PCE Instruments PT-DPM User manual

Moisture Meter PT-DPM
PCE Americas Inc.
711 Commerce Way
Suite 8
Jupiter
FL-33458
USA
From outside US: +1
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
www.pce-instruments.com/english
www.pce-instruments.com
PCE Instruments UK Ltd.
Units 12/13
Southpoint Business Park
Ensign way
Hampshire / Southampton
United Kingdom, SO31 4RF
From outside UK: +44
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]

Introduction
Introduction
Throughout this manual, the symbol
indicates more information about the particular topic
or feature is available on our website.
Go to: www.defelsko.com/manuals
NOTE:
2
The Dew Point Meter is a hand-held, electronic
instrument that measures, calculates and records
climatic parameters, quickly and accurately.
Measured parameters are:
Ta- Air Temperature
RH - Relative Humidity
Ts- Surface Temperature
Td- Dew Point Temperature
- Surface minus Dew Point
Power-up / Power-down
Power-up / Power-down
The PosiTector DPM powers-up when any button is
pressed. To preserve battery life, the instrument
powers-down after approximately 3 minutes of no
button activity. To power-down immediately, hold
both (-)(+) buttons for 5 seconds. Settings are
retained during power-down.
Air temperature
and humidity
sensor
Surface
Temperature
Sensor
Temperature

3
Operation Overview
Operation Overview
Upon power-up, the following 5 parameters are
displayed and updated automatically each second.
RH - The relative humidity sensor is located inside
the white plastic housing. The sensor may require a
longer period to stabilize in the event of extreme
humidity changes.
Ta- The air temperature sensor is also located
inside the white plastic housing.
Ts- A surface temperature thermocouple is located
on the tip of the silver probe. It is spring loaded and
designed to quickly self-align on a surface. Press it
against a surface and allow a few seconds for the
value to stabilize. Do not drag the sensor over the
surface. Wet the surface for a faster response.
For surface temperature measurement over
a long period of time, consider using the optional
Magnetic Surface Temperature kit (pg. 11).
Td - The dew point temperature is a function of air
temperature and relative humidity (see ISO 8502-4
Annex A). It is the temperature to which a volume of
air must be cooled in order to reach saturation.
- The delta value is the surface minus dew point
temperature (Ts- Td). This value is important in
judging the risk of condensation, or dew, forming on
a surface. For example, ISO 8502-4 recommends
that, unless otherwise agreed, the temperature of a
steel surface generally should be at least 3°C (5°F)
above the dew point when paints are applied.
The instrument may require a period of time
before the above climatic parameters stabilize. This
is most noticeable when the instrument is relocated
from one extreme environment to another (i.e. from
a warm location to a cold location). A period of up to
30 minutes should provide adequate time for
stabilization.
NOTE:
NOTE:

4
(-) Button: causes the display to rotate 180°. Ideal
for right-side-up viewing when sensors are pointing
away from you. Press (-) again to restore display
position.
(+) Button: freezes the display. The instrument will
measure one more time, then hold all values and
display the hold icon . Press (+) again to unfreeze
the display. This feature does not work while in
Memory Mode.
Button: accesses the instrument menu (pg. 5).
Within the menu, the button is used to select an
option.
Smart TrendTM Indicators - identify rising, falling
or stable readings. The instrument compares each
measurement with the average of recent values in
an attempt to provide the current direction of change.
While the absence of an arrow does not necessarily
signify stability, it can be taken to mean that particu-
lar parameter is undergoing little or no change. Slow
changes in a parameter could therefore occur
without being noted by an indicator arrow. When
instructed to manually store a dataset into memory
(pg. 6), the instrument will wait for these Smart Trend
Indicators to disappear before recording all values to
memory.
Button Shortcuts:
Smart Trend
Indicators

5
Menu Operation
Menu Operation
Current selection is displayed
with darkened background
Instrument functions are menu controlled. To access
the Menu, turn the instrument on, then press the
button.
Reset
Gage Info
Flip Display
Units
Language
Set Clock
Memory
Auto Log
To navigate, press (-) to scroll DOWN, (+) to scroll UP
and to SELECT. Press both (-)(+) buttons at any
time to exit any menu or select Exit from the Menu.
List boxes have a down arrow on the right-hand side.
Use the (-) and (+) buttons until your desired choice
appears, then press to select this choice and
move focus onto the next item.
“Focus” is currently at this
unselected (empty) Radio button
“Radio” buttons. Only one
can be selected at a time.
“List“ box
a “tick” indicates this square
box has been selected
Alarm
Setup
9

