Kestrel
®
4300 Construction Weather Tracker
NAVIGATION
Measurements use and
Wind Speed
Temperature
Wind Chill
Humidity
Evaporation Rate
Heat Index
Dew Point
Wet Bulb
Barometric Pressure
Altitude
Density Altitude
The Kestrel 4300 is set up to display 11 Measurements (some are
calculations) in 3 Modes.
The Measurements are listed here with their corresponding screen
icon. In addition to these Measurements and Modes, there are also 3
User Screens, which simultaneously show 3 current measurements,
and the Date & Time Screen, which gives the current date and
time. Use the and buttons to scroll through the various
Measurements, followed by the 3 User Screens and the Date/Time
Screen. Any of these screens can be turned off so that you can
customize your Kestrel Meter to show the screens that your application
requires. (See the Measurements section in the Main Menu.)
The Modes are displayed below. Use the and buttons to scroll
through the various Modes. From any mode, you may still scroll to a
diff erent Measurement by pressing the and buttons.
Current - Displays the instantaneous reading.
Min/Max/Avg - Displays the Minimum/Maximum/Average readings
from stored data. If there is no stored data, the values will be
displayed as --.-.
Chart - Displays a graphical representation of up to 1800 stored
data points for each measurement. If there is no stored data, the axis
will appear, but the chart will be blank. (See the following section
for information on Chart Navigation.)
D
HI
WB
DP
7
Modes use and
Navigation of Charts
The Kestrel 4300 is capable of storing up to 1800 data points for each measurement. To review the data,
press the button while viewing a chart. A cursor will appear on the most recent data point. Press the
and buttons to scroll through the data points. The date and time at which the data was stored will be
displayed at the bottom of the screen, and the data value will be displayed at the top of the screen.
Hold down the or button to scroll quickly through the data points.
Press the or button to review the data for the other measurements. Please note that the cursor will
remain at the same date and time. If new data is stored while viewing chart data, the entire chart will shift
left with the new data point charted on the right. The cursor will not shift with the chart.
Press the button to return to the Chart Mode.
Value
Chart
Cursor
Date & Time
Kestrel
®
4300 Construction Weather Tracker
SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
Evaporation Rate
The Kestrel 4300 will display the evaporation rate, based on the instantaneous air velocity, relative humidity,
ambient temperature and concrete temperature. The 4300 eliminates the need to reference the American
Concrete Institute issued charts.
To measure the evaporation rate, you will need to input the concrete temperature. The Kestrel 4300 does
not measure this, you will need to use a separate temperature measuring device to obtain the concrete
temperature.
Once you have measured the concrete temperature, scroll to the evaporation rate screen, then press
the button. Now you can use the and buttons to enter the concrete temperature. Press
the button again to exit the setting screen.
To accurately measure the evaporation rate, a few precautions must be taken. The readings must be taken
into the wind, approximately 20 inches above the concrete. Additionally, it is extremely important that the
temperature reading is not taken in direct sunlight. You may need to shade the Kestrel Meter if the area is
not normally in the shade. For example, hold a notebook or piece of plywood above the Kestrel so that it is
shaded while taking the readings. (Be careful not to obstruct the air fl ow while doing so.) Failure to shade
the unit may cause inaccurate Evaporation Rate readings, and will not meet the criteria in the ACI
308.
Find the direction that the wind is blowing from and hold the Kestrel 4300 into the wind. You may want
to scroll up to the Current Wind Speed Screen to fi nd the direction that the wind is strongest. Hold the
unit vertical, and rotate it slightly to fi nd the maximum wind speed. Then scroll back to the evaporation
9
rate screen and hold the Kestrel 4300 facing that direction. The Kestrel 4300 will automatically display the
instantaneous evaporation rate.
Since the wind rarely blows at a constant rate, you may notice that the evaporation rate fl uctuates. For the
most accurate evaporation rate readings, press the button to enter the averaging screen. This allows
you to average the evaporation rate over a set time. The ACI recommends averaging for 6-10 seconds. On
the average screen, press the button to start the averaging. Position the Kestrel into the wind, 20 inches
above the concrete and shaded, and count 6-10 seconds, then press the – button again to stop. The screen
will display the average and minimum evaporation rate readings. To clear the data, press the – button
again. Press the < button to return to the current evaporation rate screen, or the > button to view the
chart.
Note that you may change the units of measure for Evaporation Rate under the Main Setup Menu (see the
Main Menu setup section instructions). Choices are lb/ft
2
/hr and kg/m
2
/hr.
User Screens
The Kestrel Meter has three User Screens that can be customized to display three
current measurements simultaneously. These screens can also be turned off . (See the
Main Menu section for setup instructions.)
Max/Avg for Wind Speed & Wind Chill
The Max/Avg values for the wind speed and wind chill values are measured independently from the stored
and charted data.
This allows the user to start and stop the averaging period in the most appropriate manner for their
application. Averaging on all wind-related values (Wind Speed and Wind Chill) will be started and
stopped together.
