colin weston Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Has anyone bought a damp meter or had experience of using one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Yes. ;-) ;-) ;-) Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Sorry, couldn't resist the temptation. What is it you want to know? They all do the same job in the end it just depends on how much you want to pay as to the method of reading the damp i.e. pins electronic wave types. The only ones I would definately avoid are the sound ones that sometimes also have an LED ladder to indicate the levels of dampness as the one that I have is not accurate or very easy to interperate. I then got hold of a meter type that gives you a very accurate readout and was able to see just how poor the first one was. My meter one works very well and gives a good easily read indication but has pins to take the measurement. However for the cost, around £15 I am more than happy with it. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 They don't all do the same job. There are damp detectors and mositure meters. I have just had a look through some tool catalogues we have at work. A basic damp detector, non invasive will give an audio and LED indication. Expect to pay about £9.50 A Draper damp detector, with 2 prongs, again has an audio alert to the presence of damp. It depends on how far you push the prongs into the surface as the validity of the resilt. About £20 A Non Invasive moisture meter, with settings of 20mm and 40mm will read the mositure content, giving you an actual value of the level of damp. The usual procedure is to use a non invasive meter and then use a high accuracy meter with prongs to measure the mositure content. These type of meters will also indicate the air temperature and humidity at the time of the test. About £200 with an annual calibration charge of £25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 So 'Damp Meters' the subject of the question all do the same job then? Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 I have one of these and it does what it says on the box. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rapitest-RAPDTM118-Damp-Test-Meter/dp/B0001P0JZU (May have been cheaper at the local DIY store) I have tried it on various "damp " items and it seems to work OK and give expected results. Also on plaster board where I know I had a problem, and now resolved. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 Yes Tony thats the same as the second one I bought, really good value for money I thought. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 Paid less than £10 at one of the sheds for mine. Mine has two fixed prongs and gives an audible click which changes frequency to indicate levels of damp. At the last habitation service I compared it to the engineers top class model and it was remarkable similar in readings. I use it as a rough check every few months or so ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 I used to be in the construction industry before I retired and we used a great number of moisture meters. On some jobs the make and model of meter we would used had to be agreed with the client. The simple fact is that Protimeter are the leading manufacturers of moisture meters and are almost universally used in the construction industry. It is a case of getting what you pay for. I have a protimeter mini from the lower end of their range. They are normally about £100 but you may be able to pick one up cheap on e-bay. If you have one of these you are going to win any argument with a dealer trying to scam the price down with claims of damp so it may be worth the investment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin weston Posted May 2, 2010 Author Share Posted May 2, 2010 Thanks for your replies. The Rapitest meter seems to get some good reviews at Amazon. I was not looking to spend a lot of money as I only want to establish whether or not I have a potential problem. The Rapitest seems quite accurate and has the advantage of the probes being on an extension lead which is useful for measuring in awkward areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heronpike Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Hi I'm writing up a summary of how people use their damp meter specifically for motorhomes/caravans for http://www.dampmeterhq.com I can see above that most meters do the job fine, but has anyone found that certain areas are difficult to measure/detect and how did you overcome this? many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
101279 Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Damp Meters - surely if I buy one of the ones with the two prongs and push them into the walls of my motorhome I will pierce the skin and increase the risk of dampness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 101279 - 2014-10-03 6:56 AM Damp Meters - surely if I buy one of the ones with the two prongs and push them into the walls of my motorhome I will pierce the skin and increase the risk of dampness? You do the test on the inside walls, not the outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 101279 - 2014-10-03 6:56 AM Damp Meters - surely if I buy one of the ones with the two prongs and push them into the walls of my motorhome I will pierce the skin and increase the risk of dampness? The holes a cheap damp meter makes will not have any effect on the increasing likelihood of damp as what you are looking for is moisture that is working it's way in from outside, but you will be left with unsightly holes. You should not use one with prongs not only do they damage the surface, they only read the surface moisture, get yourself one of the paddle type they are not cheap a reliable one will be around £300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I would recommend the Protimeter Aquant which is very accurate. It detects moisture to a depth of about 19mm. Does not use pins but costs around £230.00. Only do your tests on a warm day. Any surface condensation present will give you a false reading regardless of which type of meter you use. With the pin type of meter used from the inside of a van wall it will not detect any moisture until it is well established in the structure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve101 Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 Or you could pay a professional to do it at a much lower cost! If you were to buy the top of the range damp meter for around £350 that is many years of pro damp checks at £40 a go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southender Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 This one works well http://cpc.farnell.com/tenma/72-10200/moisture-meter/dp/IN06796 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve928 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 steve101 - 2014-10-03 10:09 AM Or you could pay a professional to do it at a much lower cost! If you were to buy the top of the range damp meter for around £350 that is many years of pro damp checks at £40 a go! Ah but that's presuming that you only make annual checks and that your professional is also competent. The big advantage of having your own meter is that you can check much more regularly and detect any small changes in reading. An awful lot of damage can occur unseen inside a 'traditional' motorhome wall within a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve101 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 I quite agree but false reading are sometimes due to user error if you don't know what your looking for or how to interpret the specific damp meter your using. A lot of people don't know the specific area to check on their motorhomes either. You know, the place that is most common for that make and model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 I have one of these and it is perfectly adequate for the purpose of telling me whether wood is wet below the surface or not. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Digital-Moisture-Firewood-Detector/dp/B00CJTSZS4/ref=sr_1_34?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1412673170&sr=1-34&keywords=damp+meter It does not need to be sophisticated because as a general rule of thumb if the water content is around 10% or less it's dry so no worries and if over 20% it has some water in it and might need checking and if it's over 30% it's wet and does need further investigation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack100 Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Tracker - 2014-10-07 10:18 AM I have one of these and it is perfectly adequate for the purpose of telling me whether wood is wet below the surface or not. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Generic-Digital-Moisture-Firewood-Detector/dp/B00CJTSZS4/ref=sr_1_34?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1412673170&sr=1-34&keywords=damp+meter It does not need to be sophisticated because as a general rule of thumb if the water content is around 10% or less it's dry so no worries and if over 20% it has some water in it and might need checking and if it's over 30% it's wet and does need further investigation. That's the one I've been using and when compared to the dealers Protimeter it was on a par except for one thing. The maximum it would register was 38% and when the damp in our MH reached 55% only the dealers meter detected that level. I will always use it in future for regular checks on our MH and certainly use before buying another one ( which we probably will do). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathew1 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 yes I did and only thing I can say is that they are all the same end of the day and they fucntion the same as well. It is entirely upto the user waht he or she likes. After the looks matter. Cheers. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Mathew1 - 2014-10-13 10:47 AM yes I did and only thing I can say is that they are all the same end of the day and they fucntion the same as well. It is entirely upto the user waht he or she likes. After the looks matter. Cheers. :-D A blatant statement by someone who does not have a clue. (lol) The pin type meter will only measure from the surface down to a few millimeters and obviously leave penetration marks on the surface. They work by measuring the electrical resistance between the probes, the wetter the surface equals more conductivity and lower resistance. Non invasive & paddle type work down to about 20mm below the surface using high frequency wave technology. and are lot more expensive but give much more accurate results. Prices start at around £150 up to several hundred pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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