Water alarm

William Minter <wdm14<-at->psu<.>edu> writes

>We are gathering information for a disaster preparedness workshop
>for our branch campus libraries.  While we have many items to share,
>we are also interested in knowing if anyone has experience with a
>water alarm that sends a message to a cell phone.  If anyone uses
>the La Crosse Technology Alert
>
>    <URL:https://www.lacrossetechnology.com/alerts/remote-water-leak-detector-early-warning-alerts.php>
>
>or other similar system, we would appreciate hearing from you.

We use The Delmhorst P-2000 moisture meter for measuring moisture
content of books using the electrode attachment 19-E.

    <URL:http://www.delmhorst.com/Moisture-Meters/Other-Markets/Paper/P-2000>

The electrode's 3 "tongue-depressor" shaped tines are placed between
the leaves of the text-block, the book is closed and held with light
pressure and the reading is taken.

Peter Waters makes reference to the Aqua-Boy in "Procedures"

    <URL:http://cool.conservation-us.org/bytopic/disasters/primer/waters.html>.

it is UK-made and rather more expensive then the Delmhorst.  I have
no experience with it or how it compares to the Delmhorst.

We bought our Delmhorst in response to a huge mold bloom that
occurred in 2013 thanks to an exceedingly humid August and an HVAC
system that was blowing cool, wet air into the book stacks.  We
recorded moisture content readings in the 11-12% range for the books
growing the most mold; readings over 7% are considered damp.

In preparation for this summer, we are taking readings throughout
the 4 floors where books are shelved.  Readings in March averaged
about 4.5% and readings taken today (15 May 15) are mostly in the
mid-5s with a few readings slightly over 6%.

I believe it can be used to measure the moisture content of single
sheets but our experience has been mostly with books.

Bryan L.W. Draper
Special Collections Conservator
University of Maryland Libraries
College Park MD 20742


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:2
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