Damp Meter - Has any one tried these

[2bob]

 

[rangi]

They had a similar thing in ALDI couple or three weeks ago

 

[2bob]

as above
16q on e bay


CE APPROVED 4 PIN DIGITAL MOISTURE METER DAMP DETECTOR TESTER 12 MONTHS WARRANTY

• £15.99
• Free Postage
• 
  439 sold

• 
  FAST & FREE

 

[DP+JAY]

You need a pinless one or you will just leave loads of pinholes in the plasticised wallboard.
Touching the pins on the wallboard will not give a reading as it has a plastic coating.
You need to penetrate the surface which damages it.
I use one of these
Broken Link Removed

 

[GJH]

I bought one of Broken Link Removed (eBay item 271480282965) a few weeks ago. Took a while to come from China but seems to work OK and doesn't leave holes.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Moodybrook]

Graham, I copied your example off another thread and have one on order, about how long did yours take ?
Those prongs look ferocious !!

 

[GJH]

Graham, I copied your example off another thread and have one on order, about how long did yours take ?
Those prongs look ferocious !!

Looking at eBay records I ordered it on 29 September and it was due to arrive between 8th & 20th October. eBay no longer gives actual dates for when feedback was left but I left feedback on the day of delivery and it was more than a month ago so it must have been closer to the 8th than the 20th.

 

[yodeli]

Terry sent me one a few days before I went to Germany to buy my motorhome, and I must say that this little gadget works really well to see where it is damp or not!!

I love it and keep it in the van to check each time I think about it. The one I have has a scale saying how damp it is . If it stays around 15 it's a bit damp but not desperate , mine is going from 2 to 13/14 in the wet places such as under the shutter in the kitchen or under the kitchen sink.
Mind you I have as well a quite good sense of smell , and if there is any damp I can smell straight away . Unfortunately , this part of my body is not to be sold

Frankie

 

[GAUDIE]

In my experience a moisture meter or damp meter is used to measure the surface moisture and cannot determine the amount of moisture within a material overall. Even the meters with probes can only measure the moisture at that point.
If the moisture meter is being used to measure the dampness on the surface of a wall or ceiling of a motorhome and does record that dampness is present then the ingress of moisture to that point is likely to stem from the roof or outside wall and by the time it reaches the surface, where the reading is being taken the damage is most likely already done and a search will be needed to investigate the source ie the seals on the roof, windows etc.
It is also possible that the moisture on the wall or ceiling may possibly be condensation rather than penetrative damp.
Use the meters by all means but be aware of what the readings are indicating.
I hope my views are useful and based on experience.
Gaudie

 

[FIDGET]

, this part of my body is not to be sold

Frankie

What part !!!!

• 

• 

My mind boggles


I presume your nose

• 

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Bailey58]

My wife often tells me I smell when I'm damp.

Edit: Here we go, another thread going off on a tangent.

 

[OllieUK]

You need a pinless one or you will just leave loads of pinholes in the plasticised wallboard.
Touching the pins on the wallboard will not give a reading as it has a plastic coating.
You need to penetrate the surface which damages it.
I use one of these
Broken Link Removed

how do they work? what is the bulb on top for?

 

[GJH]

I hope my views are useful and based on experience.

Certainly - and I agree that they are only an indicator.

The engineer doing our habitation service last January found isolated high readings which he/we traced to cracked sealant and he was able to repair it pretty easily and cheaply. Without the check we would probably not have known until later, when repair would be more expensive.

I bought my meter so that I could do spot checks from time to time in between habitation services, just to keep an eye on things.

 

[tonka]

Useful but the prongs do leave holes... For something without all the pin pricks I have one of these..
Ok it's from China but comes reasonably quick in the post..
Broken Link Removed

Use the "make an offer" they will often go £1-£2 lower..

 

[swanseajack13]

rob clark one of use funsters needs more than a moisture meter a bucket would be better lol ray

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Robert Clark]

rob clark one of use funsters needs more than a moisture meter a bucket would be better lol ray

Funnily enough there were pin prick holes all round the window - guess they must have known our van had a leak when it was new

 

[Robert Clark]

If you used a damp meter what would the reading tell you?
We use our damp meter to test the water content of logs that we cut. Freshly cut trees can have a moisture content of 50%, and we season it until it's about 15%
What reading would tell you your van is damp or dry?

 

[swanseajack13]

the way you find out if you m/h is damp the dealer gives you free willies or arm bands or if very damp a life bouy fixed to the bike rackthen ask what prick made the marks around the window also hole filler on the office desk this is not wood worm send it back reject it you will not have the same look on it if you have it repaired show them the prick marks around the window lol ray

 

[schojac]

Have had one of these types for many years now and regard it as an essential piece of kit. Yes it leaves 4 pin holes as I do go well into the board but try to locate test areas in places where the "damage" is minimal - behind curtains, upholstery etc. Roof light; don#t really care as I feel it a good trade off - damage against damp detection. No one to this day has ever commented on the tiny holes around the roof light.

Readings; personally I take readings throughout the year and record the results. I then compare as some meters will give higher readings higher than others. It's the variation I scrutinise not the actual reading if you see my logic.

At one location (lets keep with the roof light) I usually get the following at 4 points:

Summer - 12%
Winter - 18%

This I feel is down to increased humidity and the colder climate. Anything above this would warrant further investigation.

 

[PhilandMena]

I just rip all the internal panels off. No need for a meter. No panels left on inside of Motorhome now so dead easy to check !

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[scotjimland]

how do they work? what is the bulb on top for?

Pin type meters measure the electrical resistance in ohms .. the wetter the material the lower the resistance... and visa-versa

Pinless or non invasive meters use a magnetic field ( emitted from the bulb) and measure the impedance.. the wetter the material, the lower the impedance.

 

[funflair]

I just rip all the internal panels off. No need for a meter. No panels left on inside of Motorhome now so dead easy to check !

Hi Philip

I didn't realise you were quite so hand on

 

[geoffles]

Hi the scale these use is normally called WME which means wood moisture equivelant, when rhese read very often it indicates in a colour led display green ok, orange at risk and red damp.

The meter i use for work is an led % readout upto 100%, we normally look for around 17% or lower to be considered dry. I measured my van and the average was 15% but what i did was to check under the rubbers around doors and windows or in cupboards. If you use a non pin type which works by sending a frequency into the material you must be wary that its not measuring the skin of the van as a reflective material. I had this problem a long time ago with a foil backed plasterboard which read continuosly wet.

 

[GJH]

Pin type meters measure the electrical resistance in ohms .. the wetter the material the lower the resistance... and visa-versa

Pinless or non invasive meters use a magnetic field ( emitted from the bulb) and measure the impedance.. the wetter the material, the lower the impedance.

The manual for the meter I have (and Tonka has) says it uses electro-magnetic signals but it has a square sensor on the back rather then a bulb:

The reading displayed is an average value of the moisture content from the entire surface area and the maximum depth of penetration. Moisture which is closer to the surface has a greater effect on the average value than the moisture close to the maximum depth of penetration.

The maximum measuring depth is 20mm and objects which are less thick can give inaccurate readings.

 

[Gorse Hill]

I just rip all the internal panels off. No need for a meter. No panels left on inside of Motorhome now so dead easy to check !

You always find one that does it properly

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[GAUDIE]

A good idea GJH to use it as a monitoring tool. I am pleased my comments were useful to some members.
In my opinion still the best approach is to examine carefully by eye and then back it up with a meter if necessary, based on my experience of doing damp and dry rot surveys.
Best of luck.
Gaudie