Moisture meter Wile 200: investigation results

The competitive environment orients rural producers to produce safe, high-quality products. The solution of this problem is impossible without the use of reliable and timely production information obtained by modern means of measurement. In the list of parameters of the system of operational decisionmaking in the production of grain and seeds, the determining role belongs to information about their moisture content. Reliable and timely information on humidity can significantly reduce the technical, technological and social risks affecting the economy of agricultural enterprises. Currently, the market of the necessary complex of grain moisture meters is occupied mainly by foreign developments. The most popular field electric moisture meters are not produced by domestic instrument-making companies. Foreign devices are graded on varieties of crops grown in completely different climatic and soil conditions. There are differences in the standard means and methods of grain preparation, which are used by manufacturers in the calibration of devices. In order to avoid risks when using imported devices, it is necessary to assess their adaptability to domestic crops and conditions of use. The article presents the results of a study of a new model from the line of capacitive moisture meters produced by the well-known Finnish company Farmcomp. The defining concept of the device model is the minimization of random errors caused by the user's actions, and automatic compensation of the influence of the volume density (nature) of the grain mass. The complexity of measurement technologies and the limited humidity range reduce the possibility of using the device in production conditions. The methods used in the device to compensate for factors affecting its readings do not fully provide the results expected from their use. Calibration of the device on domestic crops and varieties in the ranges of change of their basic properties (humidity, volume density), characteristic for the Russian conditions is necessary.