Extech Instruments MO260 User manual

U SE R MA NU A L
D u a l M o i s t u r e M e t e r
P i n / P i nl e ss M o i stur e M e t e r
M od e l MO 260

MO 260-en-G B _ V 1.5 8/16 2
I n tr o d u cti on
C ongratulat i ons on your purchase of the E xtech MO260 Mo i sture Meter. The MO260 detects
mo i sture i n wood and other mater i als such as part i cle board, carpet i ng, and ce i l i ng/bathroom t i les
us i ng the non- i nvas i ve method (p i nless); the MO260 also measures mo i sture i n sheet rock and
other bu i ld i ng mater i als us i ng the p i n method. Th i s meter i s sh i pped fully tested and cal i brated
and, w i th proper use, w i ll prov i de years of rel i able serv i ce.
F ea t u r es
 %WM E (wood mo i sture equ i valent) p i n mo i sture read i ng
 Relat i ve (R E L) p i nless mo i sture read i ng for non- i nvas i ve measurement
 D i g i tal L CD readout w i th backl i ght i ng feature and tr i -color L ED bargraph
 Qu i ckly i nd i cates the mo i sture content of mater i als
 P i nless measurement depth to 0.75 " (22mm) below the surface
 E lectro-magnet i c sens i ng technology for p i nless operat i on
 B u i lt- i n cal i brat i on check and cal i brat i on zero
 Replaceable measurement electrode p i ns
 Low battery i nd i cat i on
 C ap protects p i ns dur i ng storage
 C ap can be snapped onto the s i de of the hous i ng dur i ng use
 C omplete w i th 9 V battery, replacement p i ns, protect i ve cap, and pouch case

MO260-en-G B _ V 1.5 8/16 3
D es cripti on
M eter D escri p ti on
1. E lectrode p i ns protect i ve cap
2. L CD d i splay
3. Tr i -color B argraph
4. HOL D / P OW E R key
5. P rotect i ve cap attachment
6. P rotect i ve cap holders
7. MO DE button
N o tes :
 B attery/ S pare P i n compartment located on the rear of the
i nstrument
 E lectrode p i ns located beneath the protect i ve cap
 C al i brat i on po i nts located at the top of protect i ve cap
L CD D is p lay D escri p ti on
1. Measurement read i ng
2. B attery status
3. A ud i ble alert i con
4. Measurement mode
5. D i splay HOL D i con
B ar g ra ph D is p lay D escri p ti on
The bargraph i nd i cates W E T / D RY measurements us i ng three L ED colors: Green (for dry),
A mber (for moderate mo i sture), and Red (for very mo i st). A s the read i ng moves up the
bargraph scale from the D RY i nd i cator to the W E T i nd i cator, the L ED color changes from
green, to amber, and then to red.

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Op e r a ti on
E lectr od e P i n s
The electrode p i ns are replaceable / removeable and must be i nserted before the meter can be
used. To i nsert or replace the p i ns refer to the i llustrat i on and i nstruct i ons below. Replacement
p i ns are stored i n the battery compartment at the rear of the meter.
a) Remove the protect i ve cap at the top of the meter by push i ng i t toward the back of the
meter.
b) To remove the p i ns, loosen the locknut at the base of the electrode p i ns
c) Install the new p i ns and t i ghten the locknuts
d) Replace the protect i ve cap
1. E lectrode p i ns
2. Lock i ng nuts
3. Threaded posts
4. E lectrode jacks at top of meter
B asic O p erati on f o r P i n Meas u rme n ts
1. Remove the protect i ve cap to expose the electrode p i ns. The cap snaps off eas i ly i f i t i s
pushed towards the rear of the meter. The cap can be aff i xed to the s i de of the meter us i ng
the protect i ve cap holders (6).
2. P ress the key to turn the meter ON / O FF .
3. P ress the MO DE key to select the Wood Mo i sture E qu i valent (%WM E ) mode of operat i on.
4. C arefully push the electrode p i ns a m i n i mum of 0.07” (2mm) i nto the mater i al under test.
Note that the p i ns should be i nserted i nto wood perpend i cular to the wood ’ s f i ber structure.
F or h i gh mo i sture read i ngs, i t may take several m i nutes for the meter read i ng to stab i l i ze.
5. Take several read i ngs i n several locat i ons on the mater i al for the best representat i on of the
amount of mo i sture present.
6. Read the measurement values on the L CD d i g i tal d i splay and the L ED bar graph
7. Replace the protect i ve cap when f i n i shed.
C A U T IO N : The electrode measurement p i ns are extremely sharp. Use care when
handl i ng th i s i nstrument. C over the p i ns w i th the protect i ve cap when the
i nstrument i s not i n use.
2
3
4
1

