How to check moisture content within the substrate - Kekkilä Professional (2024)

FAQs

How do you test moisture content in a substrate? ›

The amount of water is determined by subtracting the dry weight from the initial weight, and the moisture content is then calculated as the amount of water divided by the dry weight or total weight, depending on the reporting method. Even this simple loss-on-drying method is mined with potential variability traps.

It's calculated by weighing the wet soil sampled from the field, drying it in an oven, and then weighing the dry soil. Thus gravimetric water content equals the wet soil mass minus the dry soil mass divided by the dry soil mass. In other words, the mass of the water divided by the mass of the soil.

Oven-Dry Tests.

This method uses ovens, dehydrators, or even microwaves to dry out a sample of material. The pre-drying weight is compared to the post-drying weight to determine how much moisture was lost, and so find out what the %MC by weight of the sample was.

A) lots of water dripping shows that the substrate is too wet. b) a few drops released with some pressure show that the substrate is well watered. If it is too dry then with no drops will be released with pressure.

The rule-of-thumb for bulk substrates is that there should be little-to-no water released when you grab a handful and squeeze. If a few drops are released, that's OK. If a stream of water is released, your moisture level is too high.

A moisture meter is an essential instrument used in many industries to detect moisture content in materials. Home and building inspectors rely on moisture meters to identify potential problems and damage to structures from moisture buildup.

A capacitive/non-destructive moisture meter measures changes in the material's capacitance which vary with the moisture content. The instrument emits a high frequency signal. The frequency of the electrical signal will vary due to the capacitance of the material.

Basic Food Moisture Testing Equipment

HE53 and HE73 moisture analyzers are the ideal choice when you need fast and reliable moisture content measurements of your food samples and are working on a tight budget.

The preferred method for determining soil moisture is the use of gravimetric soil moisture. However, if a person has experience in the hand-feel method and is comfortable in this method, this is an acceptable method. The use of the hand-feel method and gravimetric soil sampling together is strongly encouraged.

What tool is used to measure soil moisture? ›

Tensiometers are devices that measure soil moisture tension. They are sealed, water-filled tubes with a porous ceramic tip at the bottom and a vacuum gauge at the top. They are inserted in the soil to plants' root zone depth.

Test by squeezing a handful of soil together. Open your hand out giving it a small shake as you do. If the soil mostly holds together and a few crumbs fall away then it's perfectly moist. If it holds its shape and you can infact shape it into something – way too wet.

In an LOD test, the sample is weighed, dried, and weighed again. The difference in the two weights (Loss on Drying) is then compared with either the original weight (Wet-base test) or final weight (Dry-base test) and the moisture content calculated.

Oven dry method is the most accurate and simplest method for water content determination. In this method complete drying of soil sample occur and water content in sample is calculated accurately by a maintained temperature in the oven ( 105° C to 110° C) for 24 hours.

The extraction container is removed and placed under a hood for 15 min then placed in an oven set to 125 ̊C for 2 hours. The container and borings are transferred to the weighing bottle and the weight is recorded. The weight of the dry extracted wood is then recorded and used to calculate the moisture content.

The oven-drying method is the definitive method of measuring the moisture contents of soils. The sand-bath method is used, where oven drying is not possible, mainly on site.

Calculate the moisture content of the soil by subtracting the weight of the dry soil from the weight of the moist soil, and then dividing by the weight of the dry soil. Although the measurement is simple, it is important to determine soil moisture content in order to better understand soil characteristics.

Tensiometers are devices that measure soil moisture tension. They are sealed, water-filled tubes with a porous ceramic tip at the bottom and a vacuum gauge at the top.