TRAMEX PROFESSIONAL PTM 2.0 User manual

user guide
07/2016
PTM 2.0

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Summary of Features
How it Works
Operating Instructions
Keypad Controls
Main screen
Mode & Seings Menu
Mode Selection
• Wood
• WME (Ref)
• Drywall
Settings
• Temperature Correction
• ºC / ºF Scale
• Brightness
• Eco Mode
• Check Calibration
• Clear Memory
Taking Moisture Readings
Saving Readings
Saved Readings List
Selection of Probes and Pins
Baery
Factors Affecting Moisture Readings
Calibration
Warranty
Product Development
Safety
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INTRODUCTION
Thank you for selecting the Tramex Professional PTM
2.0 meter for moisture measurement and detection
in wood, wood by-products, drywall and other building
materials.
To get maximum benefit from your Professional PTM
2.0 meter it is suggested that you read these instruc-
tions to familiarize yourself with the operation and
capabilities of this instrument before taking moisture
readings.
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SUMMARY OF FEATURES
The Professional PTM 2.0 is a hand-held, digital, pin-type
resistance moisture meter designed to take precise
measurements of moisture content in wood, to test the
moisture conditions of drywall and give comparative WME
(Wood Moisture Equivalent) readings in wood by-products
and other building products. The Professional PTM 2.0
has built-in calibration for over 500 wood species and
settings for temperature correction.
The Tramex Professional PTM 2.0 Features include:
• Wood mode with 500+ pre-set Wood Species or
standard calibration selection
• WME (Ref) Wood Moisture Equivalent mode
• Drywall mode
• Temperature correction
• Stores up to 100 readings
• Min/max, average & standard deviation statistics of
stored readings.
• Cº / Fº selection
• Backlight brightness adjustment
• Eco Mode
• Automatic calibration check
• Clear Memory
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HOW IT WORKS
The Professional PTM 2.0 moisture meter works on the
principle of DC resistance. When the electrode pins are
pressed or driven into the wood, the electrical resis-
tance between the electrodes is measured. If the wood
is dry, the resistance is high. If moisture is present in
the wood the electrical resistance between the pins
changes. The higher the moisture content the greater
the reduction in resistance. The level of resistance is
accurately measured by the instrument, which trans-
lates it into a moisture value. This is a percentage of dry
weight moisture content for wood, a relative scale for
drywall, and a WME wood moisture equivalent value for
many other building materials.
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To select options on the left of the screen.
To select the options on the right of the
screen.
To scroll up through the settings menu, the
saved readings list, the list of species (see
‘Species Mode’ below). To save a reading
(having held the reading with the Hold key
first. See ‘Saving Readings’ below).
To Hold a reading; to select an option; or to
return to main screen.
To scroll down through the settings menu,
the saved readings, the list of species. To
enter species list from main screen when in
Wood mode.
To power on or off.
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OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Keypad Controls
Below is an overview of the keypad functions.

MAIN SCREEN
Below is an explanation of the Main Screen.
1. Last Saved & Average Readings
2. Max & Min Readings
3. Current Reading
4. Temperature setting
5. HOLD Indicator
6. Mode/Species
7. Settings (left key)
8. Saved Readings (right key)
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MODE & SETTINGS MENU
From the Main Screen use the key to select
the Mode and Settings menu page.
The Mode and Settings menu page is colour-coded.
On scrolling through the Mode and Settings menu, the
selected item will be highlighted in blue.
- MODE SELECTION
• Wood Mode
• WME (Ref) Wood Moisture Equivalent Reference Mode
• Drywall Mode
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WOOD MODE
From the Main Screen use the key to select the
Mode and Settings menu page.
Then press the or key to scroll through
the 3 Modes.
Press the key to select the chosen mode.
Having selected WOOD Mode the Professional PTM 2.0
will display the main screen and moisture readings can
be taken and saved.
From this screen a Wood Standard calibration setting
for different regions may be chosen or a wide variety of
species can be selected.
In order to choose your required regional or species
settings, press the key.
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In the Wood menu page scroll down to select your
region or species, pressing the key to enter the
selection pages, or select BACK to return to the Main
page without making any changes.
Wood Standard:
The Professional PTM 2.0 incorporates a number of
standard calibration settings:
• Fir, Douglas - USA
• Fir, Douglas - AUS
• Oak - Europe
• Furu (Pine) - SWE
• Gran (Spruce) - SWE
• European Redwood - UK
• Scots Pine - PTM 1.0
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Scroll down and press the key to select your
required Wood Standard. Once selected, you will
automatically return to the Main page.
The selected wood standard is indicated on the bottom
of the main screen.
Species:
Having entered the Wood menu page, as above, scroll
down to the alphabetical grid. From here you can scroll
around the grid and enter the required alphabetical list
by pressing the key. Then scroll down through
the list and select your required species by name.
On pressing the key to select your species, you
will automatically return to the Main page.
NOTE:
Some of the alphabetical page lists may extend over
multiple pages. These can be accessed by scrolling
continually down through the list or using the
key to move to the next page. Press the key to
move back a page, and back to the Wood menu page.
The page number for each alphabetical list is indicated
on the top left of the screen.
Different species of wood can vary in density and
conductivity, which can have an effect on the electrical
resistance of the wood. The Professional PTM 2.0 has
been programmed with 500+ species in order to give
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precise moisture content readings for each selected
wood species.
The selected wood species is indicated on the bottom
of the screen.
NOTE:
Some of the wood species names in the list have been
abbreviated. Please refer to the following key:
Species Abbreviations Key
13
E. East
Is Island
kaern kaernbachiana
Msia Malaysia
NZ New Zealand
Noth Nothofagus
Phil Phillipines
Polys polysperma
Qld Queensland
l.red light red
d.red dark red
Sapw Sapwood
SSolomon
torri torricellensis
Unt Untreated
W. Western

