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Applications for moisture meter
include roof surveys, stucco walls and
drywall. This meter uses resistance - not
probes - to determine if the subsurface is wet. A simple 0 to
100% scale and audible indicator alert Altheus Infrared to the likely
presence of moisture. This piece of equipment does have its limitations...
it can't be used on EPDM rubber, heavy ballast* or materials that are currently
wet.
Roof surveys can be tricky even for the
experienced thermographer...
- White PVC membranes can be very
reflective of heat, making the IR signature of water under the
membrane tricky to find. Non-absorbent insulations compound the
issue... the moisture meter is used to verify the thermal signature on the
fly.
- Pea gravel over a bitumen roof is
often found in piles (from the wind or past repair work, etc.); these
piles retain and re-radiate heat at about the same rate as moisture in a
sun-warmed roof... the moisture meter helps separate the wet from the
dry.
- Water below a roof membrane retains
the heat from the sun longer than dry insulation, however, if the water is a
thin film, it may not retain the heat for very long after sunset... by using
our moisture meter, we can find even the slightest amount of water - even
after the "signature" has faded.
- *Heavy ballast is difficult to
survey with IR. The river rocks absorb and re-radiate the heat
from the sun at roughly the same rate as the wet insulation that we are trying
to detect, masking the thermal signature. Altheus' moisture meter
can be used by brushing aside the stone and placing the meter directly on the
membrane. Do this in a grid pattern and the roof can quickly and
accurately be surveyed.
- Aluminum topped roofs can be nearly
impossible with today's longwave thermal imaging systems and impossible with
capacitance moisture meters... but that doesn't mean that infrared can't be
used... Talk to Altheus IR for proven alternatives to the
standard roof survey!
Altheus Infrared takes the guess-work out of
the equation. Let us use put our technology to work for
you. |
