Waterproofing capacitive soil moisture sensors.
After huge exposure to the rain 2 out of 6 sensors started to act unexpectedly, probably due to a moisture in a controller.
We used construction silicone to waterproof sensors. Apparently silicone did not do a great job.
Here is a sensor with construction silicone removed:





Wire was re-soldered and sensor's electronics covered with nail polish.





Cover was 3D printed and void filled with clear silicone:





Silicone cured for at least two hours before putting it back into soil





Sensor blade was also covered with nail polish.There's no place like ~

Simple cover for sensor electronics:


STL file:
www.codemacs.com/download..There's no place like ~

Silicone appears to be not the best choice for waterproofing a sensor.
So, one sensor was sealed with 5 minute epoxy for electronics under 3D printed cover and 30 minutes epoxy for sensor blade.


Do not forget to clean sensor with alcohol prior to epoxy application as it removes moisture and any grease from handling.


Make sure sensor's edges are also soaked in epoxy.



Hope it works better than silicone.There's no place like ~

Nice

Arduino automated plant watering system

https://youtu.be/1jKAxLyOY_s