6
Storing a dataset into memory manually
Place the surface temperature sensor on the
surface. Press (+) to store the current dataset into
memory. If the Smart Trend Indicators indicate one
or more values are changing, the instrument will
beep and blink once every second until the dataset
values stabilize. When the dataset values have
stabilized, the LED will blink twice and the instrument
will emit a double beep. Dataset values are now
stored in memory along with the current time.
Memory Management
Memory Management
The PosiTector DPM can record 2,500 datasets in
up to 100 groups (batches) for on-screen analysis,
for printing to an optional IR printer, or for
downloading to a personal computer using optional
PosiSoft software and USB cable.
Memory
New Batch
-closes any currently opened batch and creates a
new batch name using the next higher number. For
example, if only Batch 1 and Batch 3 exist, then Batch
4would be created and made the current batch.
Memory is activated and the icon appears. New
batches are date stamped when they are created.
No. of
stored datasets in
the current batch
Current
Batch
Current
(live) dataset
Adataset contains 6 values: RH, Ta, Ts, Td,
Delta and the date/time when they were
recorded.
NOTE:

7
View
Delete
-removes a batch completely from memory. The
name is deleted and its datasets are erased.
Close
-stops the recording process, closes the current
batch, and removes batch information from the
display.
First to appear is a graph of
individual data points as
shown in Figure 1. Scroll
through each dataset
parameter using the (-).
Press or (+) button to
view batch statistics and
individual datasets (see Figure 2). Figure 1
-lists all datasets beginning with the current or most
recently used batch.
Open
-selects a previously created batch name to open
and make current. The current batch name and
number of stored datasets will be displayed.
To exit press (-)(+) buttons simultaneously.
Scroll datasets using the (-) or
(+) buttons. Hold for 1 second
to scroll a page at a time.
- Average
- Standard Deviation
- Minimum value
- Maximum value
To return to graph view or to exit press .
Figure 2
Shortcut:

8
Downloading Measurements Stored in Memory
Datasets stored in the instrument’s memory (in
batches) can be downloaded to a computer using
optional PosiSoft software and USB cable (pg. 12).
Datasets are not erased from memory after
downloading.
Auto Log
Automatically displays and records datasets at user
selected time intervals for unattended operation.
When selected, the Log Interval
menu will appear on the display
as shown.
Navigate using the (-) (+)
buttons. Press to select the
element in focus, then select
OK.
The instrument will display the Auto Log symbol
and will begin recording. An
audible tick sound will emit from
the instrument every few
seconds to indicate recording is
in progress. At each interval,
the displayed values update,
the LED flashes and the dataset
is stored into memory.
Recording will continue until memory is full, the
instrument loses power, or the user turns off Auto
Log.
Print
-prints stored datasets and/or summary to the
optional IR printer or to a PC’s default Windows
printer via the optional USB cable and PosiSoft
software. Press (-)(+) simultaneously to cancel
printing.

9
When tick box is checked, the
instrument will alert the user
when the surface temperature
is less than 3°C (5°F) above
the dew point temperature (
value). According to ISO 8502-
4 and ASTM D3276, steel surfaces should general-
ly be 3°C (5°F) above the dew point when painting.
The instrument will alert the user with an audio tone
and the LCD screen will reverse (see above) when
conditions may be unsuitable for painting.
Alarm
To conserve battery life, displayed values
only update at the Log Interval. The last recorded
values will remain “frozen” on the display until the
next interval values have been stored.
Recorded datasets are stored into the currently
opened batch. If no batch is open, a new batch will
be created. Datasets are recorded regardless of the
state of the Smart Trend Indicators (see pg. 4).
To turn off Auto Log, press the button and hold
until the next tick sound. A final dataset will be stored
in memory and the current batch will remain open.
Recorded datasets can be viewed on the LCD,
viewed graphically for quick trend analysis on-site
(see pg. 7) or downloaded to a printer or PC.
Downloading to a PC requires optional PosiSoft
Software (pg. 12).
-It is recommended that fresh alkaline batteries be
installed prior to an extended Auto Log.
-Auto Log works best with optional Magnetic Surface
Temperature kit (see pg. 11)
-If memory becomes full, or the instrument loses
power and shuts off, all previously stored readings
will remain in memory.
NOTES:
9
NOTE:

10
Set Clock
All batches are date-stamped when created, and all
datasets are time-stamped (24 hour format) when
stored into these batches. It is therefore important to
keep both the date and time current using this menu
button. Alternatively, the date and time can be
updated when the instrument is connected to the
optional PosiSoft software (pg. 12).
Reset restores factory settings and returns
the instrument to a known, out-of-the-box
condition. It is handy when you want to “start all
over”. The following occurs:
- all batches are closed and stored datasets are
erased.
- menu settings are returned to the following:
Memory = OFF Alarm = ON
A more thorough Reset can be performed by holding
the (+) button when the instrument is powered
down until the Reset symbol appears. It
performs the same function as a menu Reset with
addition of Units = °C, and Language = English.
Date and Time are not affected by any Reset.
Setup Menu
Setup Menu
Setup
Reset
NOTE:
This option causes the display to rotate 180°. Ideal
for right-side-up viewing in any position.
Flip Display
This menu button converts the display and all stored
datasets from Celsius to Fahrenheit or vice versa.
Units
Shortcut: The (-) button flips the display.