PercometerField device · Office software

Percolation testing system

Percolation tests, from the test hole to the finished drawing.

The Percometer logs the falling water level on a fixed schedule. Percolation Manager turns those readings into checked perc tables, MLSS calculations, AutoCAD soil test sheets and the health district memorandum.

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Percolation Manager
Working
Percometer
In development
The Percometer design: a round housing with a display, three buttons and a power switch on the lid.

Percometer
Design model · not a photograph

Drag to turn
  • Ø115 × 151mmHousing, overall
  • 3in.Pipe it stands on
  • 1 – 60minBetween readings
  • 34One-hour tests stored
  • USBRead back and verified

Percometer design values. See which are provisional.

The Percometer design: a round housing with a display, three buttons and a power switch on the lid.

Percometer
Design model · not a photograph

Drag to turn

Inside the Percometer

One instrument, designed around the test hole.

Scroll to take it apart. This is the actual design — housing, circuit board and modules — not an illustration.

01In the hole

It stands on a pipe in the test hole.

The Percometer seats on a 3 in. pipe that stands on the bottom of the hole. Its sensor is then a fixed 25 in. above the bottom, so every reading is measured from the same point, with nothing to read by eye.

3 in.
pipe it stands on
25 in.
sensor to hole bottom

02The sensor

It looks straight down at the water.

A two-head ultrasonic sensor in the floor of the base times the echo off the water. A probe beside it measures the air in the pipe, and the speed of sound is corrected for it.

20
pings per reading
≥ 10
must agree to count

03The record

It keeps every reading, with its flags.

Each reading goes into memory as it is taken, in a log that is only ever added to. Top-ups, missing readings and interrupted tests are flagged in the record, never smoothed over.

34
one-hour tests stored
0
automatic overwrites

04Power

It runs on its own battery.

A rechargeable lithium-polymer pack sits in a tray under the lid and charges over USB-C with the lid off. How long it runs on a charge will be measured on the first prototypes.

USB-C
charging, lid off
1S
lithium-polymer pack

05Controls

It is set up from the lid.

A small display, three buttons and a power switch. Choose the lot, the interval and the length, press START — the screen shows the label the test will get before it begins.

1–60
minutes between readings
12 h
longest test

06Assembled

Closed up under a splash gasket, ready for the hole.

Printed ASA, Ø115 mm. Designed as one assembly — housing, circuit board and every module — and checked for fit before the first print.

Ø115
mm housing
151
mm overall

Everything about the Percometer

What it measures

Watch a test the way the Percometer sees it.

The water falls, the Percometer reads it from above, and every interval becomes a rate. The rule on the bottom 3 inches is applied for you — and shown, not hidden.

A simulated percolation test: the water level falls in the hole while the Percometer reads it from above. GRADE 3 IN. 25 in. — fixed WATER LEFT 2.60 in.
TimeDepthDropRate
10:0515.25"
10:1516.50"1.25"8.00
10:2517.65"1.15"8.70
10:3518.70"1.05"9.52
10:4519.70"1.00"10.00
10:5520.65"0.95"10.53slowest
11:0521.40"0.75"13.33not counted
0510 0204060 min WATER LEFT, IN. bottom 3 in. — not counted

Final rate 10.53 min/in → DPH class 10.1–20.0. The last interval had 2.60 in. of water left — inside the bottom 3 in. — so it does not count.

SIMULATED TEST — illustrative values, read every 10 minutes in a 24 in. hole.

From the hole to the drawing

Not just a measuring device — the whole workflow.

How it works, step by step
  1. LOT 12 · TEST 12B
    01 · In the field

    Measure

    The Percometer reads the water level on its schedule, corrected for the air in the pipe.

  2. Lot,Reading,Time,Distance,…,Flags
12B,1,0.0,16.25,…,16
12B,2,10.0,17.50,…,0
12B,3,20.0,18.65,…,0
12A,5,20.0,20.70,…,48
    02 · In the field

    Record

    Each reading is stored with its time and flags in a log that is never overwritten.

  3. USB
    03 · In the office

    Analyse

    Percolation Manager reads the device, verifies the copy, and works out every rate and the MLSS.

  4. PERCOLATION TEST HOLE LOGFINAL PERCOLATION RATE = 10.1–20.0
    MEMORANDUM
    04 · In the office

    Deliver

    AutoCAD draws the SOIL TESTS sheets and the memorandum is written for the health district.

  • Readings on schedule

    Taken at their set times, averaged from up to 20 pings — nobody stands over the hole with a tape.

  • Nothing retyped

    Readings arrive as data. The same numbers reach the table, the drawing and the memorandum.

  • Rules applied the same way

    Final rates, refills, dry holes and MLSS follow the DPH rules every time — and stay editable.

  • A record you can trace

    Every reading keeps its time and flags; the project file keeps the original data beside the result.

Percolation Manager

The office half of the test.

Windows desktop software that turns field readings and deep test pit logs into the soil test drawing and the memorandum. It shows its working, and every number stays open to correction.

  1. 01Sources
  2. 02Test data
  3. 03Project details
  4. 04Lots
  5. 05Test tables
What the software does
  • Refills marked in placeA top-up never splits a hole into two tables.
  • Final rate → DPH classThe slowest counted interval, reported as its class.
  • Every value editableTyped values print as typed and are marked on screen.
  • Built only when askedThe drawing and the memorandum each have their own button.

REPRESENTATIVE INTERFACE — Percolation Manager with sample data.

.dwg · AutoCAD .docx · Word file

What comes out

Two documents, in the format reviewers already read.

  • SOIL TESTS sheets, drawn by AutoCAD: per lot, the deep test pit logs, percolation tables, MLSS requirements and notes — six lots to a sheet, sized so nothing overlaps.
  • The memorandum for the health district: a cover letter, then one page per lot, written as a Word file.
  • Each is built only when its own button is pressed, from the same numbers.

Sample output with illustrative values.

Who it is for

Built for both sides of a septic approval.

Health departments and sanitarians

Consistent field records that are easy to review.

Readings taken on schedule, with their times kept. Top-ups, missing readings and dry holes are flagged, not hidden — in the same table format on every submittal.

For health departments

Engineering firms

From the field to the drawing without retyping.

Jobs organized by lot across several field days; MLSS, ELA and leaching product worked out per lot; SOIL TESTS sheets and the memorandum on demand.

For engineering firms

Where things stand

Plain about what is finished and what is not.

No Percometer has been built or measured yet, so no accuracy figure appears on this site until one has.

  • Percolation ManagerWorking
  • Percometer design and firmwareTested in simulation
  • First prototypesNext
  • Accuracy and field validationPlanned
Development status How rates are calculated Questions and answers

Next step

Start with a conversation.

The Percometer is in development. Order requests, demonstrations and pilot programs are open now — no payment is taken on this site, and every request is answered by email.

Request an orderQuantities, your organization and how you purchase. Request a demoSee the software and the Percometer design with your own workflow in mind. Discuss a pilotHelp test the Percometer in the field before production.