Caravan damp meters

Thetraveller5
Thetraveller5 Forum Participant Posts: 5
edited July 2021 in Parts & Accessories #1

Hello all.   Could anyone recommend a reasonably priced damp meter please?    

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  • Ernie S
    Ernie S Forum Participant Posts: 47
    edited July 2021 #2

    I've got the Brennenstuhl Moisture Detector MD.

    Twenty quid.

    It's met all my moisture detecting needs for the past five years.

     

    Available from all good online delivery portals.

     

     

     

  • Rocky 2 buckets
    Rocky 2 buckets Forum Participant Posts: 7,101
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    edited July 2021 #3

    Don’t go for cheap & cheerful go for the most expensive you can afford. The damp meters for wood(tree fellers) use are accurate I’ve owned many. Stihl are a good reliable make👍🏻

    the black cap is a prong guard👍🏻

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,138 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #4

    Be aware that they work by inserting two prongs into the surface being tested. They leave holes.

  • ADP1963
    ADP1963 Forum Participant Posts: 1,280
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    edited July 2021 #5

    But the holes will be filled by the dampness of the material filling and expanding. laughingwink  

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,138 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #6

    Not in the vinyl type wall covering ☹

  • ADP1963
    ADP1963 Forum Participant Posts: 1,280
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    edited July 2021 #7

    undecidedso what is that attached to thenundecided I did not realise that you were aware off his outfits construction.

  • commeyras
    commeyras Club Member Posts: 1,853 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #8

     If a meter with prongs does leave holes the visual impact can be reduced by rubbing a little sealant over the holes and wiping with some white spirit on a cloth.  There are meters available which do not use prongs but they are expensive and used primarily. I suspect, by the trade - my mobile engineer uses one.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,138 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #9

    Good tip, Commeyras, thanks👍🏻

  • commeyras
    commeyras Club Member Posts: 1,853 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #10

    Tinwheeler, my pleasure.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,138 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #11

    Let's give the OP of the thread a little more courtesy than you're showing me, ADP, and not detract further from the subject.

  • ADP1963
    ADP1963 Forum Participant Posts: 1,280
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    edited July 2021 #12

    As everyone knows that have a recreation vehicle or live in a Mobile Home  when they have it serviced by an approved Service Engineer he will use a Damp Meter and that Damp Meter will have 2 metal Probes which is inserted into various places around the RV. the holes are very small and not easy to see but as Commras has said easy to fill.

  • commeyras
    commeyras Club Member Posts: 1,853 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #13

    ADP not all Approved Service Engineers use a damp meter with prongs. As I said above, my excellent Approved Service Engineer has one which which does not use prongs.  I know because I always watch him do the damp test.

  • commeyras
    commeyras Club Member Posts: 1,853 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #14

    Re above, there a prong free damp meters on Amazon for £45 +.

  • ADP1963
    ADP1963 Forum Participant Posts: 1,280
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    edited July 2021 #15

    Noted Commeyras, The one guy I use has a pronged one. I didn't know there were pronged free ones.

  • eribaMotters
    eribaMotters Club Member Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #16

    A pronged meter is more accurate as it is not attempting to read through a vinyl wall covering. As such I believe this design is used by the majority of caravan engineers.

     

    Colin

  • Thetraveller5
    Thetraveller5 Forum Participant Posts: 5
    edited July 2021 #17

    Thanks for the responses.  Has anyone used theirs after a service and got the same results at the service engineer?  Just hoping for accuracy.

  • Rocky 2 buckets
    Rocky 2 buckets Forum Participant Posts: 7,101
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    edited July 2021 #18

    The damp meter is only as reliable as the person using it. If there’s not enough or no good penetration there will be no damp found, if it’s checked in the wrong places(known dry areas) it won’t find anything. The best way to gain confidence with a damp meter is check areas in & around your garden. Check a known dry area within your home or even a dining table(not on the surface mind), then check known areas of moisture, say a Tree. You will find a happy medium of depth to which the prongs should reach. The Stihl meter is made for seeking out moisture, Stihl is the most respected company for engineering excellence.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,138 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #19

    Good advice, Rocky. 

    I suspect many a damp patch is found in LVs when it could well be condensation inside or the result of recently driving over wet roads. Dealers love it as a way of knocking the p/ex price down so it sure pays us all to check and know our own LVs.

  • Thetraveller5
    Thetraveller5 Forum Participant Posts: 5
    edited July 2021 #20

    Thanks again, I'm convinced that it's a good idea to have one so off to an online site to order.

  • Metheven
    Metheven Club Member Posts: 3,987 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2021 #21

    Mine looks OK and smells OK smile, I can do without the worry of knowing the results from a meter frown 

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