The Elcometer 138 Basic Bresle Salt Kit (E138-EC) is a soluble salt test kit that combines the Elcometer 138E Conductivity Meter with Elcometer 135C Bresle Test Patches. Note that this kit is discontinued. If a coating is applied to a contaminated surface that has not been properly prepared, it can fail prematurely, leading to costly re-coating and high maintenance, so measuring contaminant levels before coating protects coating quality and lifetime.

The kit works by the Bresle method: a patch is attached to the prepared surface, a measured volume of pure water is injected and pumped back and forth to dissolve soluble salts, then the conductivity of the water is measured before and after to determine surface salt density. The Elcometer 138E Conductivity Meter is lightweight and portable, accurately measures the salinity of test samples, and displays conductivity in a range of units including S/cm and S/m. The sensor cartridge can be easily replaced when necessary. Accuracy is 1 percent of full scale plus or minus 1 digit, across measuring ranges of 0 to 200.0 microsiemens per centimetre, 0 to 2000 microsiemens per centimetre and 0 to 20 millisiemens per centimetre. The kit provides 25 tests, measures 300 by 220 by 75mm and weighs 2.1kg.

It can be used in accordance with ISO 8502-6, ISO 8502-9, AS 3894.6-A, IMO MSC.215 (82), IMO MSC.244 (83), SSPC Guide 15, US Navy NSI 009-32 and US Navy PPI 63101-000, the recognised standards for assessing soluble salts on prepared surfaces. Used by coatings inspectors in marine, naval and corrosion-protection work, it is supplied by BAMR, South Africa's authorised Elcometer distributor.