Professional damp meter

antiskeptic

I'm on the hunt for a damp meter for use in assessing damp in houses: rising / localised issues / etc.

What brand(s) would be de rigeur for such work?

Cheers

con1982

Protimeter have lots of options.

Avoid cheap ones. A good moisture meter will last you years.

kkelliher

+1 on the protimeter I have been using this one for years and never had any issue. Depending on the required use, you might want to step up to better spec models but for general use its a great tool



I have no connection with the company other than its where I bought mine

kkelliher

+1 on the protimeter I have been using this one for years and never had any issue. Depending on the required use, you might want to step up to better spec models but for general use its a great tool

http://celticsurveys.ie/index.php/protimeter-mini-moisture-meter.html

I have no connection with the company other than its where I bought mine

antiskeptic

Thanks to your both for the tip. 200 odd quid sounds like it would be a professional bit of kit - although I'm sure the sky's the limit as with everything else. I'd be using for basic assessments of rising damp / damp issues in houses being purchased. I wouldn't be writing up reports or the like.

Question: there's a good few videos online debunking the use of such meters (insofar as they are used by damp course companies to sell the notion of houses needing injected damp courses and the like). This based on the notion that other aspects of the material (salts in brick/plasterboard) can give false 'damp' readings. I was struck by one in which the guy drilled out a redbrick wall which was clearly dry and demonstrated it dry using a dust sample from the drilling and some kind of carbide-fueled acetylene rig (moisture reacting with the carbide (or vice versa) to produce the gas which then produced a pressure - which itself was an indication of damp levels)

The meter (not unlike the protimeter) gave full red alert.

Is there some skill involved in interpreting things so as to know it's actually damp and not some such false indicator?

MicktheMan

I use the Greisinger GMI 15. Hasn't let me down in over a decade.

antiskeptic

MicktheMan wrote: »

I use the Greisinger GMI 15. Hasn't let me down in over a decade.

I'll check it out, thanks. Have you any view/experience on the issue in the post above yours regarding false damp readings?

MicktheMan

antiskeptic wrote: »

I'll check it out, thanks. Have you any view/experience on the issue in the post above yours regarding false damp readings?

I use what I use for 2 reasons:
1. That outlined above on false positives.
2. It leaves no marks on the tested surfaces.

antiskeptic

MicktheMan wrote: »

I use what I use for 2 reasons:
1. That outlined above on false positives.
2. It leaves no marks on the tested surfaces.

In that it doesn't do false positives? I'm less interested in absolute readings and more in comparative readings. The manufacturer says this about the GM15

"The GMI15 is an indicator for fast estimation of moisture.
However, it does not replace a precision measuring instrument, like the type GMH 383"

Would this refer to the possibility of false positives or the absolute accuracy of the unit, do you think?

Do you use it in this fashion: telling whether rising damp / localised damp issues by way of comparative readings .. and has it done that business for you?

MicktheMan

antiskeptic wrote: »

In that it doesn't do false positives?

Correct

MicktheMan

antiskeptic wrote: »

Do you use it in this fashion: telling whether rising damp / localised damp issues by way of comparative readings .. and has it done that business for you?

I use it for comparative readings, i.e. is there elevated moisture or not. I always have it in my pocket and mainly use it to verify (or not) thermal image anomalies in buildings.

antiskeptic

Went with the Greisinger GMK100 in the end. Has a slight made in China feel to it - despite it supposedly being German. And no pouch.

But it does the trick for comparative readings pretty well by the looks of it

Thanks for the advice given..