Portable Concrete and Rebar Test Equipment 1

[msquared48]

I have convinced the office manager to purchase some reliable testing equipment we sorely need for quickly determining the f'c, rebar depth, size and spacing for existing projects where no structural drawings are available. We are getting a lot of those situations now with cell sites being mounted on older concrete structures with no documentation.

My question is, considering accurateness, reliabliity, ease of use, portability and cost, what models and manufacturers were your choices, and why?

I have checked the web, and I have used a small Zircon for years to test the location and spacing of the rebar, but it does not tell depth or size of bar. Apparently, some do now. As for the f'c, I am looking for ease of use, but particularly reliability without the need for destructive testing, calibration considered.

Thanks for any input...

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

http://mmcengineering.tripod.com

 

[Ron]

Mike,
There are several that will locate and determine the size of rebar. James Instruments makes one called the R-Meter. It is reliable and reasonably accurate. Hilti has its "FerroScan" instrument. The also have an inexpensive one that is not as sophisticated but works. Another one that is accurate for location and size is the Profometer.

There is nothing that really gives an accurate compressive strength assessment other than coring. Everything else needs to be correlated. Perhaps the more accurate of all the "non-destructive" methods is the Windsor Probe. The Swiss hammer is worthless for compressive strength.

 

[msquared48]

Thanks Ron. I'll check it out.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

http://mmcengineering.tripod.com

 

[MrHershey]

Hilti salesman was in here a while ago expounding about their FerroScan instrument. Looks pretty slick. Actually shows you an image of the reinforcement inside, like taking an actual xray. And can somewhat tell the size. Other guys I have worked with weren't able to tell size beyond small bar vs big bar and had some pretty complex looking output to consider. Was looking at the reflected waves instead of that data being converted to an image.