Need to purchase a light meter

[acwservices]

Can anyone recommend a NIST certified light meter (to measure footcandles)to purchase? I currently have an inexpensive light meter (not certified), but I have a customer requiring me to use a certified meter. Also, can anyone recommend where the best place is to purchase one? I am looking at all of the usual sources now- supply houses, Grainger, online search. Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[tkb]

Here is one source, Mitchell Instruments
http://mitchellinstrument.com/product/light-meter-with-nist-calibration.html

 

[brian john]

Can anyone recommend a NIST certified light meter (to measure footcandles)to purchase? I currently have an inexpensive light meter (not certified), but I have a customer requiring me to use a certified meter. Also, can anyone recommend where the best place is to purchase one? I am looking at all of the usual sources now- supply houses, Grainger, online search. Any suggestions appreciated.

Get your meter calibrated.

 

[cowboyjwc]

Camera store.

 

[drbond24]

I used this one from Greenlee successfully for a couple of years at my last job.

 

[acwservices]

Get your meter calibrated.

Thanks for the suggestion, but the meter I have is really not worth the price of having it calibrated. It is an older A.W. Sperry, SLM-110 digital. Before you guys knock me too hard, I'm not a fan of AW Sperry either, but it fit my budget years ago on a specific project. FWIW- I also have an older analog light meter by greenlee, and both of these meters will give the exact reading everytime when placed side by side. In fact, I have placed them both beside a certified meter, and all three gave identicial readings.

drbond24- I like that Greenlee meter you suggested, I'm going to check some pricing on it. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[rich000]

If you have a good digital camera with manual settings, it can be used as a light meter. To determine the number of footcandles of light reaching your kitchen counter, for example, prop a large sheet of white paper or cardboard on the counter at a 45-degree angle. Set the camera’s ASA dial at 100 and the shutter speed at 1/15 of a second. The f-stop reading you get can then be translated into the approximate footcandle level, as listed below.

At ASA 100 and 1/15 second:

f4 = 10 footcandles
f5.6 = 20 footcandles
f8 = 40 footcandles
f11 = 80 footcandles
f16 = 160 footcandles
f19 = (between f16 and f22) = 240 footcandles

 

[PCN]

Can anyone recommend a NIST certified light meter (to measure footcandles)to purchase? I currently have an inexpensive light meter (not certified), but I have a customer requiring me to use a certified meter. Also, can anyone recommend where the best place is to purchase one? I am looking at all of the usual sources now- supply houses, Grainger, online search. Any suggestions appreciated.

We have two of these :http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/5ZT02

They are NIST certified, and are very dependable.

 

[acwservices]

We have two of these :http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/5ZT02

They are NIST certified, and are very dependable.

PCN- That is a nice looking meter, thanks for the link and the suggestion. I like the looks of this meter, and the Greenlee that was previously recommended. The Greenlee is $336, and this meter is $305, so not much difference on the price. Right now, I'm leaning toward the Greenlee. (I guess I'm just old school, I prefer Greenlee, Amprobe, Klein, Simpson, Fluke).

I do have a question though, do you have your meter recalibrated & recertified every year?

 

[ITO]

I just bought a Extech Easy View-30 that came with the NIST cert, from Graingers and I love it.

It is very easy to use and has performed well.

 

[PCN]

PCN- That is a nice looking meter, thanks for the link and the suggestion. I like the looks of this meter, and the Greenlee that was previously recommended. The Greenlee is $336, and this meter is $305, so not much difference on the price. Right now, I'm leaning toward the Greenlee. (I guess I'm just old school, I prefer Greenlee, Amprobe, Klein, Simpson, Fluke).

I do have a question though, do you have your meter recalibrated & recertified every year?

We haven't yet, one is only about 6 months old and the other about three years old. We often measure them against one another just to see if they are way out of whack.
They are probably due though.

 

[acwservices]

We often measure them against one another just to see if they are way out of whack.
They are probably due though.

That's what I normally do with the two meters that I currently have (neither one are certified though). I have even compared them in the past to a certified meter, and all three read the same. However, I now have a customer that is insisting I use a certified meter for documentation and liability purposes. (This is for ATM security on bank properties).This is a very good customer of mine whom I have a long relationship with, so buying the meter is not a problem at all. I just want to be sure I purchase a good quality, dependable meter.

 

[LarryFine]

I bought a cheap one a couple of years ago, more for aiming egress lights than accurate measurements, but it worked well enough for the city inspectors to be satisfied.

It cost about $60 at a plant shop.

We often measure them against one another just to see if they are way out of whack.
They are probably due though.

"Even a broken watch is right twice a day."