Marconi Moisture Meter

Marconi moisture meter in good working order c/w hand grinder and charts for wheat barley rape beans and peas. Original slide for wheat rye maze barley and oats.
New modern batteries fitted
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Flatlander

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lorette Manitoba
I can remember my father having one of those back in the 70s. Big ugly batteries in them that were hard to find unless you wanted to get robbed. Super accurate thou and miles ahead of its time.
 

Pushdyke

Member
Make your own battery pack with 7x9v wired together, (was quoted £65 by lishmans for a battery which when unwrapped is the same)
This one was modified by Lincolnshire Rewinds and takes 5 of the smoke alarm type and 4 of the round type torch battery .
It will have new batteries fitted.
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Boysground

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Wiltshire
Are these reliable? Iv only ever sean the more modern types? Any idea of weight for postage?

I gave up with my Protimeter it has no consistency whatsoever. Had @Lodekka fully refurbish my old Marconi. It’s is so much better, I actually believe the result.

They are great, I do find it very satisfying to grind the sample, check the temperature and adjust the scale. I feel as though it’s a proper test.

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Lodekka

Member
Absolutely correct guys, the Marconi Meters are the Rolls Royce and are much more rugged, reliable and most importantly repeatable than most others even today. One of the most trusted and long lasting Instruments on the farm, easily last another 60+ years if kept clean and dry.

Many agents and mills still use them for exactly that reason.

Modern battery equivalents are readily available ( no need to have expensive packs) so anyone who says the batteries are obsolete can get them replaced with easily sourced current types at reasonable prices.

Meters are still able to be serviced and calibrated and spares are still available.

Anyone having a problem, feel free to contact me.

Nigel
 

Lodekka

Member
Are these reliable? Iv only ever sean the more modern types? Any idea of weight for postage?
You can generally post a meter for about £10, with insurance and tracking included, the A model here is the most common and is about 6-7Kg, so just over £10, but the later B,C or D models are lighter and under £10 at about 5Kg.

Many hundred still about and easily serviced, calibrated and much better than modern units for accuracy and repeatability.
 

Martyn

Member
Location
South west
You can generally post a meter for about £10, with insurance and tracking included, the A model here is the most common and is about 6-7Kg, so just over £10, but the later B,C or D models are lighter and under £10 at about 5Kg.

Many hundred still about and easily serviced, calibrated and much better than modern units for accuracy and repeatability.
Thankyou very useful, will it calculate crimp corns ok, moisture 28-35% ?

@Pushdyke would you be happy to post?
 

Lodekka

Member
Yes, the larger LT 1.5V 'Flag' cells tend to last a long time and are often retained, whilst the HT 45-67.5V battery is used up quicker.

I always check batteries and if they have enough life in them then i don't replace just because i have it for service - no sense in wasting
a battery with some life in it and costing a customer money when he doesn't need it. (Unless customer requested)

Both the LT and HT batteries can be replaced with modern equivalents at much cheaper prices than some agents will charge.
just the battery holders need exchanging to hold the new cells and it is fine.

One tip, always remember to put the batteries in a plastic bag so that if they ever leak then the acid/electrolyte will not damage the casing.
Much easier to throw away a bag than repair a meter case.
 

Lodekka

Member
Thankyou very useful, will it calculate crimp corns ok, moisture 28-35% ?

@Pushdyke would you be happy to post?
The meter can certainly cover the range 28-35% although most popular/general crops values tend to be a bit below that range.

I would suggest consulting an agronomist or local agent to get the expected values as I am not familiar with that particular crop.
Here is an extract from the standard scales document of the time.
scales.jpg

Hope it helps, happy to assist if there is a question or you need the meter calibrated etc.
Regards
Nigel
 
Just a quick query when we are talking moisture meters, oven dried grain samples for meter calibration how long do they stay at same moisture if in a sealed plastic bag but in a dry and warm room? Will they remain at same moisture? Or dry out?
 

Lodekka

Member
Over time the samples gradually dry out.

Apart from calibrating/repairing/servicing the actual moisture meter, I always check all the accessories (clamp lead and electrode cell etc).
This ensures continuing accuracy and reliability. One check is for overall leakage, but I also do a sample test with some grain/barley etc.

I have ziplok bags of barley and wheat which started off around 15% but over time (about 18 months) have now dropped to around 13% when kept indoors.

Once i know the meter is good, the rest is just the scales and interpretation of the results - so for me the actual value doesn't matter - it is the repeatability and consistency i am looking for.

Not specifically the answer to your question - just my experience.

So , yes, it does dry out gradually.
Hope it helps.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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    Votes: 79 42.9%
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  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 6 3.3%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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