moisture meters

[Guest]

Can anybody recomend the best moisture meter to buy? It seems you need to read surface and deeper moisture levels. I'm about to start drying out my Colvic Watson MS hull and want to monitor the process (starting from readings my surveyor took) prior to applying epoxy treatment. He used a Sovereign AND a Protimeter - he suggested I should buy the Sovereign for "DIY" use.

 

[johnlilley]

My personal choice is the Tramex Skipper. This has three scales, the most sesnsitive scale 2 is used for fibreglass. It is easy to read and use. The Sovereign is well constructed but only a small section of the large scale divisions are used for grp. The Tramex uses all of the scale. Horses for courses.
I do have some contact numbers if you require prices etc.
Regards John Lilley

John Lilley, John Lilley & Associates, Web site www.seasurveys.co.uk for osmosis /timber problems

 

[billskip]

Hi malc see your PM

Bill
www.aegeansailing.co.uk

www.macsyachting.com

 

[longjohnsilver]

Tramex Skipper

I also have one and like John would recommend it, easy to use.

 

[Guest]

Save your money and dont worry about moisture! you will only become paranoid.. Surveyors use them so they can justify another few pages of survey. Just go sailing

 

[Guest]

i believe that the sovereign is a building surveying instrument, and whilst it will work on grp, the scale is not set up for grp so its rather like using a 12 inch ruler to measure in sixteenths. ( 1 metre and 1 mm if you've been metricated)

the epoxy company will have limits of moisture applicable for their product expressed as a reading on a particular meter so you need to check with them

make sure than the meter you use has a head which will sit well on the curved areas of grp. if you have large air gaps between parts of the head and the hull you get false (good) readings

finally, if at all poss, remove the steel from the keel before treating. even if you temporarily dry out the steel in the keel, several tonnes of rusting and salt encrusted old iron is a problem waiting to recurr. rustry steel occupies more volume that non rusty so you risk splitting the keel at some point.