FAQs

All our products can be purchased either directly from our UK HQ or through our network of local partners, see our distributors page (Contact) to find a representative in your local area.

Yes, Geosense is fully accredited to ISO 9001:2015 and the quality of our products and procedures is of vital importance.

Yes. Geosense has its standard sensors as stock items but we also offer bespoke solutions to cater for particular monitoring needs.

As a manufacturer, we do not offer subcontract installation but we can provide on-site training or put you in contact with one of our installation partners worldwide.

Yes. Geosense has experience of shipping to over 70 countries worldwide. We have expertise in-house to ensure the packaging, paperwork and customs procedures are all compliant with international regulations.

Yes, Geosense sensors are designed, manufactured, and calibrated at our manufacturing facility based in the UK.

Please either send an email to sales@geosense.co.uk or call +44 1359270457 and one of our sales team will be happy to help.

Geosense offers an industry-leading two-year warranty on all products. Our warranty information can be found in our terms.

PANIC!

Whilst it’s not an ideal situation, the following may help…

1. Refer to the calibration sheet for a specific piezometer and note the Average reading in Digits at ‘0.0’ pressure reading. This should be ‘close’ to the installation zero.
2. Elevation, atmospheric pressure and temperature will also affect the Zero so it is necessary to compare the site values with those detailed on the calibration sheet. A more accurate ‘calculated’ zero can then be created by compensating for any significant differences.

If you need assistance with these calculations, please contact the Geosense support team by email to  support@geosense.co.uk or call +44 1359270457.

Grout mixes should always be provided by the instrumentation design engineer taking into account local ground conditions. Permeability if the key factor to be considered. For further information, read the blog ‘Fully Grouted Method – Grout Selection‘.

Contreras et al. (2008, 2012) identified that the permeability of grout can be up to three orders of magnitude higher than the permeability of the surrounding soil without inducing a significant error.

The document ‘2020 ISO 18674-4 Measurement of pore water pressure: Piezometers‘ provides specifications for grout according to soil type. In the UK, it can be ordered from the British Standards Institution.

Grout mixes should always be provided by the instrumentation design engineer taking into account local ground conditions.

The general rule for grouting any kind of instrument in a borehole is to try and mimic strength and deformation characteristics of the surrounding soil rather than permeability.

While it is feasible to match strengths, it is not really feasible to match the deformation modulus and it is a more sensible approach to minimise the area of the grouted annulus with an approximate strength grout so that the column will only contribute a weak force.

Take a look at our easy-to-use Grout Calculator developed to work out the quantity of cement, Bentonite and water required according to soil type, bore diameter, depth of bore and number of boreholes.

We would suggest no. If sensors are pulled from the casing and then reinstalled, the previous baseline readings are unlikely to be comparable. Output will stabilise after time but even slight differences in the positioning of the sensors will appear as changes (movement) in plots. It is better to establish a new baseline.

Geosense 70mm QJ and XC casing is made in the UK from high impact 100% virgin ABS.

The answer to this question very much depends on the application and project type. However shorter spacings are not always better and using longer spacings where applicable will save clients’ money and time. The recent ISO 18674-3 Measurement of displacements across a line: Inclinometers standard recommends spacings up to 2m for IPI strings.

PUR cable is very robust and especially resistant to puncture and abrasion. It is also more UV stable than other jacket materials.

No, vibrating wire sensors require incredibly low power to ‘excite’ and read. This is why many vibrating wire enabled dataloggers have very long battery life, even at short monitoring intervals.

We strongly recommend using a LAE (low resistance to air entry) stainless steel filter for all Geosense vibrating wire piezometers installed using the fully grouted method.

ISO 18674-4 Piezometers states High air entry porous filters shall not be used with the fully grouted method unless there is a means of removing air from the piezometer.

All access casings can be filled with clean water to counteract buoyancy during installation. We strongly advise against holding the casing down by loading the top as it will cause snaking in the casing.

The preferred approach is to either anchor the base of the tube or for a temporary weight to be lowered to the base, inside the casing.

Our VW gauges are calibrated using Digits, but some dataloggers read gauges in Hz.  It is necessary to convert Hz to Digits to use the calibration factors.  Use the following equations:

From Hz to Digits: (Reading in Hz)² / 1000

From Digits to Hz: √ (Reading in Digits x 1000)

Yes, all our piezometers are fitted with 90V Gas Plasma Arrester which protects against voltage spikes.

However, it is recommended that primary lightning protection should be installed where cable runs or terminal equipment might be exposed to lightning strikes.

Yes, Geosense readouts can be used to take readings from most historically installed and current Vibrating Wire sensors.

Yes, you can shorten or extend VW cables as much as you like. It will not affect the calibration or void your warranty.  It is recommended that epoxy resin joints are used but this is not essential if the joint is not exposed to the elements. However, it is not recommended to have a joint within a borehole. Care should be taken to avoid strain on the cable in the jointed zone.

Yes, every Geosense pressure sensor is temperature calibrated from factory as standard therefore readings can be compensated for small effects of thermal changes.

Yes, our technical sales engineers can help with product selection as well as discuss your monitoring needs to ensure the best products for your application.

Yes, our technical support is available to anyone, whether they are prescribing a job or looking at the data. Please send an email to support@geosense.co.uk or call +44 1359270457.