Moisture Meter???

[SpiderDave]

I didn't find much on this and was hopin someone had gained some experience since the last post on a moisture meter to buy, that wouldn't break the bank?

If i had to chose which type, I guess I would say the pin contact type. Multifunction would be nice if there's one that's reliable. It'd be used mostly for wood, but also occasional concrete, drywall too. I occasionally take on repairs in my business, so that'd be handy. Most I like are minimum $300. I've found cheaper ones under $100, but opinions vary greatly to effectiveness or reliability that I'm hesitant to take the leap without something to go on. It doesn't need to be within 0.01 accurate or anything, but it should to be reasonably close. I have a need for finding and/or monitoring moisture levels with some stuff I have going now. The other important use is to test wood for wood making projects.

Anybody have any recommendations or had a good experience with something you'd recommend?

Hope everyone's havin' a good one and thanks either way!

 

[SpiderDave]

Anybody at all?

 

[RTM]

I’ve done some research in the past (4-5yrs ago) and it seems that bending the bank was the only way to get quality measurements. Pins were more accurate, but left funny holes in things. Under $50 was don’t bother with it. $250 was reasonably accurate. Not sure what current prices reflect. As I didn’t need it that bad, I have no experience with it. My plan was strictly woodworking projects, and I compensate by taking forever to execute them.

 

[SpiderDave]

I’ve done some research in the past (4-5yrs ago) and it seems that bending the bank was the only way to get quality measurements. Pins were more accurate, but left funny holes in things. Under $50 was don’t bother with it. $250 was reasonably accurate. Not sure what current prices reflect. As I didn’t need it that bad, I have no experience with it. My plan was strictly woodworking projects, and I compensate by taking forever to execute them.

Thanks RTM, that's kind of what I was assuming from all the reading. And see,.. without one a little procrastination does pay off once in a while!

 

[Higgins]

Anybody at all?

Purchased one around 8-10 yrs ago. Was around $50 or so.
We used it for moisture levels in crawl spaces ...
Worked good for what we were doing, and was close to what the more expensive ones were. And yes, it had the pins, but we were able to work around that!

 

[hefnerconstructionlc]

I purchased a pin style moisture meter. Several years ago it works great. It has the removable pins. Or the slide hammer attachment also. We use it when we're installing hardwoods. Or if we're drying out of space with drywall damage. Pretty handy for both. It is a Delmhorst so not cheap. Pretty much everything I read said the cheap ones were not terribly good. And on an expensive hardwood floor install. I thought a good one was well worth the cost.

 

[SpiderDave]

Purchased one around 8-10 yrs ago. Was around $50 or so.
We used it for moisture levels in crawl spaces ...
Worked good for what we were doing, and was close to what the more expensive ones were. And yes, it had the pins, but we were able to work around that!

What brand was it?

I looked up the Delmhorst Moisture Meters,.. nice looking units but not ready to invest $400 just yet. I like the plate options since you can't always use the pins. Nice option to have even if it's not spot on it'll get you in the neighborhood.

 

[AngryBeaver]

The thing with wood and moisuter meters is stabbing it on her end won’t tell you the true Mc.
I burn wood with a newer epa friendly stove. I use a moisture meter to tell wheter or not it’s ready to burn. Stabbing it on the end will read 8-10% lower MC than the inside of the wood.

no experience with concrete testing.

 

[lardy1]

I'm bumping this back up because I was given some one inch oak boards my friend had cut. They've been inside a building with one inch stickers between them for roughly one year now. I have a background in cabinetry but this part of the process is outside my realm of knowledge.

I'd like to build something nice but I don't want to put forth the time and effort to do it and then have joints cracking open and splitting, etc. That leads me to the idea that I may benefit from a moisture meter but I can't spend much over fifty bucks on one if I do.

Am I dreaming like these moisture meter threads seem to indicate or can I find something that will let me know if my material is dry enough to build with?

Rockler has a pronged type carrying the General brand for a bit over fifty. Would I be throwing away money and risking my projects?

