water detector

johnl · Joined: 05 Jun 1994 Posts: 1330 Location: Hood River OR

I saw a guy at the Windance swap meet testing boards with this device. I was quite impressed. Takes checking a used board for moisture to a different level..

http://www.homedepot.com/p/General-Tools-Pin-type-Moisture-Meter-with-LED-Bar-Graph-Display-MM1E/100651

Opps well not this model. This one puts holes in the item you are testing. The one he had was more like a pass over stud dectector.

whitevan01 · Joined: 29 Jun 2007 Posts: 607

something like this, perhaps?

http://www.coleparmer.com/Product/Extech_MO280_Non_Destructive_Moisture_Meter/UX-59840-10?referred_id=778&mkwid=eGWP095v&pcrid=64918922319&gclid=CLSyxP3Nm8UCFYodgQodVSQAcQ

U2U2U2 · Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:37 am Post subject:

Interesting
Was the guy testing boards or the device?

winfreak · Joined: 26 Apr 2001 Posts: 61 Location: Oregon Coast

http://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-Instruments-MMD7NP-Moisture/dp/B00HARYVUQ/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_0

Mannix MMD7NP Moisture Hunter is what I have. Do not know if the General is a knock off or rebrand. Been using it a couple of years now to evaluate used boards prior to purchase and to monitor my own.
It measures by capacitance to a distance of 3/4 inch. Helps to find leaks, seeps, and where moisture has migrated to. Dings, fin boxes, mast tracks, and vent holes are common problem areas. Weighing the board is far less useful as all that tells you is the current weight, not what what it WILL be after you get it wet again! Especially useful for determining when a board is dry enough to repair and whether a board with a preexisting repair now has moisture "permanently" trapped. If a board has trapped moisture it is not always a deal breaker if weight is OK, but you should ALWAYS leave the vent OPEN when not out on the water. And NEVER leave the board out in the sun!

johnl · Joined: 05 Jun 1994 Posts: 1330 Location: Hood River OR

U2U2U2 · Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 2:26 pm Post subject:

OR use a board with a goretex vent screw and forget about it.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

beaglebuddy · Joined: 10 Feb 2012 Posts: 1120

How do it know?

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

I have three concerns about this meter in this application.

The first two are questions from Amazon customers, with answers from the manufacturer.

Q1. Will it work on a cored boat hull? Need to measure the moisture in the foam core. Only need relative readings, not actual %

A: No

Q2: will this be able to detect moisure under tile?

A: I seriously doubt it. Its tips must enter the object you are trying to test.

The third is based on my and others' observations at swap meets: Some guy (Stephen?) has been wandering around swap meets for a year or two running that meter over just about every board in sight, telling customers that most of the boards contain water.
a) I doubt that.
b) If so, why do so many of them still look, feel, weigh, and sail like new?
c) Aren't those pretty strong statements considering the Q&A above, the meter's questionable application in this mode, and the impact that has on buyers and sellers?
d) I don't see meterguy buying any boards ... just declaring board after board after board water-laden.
e) I'd like better proof.

kmf · Joined: 02 Apr 2001 Posts: 503

ISO..
I have used meterguy's detector, it works.
First of all meterguy uses a pinless detector, not one with pins. So I am not sure which meter you are researching.
second, no one is testing tile....
Not every board contains water, quite a few do, most not a whole bunch, but the meter doesn't tell how much water, one can weigh the board to find that out.
Meterguy has a whole sprint van full of boards he has purchased from the swap, maybe not as many as ISO, but.....
I have used the meter on the boards that I own, and it will tell one if there is moisture under the detector, one can't tell how much, but you can identify where it is. When I left the vent screw out of my brand new RRD, it was able to pinpoint exactly where the moisture was, around the vent screw, and after I dried it out for days using kleenex and a small fan the detector showed that the board had much less moisture in it. It weighed less too. So it does seem to work, better than believing the sales pitch....Only used on Sunday's by a little old man.....I have used it to find leaky fin boxes and leaky dings that are hard to see in my own boards.
We have used it on many boards that we own, and I am confident that it is a useful tool.

KMF