Choosing a moisture meter: what to look for when buying a device
With the help of a universal moisture meter, you can measure the humidity level not only in the air, but also in objects. Today, the market offers a wide range of household moisture meters that operate on different principles and have a wide range of additional features. The two most popular types of devices are conductometric and dielectric. Before buying a moisture meter, you should decide on its specific purpose.
What is a needle moisture meter
A conductometric moisture meter is often called a needle meter because of its design. The device has two needle-shaped sensors. To determine the moisture level, the device measures the electrical resistance between the sensors, and the result is transferred to the moisture content. The advantages of this type of device are quick measurement, simple design and relatively low price. However, the device is not entirely suitable for measuring humidity levels below 5%. Not all materials suitable for moisture measurement can be pierced with needles; for instance, such a model is not ideal for use as a moisture meter for valuable wood. However, it performs exceptionally well when measuring the moisture content of soft building materials.
Dielectric moisture meters
This type of moisture meter works on the principle of scanning the material with high-frequency currents. Dielectric moisture meters are used, for example, as a moisture meter for wood, if it cannot be damaged by a needle model. Such moisture meters often come with a sample of material that cannot be wetted – it is necessary if you doubt the correct operation of the device and want to check it. To do this, you need to measure the moisture content of the sample and find out the serviceability of the device.
Additional features
Some manufacturers equip moisture meters with additional functions. For example, you can purchase a concrete moisture meter, which will be additionally equipped with a function for determining the dew point or air humidity temperature.
A significant advantage will be the presence of a memory in a digital moisture meter, which stores the measurement results. More often, humidity is measured repeatedly, and this is done serially, so it is much more convenient if the measurements are stored in memory. Memory is also necessary to calculate the average result of several measurements. For example, to determine the humidity level of a long beam, it is necessary to take measurements along the entire length and from different sides, and then calculate the average value. A device with built-in memory will do all the mathematical calculations for you.
Moisture meters operating in automatic mode can indicate trends towards an increase or decrease in humidity, for example, per day.
There are also models that calculate the minimum and maximum values from a series of measurements stored in memory. The device determines the minimum and maximum humidity for, for example, a day and shows them on the display. As a rule, the time period is determined by the user of the device.
What else to pay attention to when buying a moisture meter
An important point in choosing a moisture meter is the maximum permissible humidity temperature. You should also pay attention to the level of dust and moisture protection of the device, operating temperature, error in the ratio and complete set.
The online store “Messtechnik DERR” provides a wide selection of electronic moisture meters and ensures reliable delivery across the European Union through trusted courier services.
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