Moisture Meters?

[njtuna]

was thinking of buying a moisture meter. does anyone have recommendations? not looking to break the bank on this. looks like they range from $50-$1000. i'd like to keep it on the lower end. thanks

 

[bruce56BB]

chinese err harbor freight. they have one for around $20, keep in mind that it is a $20 model. you need to be careful with it.
i grab a log and split it and immediately take the measurement. seems to work fairly well.
bruce

 

[City Slicker]

Excellent question?

I've been wondering the same thing! Who makes a good one for the money?

 

[wobdee]

I bought one on e-bay a couple of weeks ago for $20. I don't think it's the most accurate thing because the further I insert the pins into the wood the wetter the reading. The instructions say insert about 5mm and take that as the reading. You also have to watch out for those pins, they are very fragile. Use a drill or ice pick to make the holes or there is a good chance of breaking one or both pins.

 

[firestop41]

I use a Lignomat 'Mini Ligno'. About $75 on ebay these days. My unit uses a series of LEDs to signal from 6% to 20% in 1% increments, you can get ones with an LCD as well. Comes with two sets of pins, but I put the longer of the two on (about 7mm) and left it that way for all readings. It has a trigger switch between the pins that alows you to uniformly probe to the same depth and take an accurate reading while at that depth every time. Pretty simple! Bought it for doing wood flooring and general woodshop use, but works great on firewood too. Readings I usually get on bone dry maple are around the 12-16% range dependant on ambient humidity/time of year (up here its pretty dry in the winter and fairly humid all summer). I'll burn anything that tests under 20%.
Anyhow, check out the Lignomat line of lignometers. Worth the slightly higher cost, but they are a real tool used in real trades to make real money.
fs41