Installation Guidelines for Copper-Sulphate Reference Electrodes:
Before the works:
Remove a protective film from a potential sensor and remove a preservation grease. Then ungrease the surface of potential sensor with industrial alcohol.
Remove a protective film from the basis of electrode screw nut.
1 step: Do preparatory works:
check the integrity of copper-sulphate reference electrode;
check the requirements to electric parameters for copper-sulphate reference electrode.
Check the integrity of reference electrode:
Inspect electrode body visually, it should have no chops, cracks, stains of oil, paint and other dirt. Inspect the insulated enclosure of the measuring cable visually.
Copper-sulphate reference electrode is immersed into a reservoir with water and left there for about min. 10 minutes. Water temperature should reach at least 25° С.
Please make sure that water does not go blue, otherwise the electrode does not stand the test.
Check that copper-sulphate reference electrode meets the requirements of electric parameters:
Checking the inner electric resistance:
Checking reference electrode potential towards a silver-chloride electrode.Place a reference electrode in a corrosion resistant reservoir filled with river sand. NaCl solution in a distilled water wets the sand, then the reference electrode potential is measured.
No reference electrode can be mounted in soil, if any of the following occurs:
water becomes blue, and the electric parameters do not match the required ones.
The electrode is damaged after the tests.
2 step: Mounting in soil. Recommendations:
Prior being installed in soil, a copper-sulphate reference electrode is immersed into a reservoir with water and left there for about min. 10 minutes. Water temperature should reach at least 25° С.It is considered ACCEPTABLE to use ARM-5 solution instead of dipping the electrode into water. Use ARM-5 solution for better contact with soil, when the electrode is mounted in soil, and the conductors are on the surface, prior backfill it is necessary to pour ARM-5 solution so that the solution gets on a contacting area of the electrode (its lower part).
Solid particles of more than 3 mm should be taken away from a 50 mm thick soil layer where the electrode is mounted.
Sieved soil with no solid particles with the size of more than 3 mm should cover a copper-sulphate reference electrode and be carefully compacted.
The electrode should be installed in a trench so that the bottom of electrode body is on the same level as the lower part of the pipeline.
The distance between the pipeline wall or its projection and electrode body should equal min 100 mm.
3 step: Checking serviceability and installation quality of copper-sulphate reference electrode. Make the measurements with a device, for example, a voltmeter.
measurement of electric resistance between a potential sensor and a pipeline.
measurement of electric resistance between an electrode and a pipeline.
Measured values should be within 0.1 - 15 kOm.
The potential sensor must be connected to the pipeline all the time!
They can be disconnected at the time of measurement processes!