With the cold of winter just around the corner, you’re probably wondering how winter weather affects your production. If you activate the Frost Protection feature in your AMI Penta from DGT by Senmatic, irrigation will run smoothly all winter long and you can be sure that frost will not get hold of your pipes.
With the Frost Protection feature in your AMI Penta, you ensure circulation of water in the pipes of your irrigation system to avoid frost damage and frozen valves that prevent the daily watering of your crops.
All you need is your AMI Penta water and fertilizer mixer, irrigation valves and temperature sensors – items you probably already have in your production.
The function connects your temperature sensors to your irrigation system and starts automatically when the sensor reaches your set temperature. For example, if you want the circulation to start when the temperature drops to 0 degrees, you set this in the Frost Protection program.
Please note that this is only circulation in the pipes and that no water is released to the cultures. However, you should be aware that valves should not be open while the function is on, so the water will flow back to the tank after it has circulated against the closed valves.
How to do it in practice
Frost protection is enabled under Groups. Select the group where the valves and pipes you want to frost protect are located. Then select the exact valves to which you want circulation.
Once you have selected this, choose a desired time for the water to circulate. If the temperature sensor still measures temperatures lower than the set start temperature – e.g. 0 degrees – circulation will start over until the temperature exceeds the start temperature.
Now go to Start conditions and select Frost protection (“Yes” to enable or “No” to disable). This is also where you specify which temperature should be the start condition – e.g. 0 degrees. This is connected to the temperature sensors, which should of course be placed in close proximity to the group and the valves.
The pipes in your irrigation system are now guaranteed to circulate and you can face winter with confidence.
Also read: Get your mechanical greenhouse equipment ready for winter