Pin Type LCD Moisture Meter

Check your lumber to assure it's drying properly and ready to work with the Pin Type LCD Moisture Meter!

www.rockler.com

 

[RTM]

If your friend cut them from a tree, at one inch thick, they should be close to ready. One inch per year for air drying is the general rule. Depending on how particular you want to be, a cheap one may work. If you are doing fancy joinery, maybe not.

 

[SpiderDave]

I'm bumping this back up because I was given some one inch oak boards my friend had cut. They've been inside a building with one inch stickers between them for roughly one year now. I have a background in cabinetry but this part of the process is outside my realm of knowledge.

I'd like to build something nice but I don't want to put forth the time and effort to do it and then have joints cracking open and splitting, etc. That leads me to the idea that I may benefit from a moisture meter but I can't spend much over fifty bucks on one if I do.

Am I dreaming like these moisture meter threads seem to indicate or can I find something that will let me know if my material is dry enough to build with?

Rockler has a pronged type carrying the General brand for a bit over fifty. Would I be throwing away money and risking my projects?

Pin Type LCD Moisture Meter

Check your lumber to assure it's drying properly and ready to work with the Pin Type LCD Moisture Meter!

www.rockler.com

Yep, it's a head scratcher for sure. I finally gave up looking for one becasue the one's I'd trust I could justify the price. If I did it professionally, I wouldn't hesitate for a minute like a lot of tools that found their way into my shop. In this case I couldn't justify the gamble and decided to wait.

I totally get wanting to make something worthy of a piece that will hold up over time, and not waste yours. That's awesome. I've acquired wood for this too. I just fell a huge cherry tree yesterday. I wrote the date on the wood and said, "We'll see yuh later." And I try to forget about it. Yours is probably close to ready like RIM said. If in doubt, let it sit a while longer to alleviate that, if you can stand waiting. Ha! It's hard, but it was done before moisture meters came along. Good luck on your project!

 

[Copymutt]

From a post back in Feb. Old paint brush, stick of copper, stick of galv. Steel.

 

[Pinaud]

I’ve been using an Extech MO55 dual mode meter for 4 years now with no issues. The dual mode is handy as I can heck face of boards without pin holes.
I also have a Ligno SDM, if I ever have doubts about the Extech.

 

[RivennHewn]

Moisture Meters Archives

Need to test for moisture in wood? The best moisture meter to use is the Wagner Orion pinless moisture meter. Learn why it's the most accurate meter.

www.wagnermeters.com

 

[ratcheted]

General

I have been using a pin-type general for several years now for checking my firewood. Doubt I paid more tha $30 to $50 for it. Seems to work well.

 

[Two Door]

I bought one identical to the one in the original post to look for water intrusion in the house. It does everything I need, and is easy to interpret for this use-case. I think the directions say less than about 6-7% is normal, and I find that a useful metric. Normal wood or drywall reads less than that, at 7-8% you are probably moving toward a wet or recently wet spot, and at around 9-10% you are probably already using your brain to figure where the moisture came from.

 

[neophyte]

The thing with wood and moisuter meters is stabbing it on her end won’t tell you the true Mc.
I burn wood with a newer epa friendly stove. I use a moisture meter to tell wheter or not it’s ready to burn. Stabbing it on the end will read 8-10% lower MC than the inside of the wood.

no experience with concrete testing.

That’s because most wood is like a stack of straws that have been glued together, and the moisture evaporates from the ends of the straws first.
With firewood, were it doesn’t matter if there are pin holes in the wood, the probe should be driven in the middle of the wood perpendicular to the grain.
For higher end cabinetmaking wood, there are pin-less moisture meters that will measure up to 1-1/2 inches or so into a flattened board of wood.

 

[neophyte]

If your friend cut them from a tree, at one inch thick, they should be close to ready. One inch per year for air drying is the general rule. Depending on how particular you want to be, a cheap one may work. If you are doing fancy joinery, maybe not.

It really depends on the lumber.
Heavy dense woods can take years or decades to fully dry.