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B asic O p erati on f o r P i n less Meas u rme n ts
S ee sect i on on how a P i nless meter measures mo i sture.
1. E nsure that the protect i ve cap i s attached to the meter cover i ng the p i ns.
2. P ress the key to turn the meter ON.
3. P ress the MO DE key to select the Relat i ve (R E L) mode of operat i on.
4. The p i nless mo i sture detector i s located at the rear of the i nstrument, just beh i nd the d i splay.
P lace the meter so that the sensor i s touch i ng the surface of the mater i al under test.
5. Take several read i ngs i n several locat i ons on the mater i al for the best representat i on of the
amount of mo i sture present.
6. Read the measurement values on the L CD d i g i tal d i splay and the L ED bar graph.
C ali b rati on Zer o f o r P i n less M od e
1. S w i tch the meter to the P i nless mode of operat i on (R E L mode).
2. E nsure that the meter i s not near any objects or surfaces. Hold the meter near the bottom to
avo i d contact w i th the p i nless sensor.
3. P ress and Hold the MO DE button for 3 seconds unt i l r E L appears i n the d i splay. Release
the MO DE button and the d i splay w i ll bl i nk for several seconds and then sw i tch back to the
normal d i splay mode.
4. The d i splay should now read zero i nd i cat i ng that the cal i brat i on i s complete.
5. If an E 32 error i s d i splayed, try the zero cal i brat i on aga i n w i th the p i ns further away from any
objects or surfaces.
C ali b rati on C h eck f o r P i n M od e
1. S w i tch the meter to the P i n mode (%WM E ).
2. The two cal i brat i on check po i nts are located i n the holes at the top of the protect i ve cap.
3. Insert the electrode p i ns i nto the two holes at the top of the protect i ve cap to make contact
w i th the test c i rcu i t.
4. The d i splay should now read from 18.0 to 18.6, i nd i cat i ng that the cal i brat i on i s ver i f i ed. If
the read i ng i s not correct, return the meter for serv i ce.

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L CD B ackli gh t O N /O FF
W i th the meter sw i tched ON, press i ng and hold i ng both front panel buttons (MO DE and HOL D )
sw i tches the L CD backl i ght ON and O FF .
D ata H o l d feat u re
The D ata Hold funct i on freezes the read i ng i n the d i splay. P ress the H O L D key momentar i ly to
act i vate the D ata Hold funct i on. The read i ng w i ll freeze and the ‘ key ’ d i splay i con w i ll appear. P ress
the H O L D key aga i n to ex i t the D ata Hold funct i on (the ‘ key ’ d i splay i con w i ll sw i tch off).
M e t e r S e t u p
 To enter the setup mode:
W i th the meter sw i tched O FF , press and hold both front panel buttons (MO DE and HOL D
buttons) s i multaneously for two seconds. The d i splay should now read ‘ 0 = x ’ where ‘ 0 ’ i s the
O P TION and ‘ x ’ i s the SE TTING.
 Use the MO DE (r i ght arrow) button to change the SE TTING.
 Use the HOL D button to scroll through the O P TION S .
 The ava i lable O P TION S and SE TTING S :
O P T IO NS SE TT I N G S SE T - UP I N F O R MA T IO N
0 0 S w i tches all sett i ngs to ‘ 0 ’ ( F actory D efault*)
1 Others sett i ngs can now be changed. In add i t i on, B ackl i ght
sw i tches ON for 30 seconds and then automat i cally sw i tches
O FF .
1 0 A ud i ble alert beeps w i th i ncreas i ng frequency from a nom i nal
17.0 (R E L) or 17% (WM E ) measurement value upwards
1 A ud i ble alert d i v i ded i nto 3 frequency levels
2 A ud i ble alert beeps when user sw i tches from one mode to
another
3 B eeper O FF . A ud i o alert d i splay symbol sw i tches O FF
2 0 A uto S w i tch O FF i s not act i ve. User must manually sw i tch the
un i t O FF
1 A uto S w i tch O FF act i ve. S w i tches O FF after 3 m i nutes
2 A uto S w i tch O FF act i ve. S w i tches O FF after 5 m i nutes
3 A uto S w i tch O FF act i ve. S w i tches O FF after 10 m i nutes
3 0 B ackl i ght O FF
1 B ackl i ght ON
* F A C T O R Y DE F A U LT SE TT I N G S : 0=0, 1=0, 2=0, 3=0

