Any Delmhorst Accuscan Meter Owners?

[Doug Shepard]

Does anyone here own a Delmhorst Accuscan Pinless Moisture Meter? I've pretty much decided I want to go pinless, and I prefer the analog to the digital displays. I'm contemplating buying an Accuscan before Amazon's $25 off $199 or more special runs out, but would like to hear from owners. If you have one:

Do you feel it was a good investment given the higher price for the unit?
Do you feel it's given you accurate readings?
Do you wish you'd bought a different meter?

[Doug Shepard]

Couldn't find anyone who actually owned one of these. I went ahead and took the plunge. I'll have to submit a review after the shop warms up and I can put it through it's paces.

This one is supposed to be able to detect alien life forms at 1000m and if need be, can function as a portable CAT scan or ultrasound machine. I'll have to test it out on the dog and cats.:D

[Bob Smalser]

I use an older Delmhorst of the pin flavor.

As the oldest moisture meter maker used by all the big mills around here, I'd read and take to heart what they have to say about pinned versus pinless meters before buying anything.

http://www.delmhorst.com/faq.html


A pin-type uses two pins that penetrate into wood at the users desired depth. Pin-type meters are the only instruments that indicate the moisture conditions inside a board or a piece of wood. Using insulated pins, only the uncoated tips are exposed to the wood fiber, providing more accurate readings of moisture content at various levels of penetration. Using a pin type meter with insulated pins is still the most effective method to determine moisture gradient, which is the difference between shell and core moisture content.

Pinless moisture meters read moisture closest to the source of the magnetic field, in this case, at the surface. For quickly scanning finished product, a pin-less meter is a convenient way to identify a problem area. However, a pinless meter cannot differentiate between shell and core moisture content and will not detect a moisture gradient. Also, readings provided by a pinless meters are affected by surface moisture.

Please refer to the diagram below for a basic look at the difference between readings obtained from a pin-type meter compared to a surface meter.

http://www.delmhorst.com/images/indust_faq/page6.gif

This diagram illustrates that pin-type meters and surface meters provide different information about the moisture content in a board. Each technology may be appropriate for different applications. Before choosing a meter, it is important to understand these differences in readings and choose the type of meter best suited for your particular application.

[Doug Shepard]

Bob
Thanks for the input. I'd seen something like the article you posted when I was originally contemplating buying a MM a couple of years ago. If I was milling my own lumber I think the choice would have been a pin-type. But since I buy most of my wood at a local hardwood supplier, I felt I needed to go pinless. Those folks just don't have much of a sense of humor when it comes to me poking holes in their wood. I was looking for one that I could take along to test wood before I bought it to potentially reject boards that weren't as dry as others.

[Bob Smalser]

Good choice for your purpose.

You'll never go wrong with a Delmhorst...they still service the meters they made in the 1940's. You see the oldies occasionally on Ebay pretty reasonably.