silverback Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 hello oh wise one's i have one of those cheap damp meters £10 job, i have been using it for a few years now and it shows no damp, but do these work? i like to keep my eye on this sort of problem (damp) so i thought of buying a good one ie..what the pros use, so does anybody know what the pros use? and how much and where to get one? jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Hi Silverback You can get many years Dealer Annual Damp Check for the price of a "professional" damp meter. Our Dealer indicated a cost close to £500, but I don't know if that was sales blurb or factual. If factual, I can't see how purchasing one can be cost effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aultymer Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Test your cheapo dampmeter by damping!!! a cloth and put the meter on it . If it shows zero then there is a good chance it is rubbish. Try different levels of 'dampness' to calibrate your meter. Most of the cheap ones I have seen are just relative dampness meters but the instrucions don't say relative to what!!! IE, until you know what dampness it actually measures then you have no idea what you are measuring. So you have to measure some things which you know to be dry and some you know to be damp in order to understand the readings on your particular meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Protimeter were regarded as the industry standard for construction timber, here: http://tinyurl.com/7x6jlav Range of prices and functions. It would be wise to talk to them about the proposed use before buying, to be sure of getting the most suitable model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Any damp meter is better than none. I have a cheapo one and it works OK. It has red amber and green on the display meter. I calibrated to some extent by asking my local caravan servicing technician to do some damp readings with his meter and then I did the same with mine. It works, damp is shown as red straight away, slightly damp i.e. can't feel it with your fingers shows amber and green is dry! So good enough for me, if I ever find an amber spot I will take it in to have a proper meter put on it. By the way, I know someone who spent ages and lots of sealant trying to cure a "damp" patch, it turned out to be condensation! H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooie Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Hi Silverback, i got my meter from CPC......www.cpc.farnell.com Item No...IN04871.....ST-125....Moisture Meter. £26.34 inc vat It is exactly the same as the picture on the web-site. It works very well for me with a full LCD screen that shows percentages and it works on wood , cardboard, paper as well as brick, mortar and plaster etc, always useful round the house as well. Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteH Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Hi I have a damp meter from MAPLIN cost about £14 over 10 years ago!! I test it by putting it on the skin of my hand it beeps loudly (screams actually!!) so it works!!!. Periodically check the R-V with it. Still Dry!!!. Most recent it saved me form a BIG mistake in America. when I did my own "damp test" on an R_V I was looking at, the roof seams where seriously flawed!!!. So I walked away. pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred22 Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Some of the cheaper damp meters have rounded prongs that cannot penetrate the waterproof covering on most Motorhome and Caravan walls and cannot therefore check for damp. I solved this by cutting the heads off two dress making pins and soldering the remainder, point down,on to the prongs. Easily penetrates the wallcovering now and works a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooie Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 fred22 - 2012-06-30 8:47 PM Some of the cheaper damp meters have rounded prongs that cannot penetrate the waterproof covering on most Motorhome and Caravan walls and cannot therefore check for damp. I solved this by cutting the heads off two dress making pins and soldering the remainder, point down,on to the prongs. Easily penetrates the wallcovering now and works a treat. The one i got from CPC has 2 very sharp pointed prongs that screw in. It also comes with 2 spare ones. Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 wooie thanks for posting that. I have been after one of these for a while but wasnt sure were to get one. Never thought of cpc and I have an account :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooie Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 ips - 2012-07-02 8:54 AM wooie thanks for posting that. I have been after one of these for a while but wasnt sure were to get one. Never thought of cpc and I have an account :-S Glad to be of assistance. At least i get some things right ........lol All the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Brian Kirby - 2012-06-29 11:56 PM Protimeter were regarded as the industry standard for construction timber, here: http://tinyurl.com/7x6jlav Range of prices and functions. It would be wise to talk to them about the proposed use before buying, to be sure of getting the most suitable model. Thanks Brian, i am waiting a response from them on what type of meter is required and the cost jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 Wooie - 2012-06-30 2:44 PM Hi Silverback, i got my meter from CPC......www.cpc.farnell.com Item No...IN04871.....ST-125....Moisture Meter. £26.34 inc vat It is exactly the same as the picture on the web-site. It works very well for me with a full LCD screen that shows percentages and it works on wood , cardboard, paper as well as brick, mortar and plaster etc, always useful round the house as well. Regards. thanks Wooie, looked at these and they seem to be ok....the price has gone up to £33 ish just waiting a response from Brians link then will be able to make a better informed decision jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 thanks to all others who took the trouble to reply as well jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 The type with flat paddles are related to the pro ones... *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooie Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 silverback - 2012-07-02 9:39 PM Wooie - 2012-06-30 2:44 PM Hi Silverback, i got my meter from CPC......www.cpc.farnell.com Item No...IN04871.....ST-125....Moisture Meter. £26.34 inc vat It is exactly the same as the picture on the web-site. It works very well for me with a full LCD screen that shows percentages and it works on wood , cardboard, paper as well as brick, mortar and plaster etc, always useful round the house as well. Regards. thanks Wooie, looked at these and they seem to be ok....the price has gone up to £33 ish just waiting a response from Brians link then will be able to make a better informed decision jon Hi jon , try using this link:- http://cpc.farnell.com/_/st-125/moisture-meter/dp/IN04871?Ntt=IN04871 Don`t know why the other price came up Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everhopeful Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I bought the Protimeter Aquant a few years ago for about £200. This is the non-invasive job and is brilliant. I just run it over literally every inch of the walls, roof and floor which does a very thorough job. I found damp that was quite old in four obscure areas that had been missed by the dealer during three damp checks. I even found water under my shower tray - lets see you do that with two pins! Finding the damp areas myself enabled remedial work under warranty - so the unit easily paid for itself. The only down side, apart from the cost, is that it also detects hidden metal re-inforcements etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Wooie - 2012-07-04 2:58 PM silverback - 2012-07-02 9:39 PM Wooie - 2012-06-30 2:44 PM Hi Silverback, i got my meter from CPC......www.cpc.farnell.com Item No...IN04871.....ST-125....Moisture Meter. £26.34 inc vat It is exactly the same as the picture on the web-site. It works very well for me with a full LCD screen that shows percentages and it works on wood , cardboard, paper as well as brick, mortar and plaster etc, always useful round the house as well. Regards. thanks Wooie, looked at these and they seem to be ok....the price has gone up to £33 ish just waiting a response from Brians link then will be able to make a better informed decision jon Hi jon , try using this link:- http://cpc.farnell.com/_/st-125/moisture-meter/dp/IN04871?Ntt=IN04871 Don`t know why the other price came up Regards yep wooie thats the one! cant find what i was looking at , but it was the same..but at £33.56 or something like that jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverback Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 everhopeful - 2012-07-04 8:28 PM I bought the Protimeter Aquant a few years ago for about £200. This is the non-invasive job and is brilliant. I just run it over literally every inch of the walls, roof and floor which does a very thorough job. I found damp that was quite old in four obscure areas that had been missed by the dealer during three damp checks. I even found water under my shower tray - lets see you do that with two pins! Finding the damp areas myself enabled remedial work under warranty - so the unit easily paid for itself. The only down side, apart from the cost, is that it also detects hidden metal re-inforcements etc cheers everhopeful, i was thinking about that one, just waiting for them to get back to me..but it doesnt look like they are!! *-) :'( jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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