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B a tt e r y R e pl a c e m e n t
If the i nstrument does not sw i tch ON or d i splays the low battery symbol, replace the battery as
follows:
1. S l i de off the rear battery compartment cover
2. Replace the 9 V battery
3. S ecure the battery compartment
4.
Never d i spose of used batter i es or rechargeable batter i es i n household waste.
A s consumers, users are legally requ i red to take used batter i es to appropr i ate collect i on
s i tes, the reta i l store where the batter i es were purchased, or wherever batter i es are sold.
D i sposal: D o not d i spose of th i s i nstrument i n household waste. The user i s obl i gated to
take end-of-l i fe dev i ces to a des i gnated collect i on po i nt for the d i sposal of electr i cal and
electron i c equ i pment.
M a i n t e n a n c e
 A lways keep the i nstrument dry
 To clean, w i pe the meter w i th a damp cloth. Use a m i ld detergent i f necessary but never use
abras i ves or solvents.
 P revent d i rt from accumulat i ng at the electrode p i ns
H o w a P i n l ess M o i s t u r e M e t e r M eas u r es M o i s t u r e
A p i nless meter i s a “relat i ve” or un i t-less measurement dev i ce.
Unl i ke the P IN type mo i sture meter that measures %WM E or electr i cal res i stance, the P i nless meter
measures an electr i cal property of the mater i al called relat i ve perm i tt i v i ty. A p i nless meter uses an
E lectromagnet i c s i gnal to check the perm i tt i v i ty of a mater i al.
The proper way to use a p i nless meter i s to make a measurement of a mater i al of a known dryness.
Then make a measurement of an i tem of the same mater i al, th i ckness, and construct i on of unknown
mo i sture content. A ny r i se i n read i ng i nd i cates mo i sture, or the presence of some other conductor or
h i gh perm i tt i v i ty mater i al (a metal stud beh i nd the wall would produce h i gher read i ngs).
Mak i ng mult i ple measurements over the suspected area i s recommended to get an average read i ng of
the mater i al. P ract i ce and exper i ence w i ll help you to get a feel for the mo i sture content i n that
mater i al.

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S p e cific a ti on s
D i splay B ackl i t L CD d i g i tal d i splay and tr i -color L ED bargraph scale
Resolut i on 0.1%
A ccuracy P i n mode: ± (5% rdg + 5 d i g i ts)
P i nless mode i s a relat i ve read i ng only
Measurement pr i nc i ple E lectr i cal res i stance (p i ns)
E lectromagnet i c sensor (p i nless)
Range 0.0 to 99.9 %Relat i ve (p i nless)
6.0 to 94.8 %WM E (p i ns)
E lectrode p i n length 11mm (0.44”)
E lectrode p i n type Integrated, replaceable
P ower supply 9 V alkal i ne battery
Low B attery Ind i cat i on B attery symbol d i splayed on L CD
Meter hous i ng Impact-proof plast i c
Operat i ng Temperature 0 to 50
o
C (32 to 122
o
F )
Operat i ng Hum i d i ty 80% Relat i ve Hum i d i ty max i mum
D i mens i ons 203 x 58 x 43mm (8 x 2.3 x 1.7”)
We i ght 204g (7.2 oz)
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