Figure 1. C17 Digital Inclinometer System

1. Introduction

This knowledge base article details useful further information on how to best maintain our Digital Inclinometer cable. There are four key areas that should be respected when using an Inclinometer in the field to ensure that the cable remains healthy.

2. Maintaining your Inclinometer cable

Firstly when using the Inclinometer on site the cable needs to be well maintained and kept away from all sharp or abrasive objects that could cause cable damage. For this we recommend that after the cable has been fully extended to the bottom of the borehole and the A0 reading process has started that the Inclinometers cable is either wound back onto the Inclinometer hub or placed in a container. The second option, which is more appropriate if you are completing multiple data sets on one borehole, is to have a container on site that you are able to place the Inclinometer cable into in an orderly fashion ensuring the cable is free of kinks and twist.

Warning: Please note that the cable should never be left on the ground when taking readings.

The second issue to consider that is often overlooked is the rotation of the Inclinometer probe. This occurs when inserting the probe into the borehole for the first time, then when re-inserting the probe for the A180 set of readings and finally when returning the probe to its cradle. It is important when doing this to attempt to reverse or nullify any initial rotation that the probe is subjected to. For example if you have to rotate the probe clockwise to insert it into the borehole and clockwise when you rotate the probe into the A180 position and do not reverse this rotation, after a prolonged period this will cause a large amount of stress to build up within the cable. This can lead to twisting and kinking of the cable that may eventually result in a cable break. To avoid this we strongly recommend reversing any rotation that the cable is subjected to immediately. 

A third area that should come under consideration is the use of the Inclinometer in conjunction with the cable gate. It is important to pay special attention to this to ensure that the Inclinometer cable markers are never dropped into the cable gate. You must ensure that at each depth the cable markers are placed into the gate, if this is not adhered to you risk the possibility of applying additional stresses into the cable. If the cable markers are dropped into the gate, depending on the height to which they are dropped there is the risk of causing cable marker slippage, if this were to occur the readings would be offset at each depth and would not align with previous readings taken on the same borehole. 

Finally it is key that if you notice a build-up of twist on the cable that this is reversed immediately. This might be noticed when an Inclinometer is replaced in its cradle on the reel, all that is require to reverse the twist is that the probe is rotated as required until there is no more twisting in the cable. This twisting may not always be obvious; to ensure that you can see any twisting that is occurring we recommend that the cable is well kept and cleaned regularly. 

We hope that the above information helps prolong the life expectancy of your Inclinometer cable.

If you have an queries about the above information, please submit a support ticket or call Soil Instruments on +44 01825 765044 for advice.

Checked MO'R v1.0 19/05/15