1. Place a piece of wood over the top of the ring. Strike the board with the hammer until the ring is driven into the ground to the 100mm mark. If the soil is very dry and compacted or rocky, then use the knife to cut a slit into the soil for the ring, whilst disturbing the soil as little as possible.
2. Line the soil surface inside the ring with a sheet of plastic wrap to completely cover the soil and ring. This procedure prevents disturbance to the soil surface when adding water.
3. Insert a ruler and add 25mm (1inch) water.
4. Slowly pull the plastic sheet away and start your TIMER. When the last bit of water disappears check the time again and see how many seconds / minutes it took for 25mm of water to soak in. Using the same ring, repeat Steps 2, 3 & 4 a further 2 times. Record the time elapsed for the each infiltration measurement. All of the tests should be conducted consecutively.