The CMEX5 digital concrete multi-moisture meter.
This video, presented by David from Tramex Meters, talks about the features of the digital Concrete Moisture Encounter, the CMEX5.
It has a few buttons on the face of the meter. The power button, the Bluetooth to connect to the App, the screen brightness to give backlighting on the screen, and the menu button.
Looking through the menu, there are different modes. The top one is the non-destructive mode. That's using the base of the meter and pressing it to a surface.
Within the non-destructive mode, there are five different settings that you can choose from. The first one is the "concrete percentage of moisture content, " the most common one used for taking surface readings on concrete. The second one is the "carbide method scale for concrete", that's used more often in Europe, utilizing the carbide method scale. The third option is the "carbide method scale for anhydrite materials", meaning materials that'll dry out completely. Different from concrete because concrete always holds some moisture. The fourth option is the "Tramex gypsum reference scale", which is 0 to 12. The carbide method scale for anhydride can also be used as a gypsum scale, which will give you a more common scale from 0.5 to 1 percent reading as dry for gypsum or cementitious screeds. And finally, the fifth option is just a 0 to 99 reference scale, which can be used for different materials, such as tile, for example, using this scale as a comparative scale.
The next option on the menu is the PIN mode with five options. The top one is "recently used". The meter will save which pin has been recently connected and in what mode it was used. Next, there is the "wood standards" option. These are the standard woods and this is going to give US Douglas Fir, Oak, Pine, Spruce, and Scots pine. The third option is the "wood species" with over 500 species of wood that are also loaded into this meter. The fourth option is the "wood moisture equivalent" or WME, which can be used with different pins. And lastly, the "drywall" setting is to be used with the pin in the drywall.
Within the pin mode option on the CMEX5, there are different attachments available using the new bayonet connector. Once this is connected, going back to the screen, the meter will sense which attachment is connected, and it gives indications on the screen of what the probe is reading. Across the bottom of the screen, it will always be going to display the measurements that are given from the onboard hygrometer.
The external 5" (127mm - Short Narrow Probe) and 10" (260mm - Long Narrow Probe) RH probes can be used in different wall cavities and they'll give the temperature, relative humidity, dew point, and grains per pound ratio within a cavity.
The Hygro-i2 probe can be connected to the CMEX5 for taking in-situ RH readings as per the ASTM F2170 RH test method for concrete slabs.
When using the pin probe for the invasive test to get a quantitative reading on wood, first select the wood specie to be tested and see it listed across the top. Following the grain on the wood, insert the pins into the wood and take the reading.
For the Concrete Moisture Probe keep it in the non-destructive setting for the concrete percentage of moisture content. The CMP is basically working as an extension of the concrete moisture meter. It comes with a couple of pieces for the actual probe. When the depth of the slab is known, these pieces can be attached to the appropriate length, and it functions as a cradle below the Concrete Moisture Encounter. It will fit right in the same hole as the RH probe sending a signal from the tip of the attached piece to the meter's spring pins, giving a quantitative %MC reading from the bottom of the hole up to the surface.