
testing hard pans in the soil, It uses an
electronic force sensor that eliminates
changing tip size for different soil types. The
LCD display reads in PSI or kPa shows
compaction severity with green/yellow/red color
code. It is rugged and meets ASABE S313.3
Soil Compaction Standard.
By pushing the Digital Soil Compaction Tester
into the soil with steady downward pressure
and watching the digital read out, you can
visually see any hard pans in the soil profile up
to 24 inches deep (60 cm). It also reads the
maximum or "Peak" PSI reading after each
reading.
Soil compaction can occur in any type of soil.
Years of traffic, tillage, Aerification and settling
can cause soil particles to group together and
fill in air spaces in the soil creating a “plow pan”
or "hard pan" below the root zone. When this
happens, a hard layer is formed making it
difficult for moisture and roots to penetrate the
soil. Some soil types are more susceptible to
compaction than others; but once a
compaction layer is formed, and moisture and
traffic continues, the compaction layer will
continue to get denser and thicker.
Digital Soil Compaction Tester / Digital Dial
Penetrometer is a simple tool that uses
downward pressure to determine soil
compaction at different depths in the soil
profile. With this easy to use tool you can test
down to 24 inches deep (60 cm).
Why Test Soil Compaction?
Turfgrass Areas
 Increase the effectiveness of your
irrigation system
 Applications of fertilizers,
pesticides and herbicides will
penetrate the soil better
 Increase soil water retention and
infiltration
 Insure Aerification techniques are
reaching desired depths
 Maintain consistency from one
green, fairway, tee to another for
firmness and playability
 Maintain firmness and playability
from one athletic field to another.
Farming
 Increase yield by increasing root
and plant development
 Reduce time and fuel cost by
reducing power needed to till a
field
 Increase the effectiveness of
fertilizers, pesticides and
herbicides
 Increase soil water retention and
infiltration
To read the Digital
Soil Compaction
Tester / Digital
Dial Penetrometer
simply look at
progress bar on
digital read out for
color comparison
and digital display
for PSI or kPa
numeric value
Green (0 - 200 psi)
Good Growing
Conditions
Yellow (200 - 300
psi)
Fair Growing
Conditions
Red (300 psi and
above)
Poor Growing
Conditions