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measureQuick 3.6.3: Duct Airflow Traverse and New Testo Airflow Tools

Ben Reed ·
Jim Bergmann with a Testo 405i hot-wire anemometer beside the measureQuick Duct Traverse results screen (velocity map and 3D velocity profile).

TL;DR: The October 3.6.3 update adds the Duct Airflow Traverse, a guided quick test for Premier Services subscribers. It turns a hot-wire, vane, or pitot tube traverse into a measured airflow number with its own report page. measureQuick also connects directly to Testo's airflow instruments, including the 405i, 410i, and 425. Five new videos from Jim Bergmann show each method.

Airflow is the number the rest of a diagnosis leans on. Delivered capacity is calculated from it, and a charge diagnosis depends on it. It is also one of the harder numbers to get in a house. measureQuick already estimates airflow from system measurements and reads flow grids and capture hoods. The October 3.6.3 update (build 36884) adds a guided duct traverse. The app lays out the measurement points, paces you through them, and calculates the result.

Duct Airflow Traverse: The App Runs the Process

The Duct Airflow Traverse is a new quick test for Premier Services subscribers. Open it from Quick Tests or from the indoor airflow measurements.

A traverse exists because air does not move through a duct at one speed. It runs faster along one side and slower along another. One reading in the center of the duct gives an estimate. A traverse samples a grid of points and averages them. Jim's demo uses 25.

The quick test handles the parts that are hard to do by hand:

  • It sets up for your tool. With a supported tool connected, measureQuick sets up the traverse to match. In Jim's demos, the Testo 405i brings up an in-duct hot-wire traverse, the 410i a grille face-velocity traverse, and the 420's manometer a pitot tube traverse. The Testo 420, 410i, 405i, 416, 417, and 425, and the TEC DG-8 with a pitot tube, are all compatible with this workflow.
  • It lays out the grid. Enter the duct width and depth, or capture the dimensions with the camera where supported. Tap Generate Traverse, and the app shows where each access hole goes and how deep to insert the probe at each point. The layout follows the Chebyshev method.
  • It paces you with audio. A countdown starts each hole, and a beep tells you when to move to the next point. You watch the probe, not the screen.
  • It takes more readings where the air is turbulent. Some points take longer because the app keeps sampling until it has a better average.
  • It corrects for air density. Temperature and humidity readings feed the correction, and the result is reported in both actual and standard CFM.
  • It waits for you. There is no time limit between holes. Take the phone call, then pick up where you stopped.

In Jim's demo, each of the five access holes took about 20 seconds, and the full 25-point traverse took about two minutes.

What the Result Shows

Tap Finish and Calculate, and measureQuick shows the airflow with a heat map of the readings and a surface plot of the velocity profile. You see where the air is moving fast, where it is slow, and where the average sits. If the profile is highly disturbed, the app says so and suggests measuring further down the duct.

Traverse results print on their own report page. The page carries actual and standard CFM, average velocity, duct size, the heat map and velocity profile, the velocity and number of readings at each point, and the density correction.

"This really will tell us a lot more than a static pressure reading ever can or a single reading off a capture hood, 'cause there's a lot of information hidden in all these points," says Jim.

Two Reference Checks: Capture Hood and Static Pressure

The series opens with two reference measurements, the numbers a traverse gets checked against. The first is the Testo 420 capture hood, which reads CFM directly at the grille. Seal the hood against the surface, and take more than one reading to confirm they repeat.

The second is total external static pressure against the manufacturer's fan table. Measure across everything external to the air handler with static pressure tips. Then find the airflow on the fan table for that blower speed. A fan table gives a range between two values, so this method tells you whether airflow is in the right range. It does not give a single measured number.

Three Ways to Run a Traverse

Hot-Wire Anemometer in the Duct

A hot-wire anemometer such as the Testo 405i fits in a shirt pocket and reaches into the duct through small drilled holes. Mark the insertion depths on the probe shaft and slide the probe to the back of the duct. Tap Marked and Ready, and the app beeps you from point to point and from hole to hole.

Vane Anemometer at the Grille

With a vane anemometer such as the Testo 410i connected, the quick test switches to grille face velocity. Enter the width and height of the grille opening, measured inside the frame. Then enter the Ak factor, which accounts for the part of that opening the grille's vanes block. If you don't know the Ak factor, the app supplies a default.

From there, choose a point-by-point traverse or a timed sweep. In a timed sweep, the probe moves continuously across the grille in passes, and audio cues mark where the probe should be. A temperature and humidity probe in the return supplies the standard CFM calculation.

Pitot Tube and Manometer

The Testo 420's manometer comes off the capture hood. Set it to off-hood in the Toolbox, and it becomes the manometer for a pitot tube traverse. Open the quick test, and it sets itself up for an in-duct pitot tube and manometer.

A pitot tube reads total pressure at its tip and static pressure through the holes in its side. The difference is velocity pressure, which gives the speed of the air. You can also enter the duct location and a target airflow. A connected Testo 605i supplies the temperature and humidity readings for the density correction.

One Testo 420 covers three of these methods: the hood, static pressure with the manometer, and a pitot tube traverse. "We have three really, really good ways of measuring airflow, and we can triangulate them and make sure they all agree," says Jim.

Testo Airflow Tools That Connect Directly

Direct Bluetooth support for the Testo 405i, 410i, and 425 is new in the 3.6.3 updates. measureQuick now connects directly to this Testo airflow lineup:

This update also fixes a case where the Testo 420 flow hood was mistaken for a manometer reading 0.00, and it improves Testo 770-3 clamp meter support. measureQuick works with 80+ smart tools across 17+ brands.

Also in This Release

  • Multiple Superheat, reworked: works with every probe brand, supports resumable sessions, and adds micro trend charts.
  • Heating Vitals: CO air-free no longer lowers the heating Vitals score. It shows as a four-level condition indicator, and dangerous CO still fails the test.
  • Combustion: a new stability indicator shows when readings have settled, and multi-cell furnaces are supported on the combustion page.
  • Letter grades: the standard scale everywhere (90 A, 80 B, 70 C, 60 D).
  • Two-stage compressors: set a system as two-stage in the system profile, and measureQuick flags it when the second stage isn't engaging.
  • PDF attachments: add PDFs such as a Manual J or a duct leakage test in Photos, and they are appended to the report.
  • mQ Assist: label each AI System Profiler photo for better equipment identification, and add a User Profile so answers fit your experience.
  • Indoor fan power: measured indoor fan watts are no longer overwritten by the estimate.
  • Maps: a new map engine, with fixes to address lookup, ZIP codes, search, and report map thumbnails.
  • Jobber: the Jobber integration is live. This update stops duplicate attachments, and projects linked to a Jobber job save correctly again. More on Jobber is coming soon.
  • Reliability: subscription features no longer disappear when cell signal is weak, and videos no longer upload to the cloud as blank files.

Get the Update

The October 3.6.3 update is rolling out over the air. In the app, tap the user icon in the upper left and check for updates. The Duct Airflow Traverse is included with Premier Services.

Full release notes: measureQuick Version 3.6 Release Notes.