How to measure Climatic Conditions using the Elcometer 319 Dewpoint Meter

The Elcometer 319 Dewpoint Meter can monitor and record all of the key climatic parameters simultaneously, telling you if conditions are suitable for painting.


If a coating is applied in the wrong climatic conditions this can affect its performance, resulting in flaws, problems with coating adhesion, and ultimately coating failure. This is why key climatic parameters should be monitored before and during the application, to ensure conditions are suitable for painting.

For a long time this was and still is done using a whirling hygrometer, also known as a sling psychrometer, which measures the wet bulb and dry bulb temperature of the air, in order to then calculate the relative humidity and dewpoint temperature. Typically, you’d then use a separate thermometer to measure the surface temperature, in order to calculate the Delta T.

But with multiple pieces of equipment, and the need to use conversion tables and calculations to obtain your results, surely there’s a more effective way to monitor climatic conditions than this.

There is the Elcometer 319 Dewpoint Meter.

Whether using as a handheld dewpoint meter or as a remote data logging monitor, the Elcometer 319 can monitor and record all of the key climatic parameters simultaneously, telling you if conditions are suitable for painting.

The Elcometer 319 is equipped with an air temperature and humidity probe, a surface temperature probe, and a K-Type connector, which allows you to connect additional external probes such as magnetic surface temperature probes or liquid temperature probes.

That means this single gauge can measure and record:
• Surface temperature (Ts), the temperature of the surface to be painted;
• Air temperature (Ta), the temperature of the air surrounding the surface to be painted;
• % Relative Humidity (RH), the amount of humidity present in the air compared to the maximum possible, expressed as a percentage;
• Dewpoint (Td), the temperature at which moisture condenses on a surface, calculated from the air temperature and % Relative Humidity;
• Delta T (TΔ), the difference between the surface temperature (Ts) and the dewpoint temperature (Td);
• Wet bulb temperature (Twb), calculated from surface temperature and relative humidity;
• And Dry bulb temperature (Tdb), equal to air temperature.

The gauge is dust and water-resistant with fully sealed sensors, equivalent to IP66, and can safely be used in a wide range of climates. And unlike the whirling hygrometers, which you have to spin around to obtain measurements, the Elcometer 319 can be held against the substrate, or even attached using the integrated magnets, allowing you to measure the climatic conditions of the localised area around the substrate being painted, so you can obtain more relevant readings.

While it’s important to monitor the conditions before you start painting, it’s equally important to continue to monitoring whilst the job is ongoing, as conditions change throughout the day. That’s why the Elcometer 319 Model T can continuously monitor and record the conditions as you paint using its Interval Logging feature, taking a reading automatically at rate of your choice between 1 second and 24 hours. If you wish to continuously log the surface temperature, we recommend using an external surface temperature probe with this feature, so it remains securely attached to the surface without needing to be held.

What’s more you can set high and low limits on any and all parameters, so the Elcometer 319 instantly alarms whenever a parameter exceeds specification.

And, once the inspection is done, every reading of every climatic parameter can be transferred via USB or Bluetooth to ElcoMaster®, Elcometer’s free data management software for Android and Apple mobile devices, or PC, allowing you to further analyse the data and create professional inspection reports instantly.

Thanks to ElcoMaster® it’s even possible to remotely monitor the Elcometer 319 live, while it’s logging the conditions, creating a mobile climate station. And by setting limits within ElcoMaster®, the moment one of the parameters falls out of specification, as long as you’re connected or within Bluetooth range, you’ll be able to see instantly.


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