tramex moisture meter reviewAs home inspectors, one of the most important things we can find for our Clients is the presence of unsafe levels of moisture in a home. Whether it be a roof leak or a plumbing leak, moisture in a home, especially in excessive levels, is not a good thing! When I was performing home inspections, I always relied on my Tramex Moisture Encounter PLUS to find these types of high moisture areas. It didn’t add that much time to an inspection to hit likely leak points such as around windows, toilet flanges, ceilings below upstairs bathrooms and at lower door frames. I can’t tell you how many times the Tramex Moisture Encounter found excessive moisture where there was no outward appearance of it.

I’ve owned about 6 to 8 different types of moisture meters over the years. Some were outstanding and others not so much. But the Tramex Moisture Encounter PLUS was my favorite non-invasive moisture meter I’ve ever used. It simply worked and worked very well. I had the original Tramex Moisture Encounter and it was just as good. The difference between the original model and the PLUS model is that the PLUS version is stated by Tramex to go up to an inch deep into materials along with a larger display and an on/off audio warning. It also has an automatic cut off switch that shuts the unit off when not in use. This will save you batteries! Trust me, there’s few things more annoying than to reach into your tool bag to get your Tramex and find out that the switch was left on at the last inspection and you have dead batteries!

One thing that I did not like about the Tramex is that due to it’s design, you couldn’t get it into some tight spots. That is one reason I ended up buying a Protimeter. Overall I liked the Tramex better, but sometimes I needed a smaller moisture meter to get in those hard to reach areas.

The TR115 Moisture Encounter has three levels of sensitivity that works well on drywall, wood, concrete, brick, etc. All you do is select the type of material you want to test and you’re ready to go. If you’re into a spot you can’t see the display, then simply switch the audio warning on and you’ll hare a series of loud beeps if moisture is found. If it’s a high level of moisture, the beeps will come quicker and quicker notifying you that you may have found a trouble spot.

Along with the audio warning, the Tramex PLUS also has a ‘hold’ button. Once you think you’ve found high levels of moisture, just hit the hold button and the reading will remain the same until you release it by hitting the hold button again. I can’t tell you how sweet this feature is, or how incredibly invaluable it is!

Whether you’re starting out or you’re an Old Salt at inspecting homes, you owe it to yourself and your Clients to have a Tramex Moisture Encounter PLUS in your tool bag. But don’t stop there, because as good as this unit is, it won’t help you one red scent if you don’t pull it out and use it!

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