NOTE:
The Professional PTM 2.0 will give readings in wood of
6% to 46%MC moisture content. It should be noted
that readings above 27% (nominal value of the fibre
saturation point) are indicative only.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DETERMINING MOISTURE
CONTENT OF WOOD
When wood and wood by-products are installed at
the correct moisture content for the environment in
which they will be used, the risk of swelling or shrink-
age is minimised. If it is installed too wet and dries in
service the result will be shrinkage and distortion. If it
is installed too dry it could gain moisture, which could
result in swelling. Using a good quality moisture meter
is the most practical way of ensuring the wood is at the
correct moisture level for its intended use.
Knowing the actual moisture level also enables effi-
cient processing to be carried out, such as milling, ma-
chining, gluing, laminating, spraying and hand painting.
The Professional PTM 2.0 moisture meter will fulfill all
these requirements.
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WME (Ref) MODE
From the Main Screen use the key to select the
Mode and Settings menu page. Then press the
or key to scroll through the 3 Modes.
Press the key to select the required mode.
Having selected WME (Ref) Mode the Professional
PTM 2.0 will display the main screen and moisture
readings can be taken and saved.
The WME Wood Moisture Equivalent Reference scale
can be used on a variety of building materials other
than wood.
WME is the theoretical moisture content value that
would be attained by a piece of wood in moisture
equilibrium with the material under investigation at the
point of measurement.
The Wood Moisture Equivalent reference scale will
give comparative readings of 6 – 100. It matches the
calibration for wood up to fiber saturation (27%MC)
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DRYWALL MODE
From the Main Screen use the key to select the
Mode and Settings menu page. Then press the
or key to scroll through the 3 Modes.
Press the key to select the required mode.
Having selected DRYWALL Mode the Professional PTM
2.0 will display the main screen and moisture readings
can be taken and saved.
The Drywall reference scale will give readings of 0.0 –
8.5 in line with the ASTM C1789 standard.
Drywall may also be known as gypsum board, gypsum
panelboard or plasterboard.

SETTINGS
• Temperature correction
• Temperature scale ºC / ºF
• Brightness
• Eco Mode
• Check calibration
• Clear memory
The Mode and Settings menu page is colour-coded. As
you scroll through the Mode and Settings menu, the
selected item will be highlighted in blue.
TEMPERATURE CORRECTION
Meter readings can be affected by wood temperature.
When measuring the moisture content in wood at differ-
ent temperatures, the appropriate temperature should be
selected to correspond to the temperature of the wood.
The temperature correction ranges from 0ºC / 32ºF to
70ºC / 160ºF and can be chosen in increments of 5º.
Scroll to temperature setting in the Settings menu.
Choose the increment of 5º nearest to the temperature
of the wood by pressing the or keys and
select and return to Main screen by pressing the
key. The selected temperature correction will be shown
in the ‘Tset’ indicator on the Main screen.
The surface temperature of the wood can be determined
by using an infrared surface thermometer.
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NOTE:
Temperature setting can only be adjusted in Wood,
Species mode, not in WME (Ref) or Drywall mode.
TEMPERATURE SCALE ºC/ºF SELECTION
Scroll to ‘TEMP. SCALE’ in the Settings menu and press
the or keys to select the preferred
scale, ºC / ºF. The selected scale will be highlighted in
green. Press the key to select and return to the
Main screen.
BRIGHTNESS
Scroll to ‘BRIGHTNESS’ in the Settings menu and press
the or keys to choose one of the three
brightness levels. The three brightness levels are
colour-coded.
• Green = low
• Yellow = medium
• Red = high
Press the key to select the brightness level and
return to the Main screen.
NOTE:
To save battery life, the Professional PTM 2.0 has an
automatic backlight dimming ECO MODE that comes
into effect when the battery is low.
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ECO MODE
Eco Mode can be used to reduce battery consumption
by functioning on the dimmest backlight level. Scroll to
‘ECO MODE’ in the Settings menu and press the
or keys to turn Eco Mode on or off. Press the
key to select and return to the Main screen.
Brightness level controls are disabled in Eco Mode.
CHECK CALIBRATION
Scroll to CHECK CALIBRATION in the Settings menu
and press the key to carry out the calibration
check. The three-point calibration values are compared
with reference resistances traceable to standard oven
drying tests, providing a reliable calibration check across
the range of different wood standards. Press the
key to return to the Main screen.
CLEAR MEMORY
In order to clear the Saved Readings, scroll to ‘CLEAR
MEMORY’ in the Settings menu and press the
key to select the clear memory option. Press the
or key to CONFIRM or not that you would like
to clear the saved readings in the memory and return to
the Main screen.
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TAKING MOISTURE READINGS
To take moisture content readings, choose the required
mode, ensure the correct temperature adjustment is
set, and push either the instrument mounted pins or the
pins on the external electrodes into the material being
tested. When taking readings in wood, align the pins
parallel to the grain.
The Professional PTM 2.0 can save up to 100 readings
in its memory from any of the 3 Modes – Wood, WME
(Ref) or Drywall.