Business

How to Choose a Moisture Analyzer

You’ll want to consider the following criteria when choosing a moisture analyzer:

  • Resolution (also termed readability or readout)
  • Repeatability
  • Characteristics of the product being analyzed
  • Features important to performing moisture analysis for product
  • Specialized capabilities

Chances are you experience “humidity” on hot summer days beyond high humidity. Examples include mushy potato chips (too much) and crumbly brownie cookies (too little). The moisture content plays a decisive role in almost all areas of life. That’s why researchers, QC, and government agencies rely on moisture analyzers to ensure products meet manufacturing moisture content and shelf-life specifications. This post gives you some useful buying tips for moisture meters.

Service and Support

Chances are you experience “humidity” on hot summer days beyond high humidity. Examples include mushy potato chips (too much) and crumbly brownie cookies (too little). The moisture content plays a decisive role in almost all areas of life. That’s why researchers, QC, and government agencies rely on moisture analyzers to ensure products meet manufacturing moisture content and shelf-life specifications. In this article, you will get useful buying tips for Moisture Analyzers.

Why Purchase a Moisture Analyzer?

“A safe humidity level is a humidity level that is low enough to prevent the growth of undesirable microorganisms in the final product under the intended conditions of manufacture, storage, and distribution.” as per Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations Section n. The Code goes on:

“The maximum safe humidity level for footless water activity (aw). An aw is considered food safe when there is appropriate data showing that the food does not support the growth of undesirable microorganisms at or below the stated aw.”

While Title 21 of the CFR relates to food, moisture content also relates to other everyday issues. Examples are plastic resins, wood pellets, and sludge dewatering.

Details on Key Considerations to Purchase a Moisture Analyzer

If you are planning to buy a moisture meter and are feeling constrained by the wide range of choices, these tips for choosing a moisture meter should help you.

Moisture balance selection criteria are based on factors such as:

Resolution or the smallest difference that can be read on the display. This is also referred to as readability or readability.

Repeatability – the ability of a moisture analyzer to return the same result when the same sample is tested repeatedly. Expressed as standard deviation.

Functions that are important for performing moisture analysis. These are based on the properties of the product to be analyzed, e.g. B. those that require special heating profiles.

Specialized features such as testing products with extremely low moisture content specifications, providing graphical displays of changing moisture content, and creating libraries of commonly performed tests.

Moisture Analyzer Performance Functions

While Title 21 refers to “water activity” (aw), for the subject of this post, moisture is anything that evaporates on heating.  Examples include fats, oils, alcohol, and s, and solvents.

Moreover, moisture can lurk in places many folks would not suspect.  Three examples of where moisture can exist include:

On the surface of a sample.  This can be defined as bulk water attracted to other substances. Even though you might not see it, it can be there and its presence affects the weight of the substance. Surface moisture is most easily removed in a moisture analyzer.

In pores or capillaries, where it is more diffs difficult to remove.  Absorbed moisture can be inside the substance particle (think wet soil) or in tiny capillaries or crevices of roughly-shaped substances.    Generally evaporating this type of moisture takes more time than required to remove surface moisture.

Water molecules are chemically bonded with other molecules as water of crystallization or as hydrates or adhesively bound water chemically bonded to a material at the molecular level.

An example is gypsum. Evaporating water of crystallization is more complex than the surface and absorbed moisture because the substance may also have surface moisture as well as chemically bonded water.

Removing surface moisture is one part of the process; removing water of crystallization is another and more difficult part.  This is because the heat required may in some instances result in product decomposition.

Latest

To Top