The leading exterior edges of the cap are beveled to allow easy installation by keeping the tube centered as it travels down the4 bore, thereby minimizing damage to the surrounding soil bed. Each tube is individually pressure tested. In applications where the Indexing Handle System is not being used, index marking is available on the surface of the tube itself. Indexing marks can be inscribed in any measurement unit or combination of units desired. If you already have minirhizotron tubes in place, we have an index hole drill guide and special drill for use on plastic that allows you to drill index holes for the camera guide assembly to attach to your existing tubes.
Most people drill their holes with a hand driven coring tool.
The bit we supply is designed to compress the core sample it removes instead of the surrounding hole, thereby causing as little compression as possible to the soil, and BTC manufactures a custom reamer to size the hole to match the outside diameter of the tubing. For systems using camcorder or image capture computer, we package components including the control box in an aluminum briefcase. This can be mounted on a cart or small folding table. The monitor and controls should be at eye level for the operator while holding the camera at the top of the minirhizotron tube. We've purchased and tried several carts in different configurations.