Which Moisture Meter Should I Buy?

[Izzy Charo]

Hello,
I've acquired some boards from a downed tree and need to know, and follow the moisture content. Lots of meters on the market, but I'd be interested in hearing what folks on this forum use and rely on...
Thanks,
Izzy

[Lee Schierer]

I own and use the Linotech Mini Ligno and am happy with how it works. I've owned mine for many years.

You might want to look at this thread where various moisture meters were recently discussed. Moisture meters (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?261846-Moisture-Meter)

[Will Boulware]

Another Mini Ligno fan here. And another recommendation on the thread Lee mentioned.

[Marc Jeske]

Keep in mind for rough wood you need a pin meter, where w smooth planed wood you can use pin or pinless.

Wagner and Ligno seem to be two top brands, although many have good luck w the roughly $25 General one.

At 1/10 th cost of the high $ brands, and with great revues, probably worth a shot.

https://www.amazon.com/General-Tools-MMD4E-Moisture-Digital/dp/B00275F5O2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1517870416&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=general+moisture+meter&psc=1

Be also aware w ALL meters you HAVE TO KNOW the species of wood.

Then you look at the included density chart and input the # into the meter before you take your reading.

Inputting the wrong density will give you erroneous readings.

Old Timey meters you have to do manual calculation per species density for the end result.



Marc

[Paolo Trevisan]

harbor freight
good enough for my use.
p

[Yonak Hawkins]

harbor freight
good enough for my use.
p

Curious .. what is your usage ?

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I have an old Mini Ligno and the new General. The Ligno is a proven unit. I measured wood head to head, and the General seems to be in line with the Ligno every time. Not a lot of difference. There is no way to put the pins in the exact same place, so who's to say the General isn't exactly the same? The benefit to the General is it has a broader range, I can measure over 22%. You can measure a freshly cut tree. I'd give it a shot if you want to save a few bucks and want to measure outside the range of the Ligno. Mine only goes up to that 22%. Newer models may go higher. Just my $0.02.

[Cary Falk]

I bought the General several years ago when it was $10? I think. I don't use it much but it seems fine. I don't have anything to compare it to though.

[John K Jordan]

Keep in mind for rough wood you need a pin meter, where w smooth planed wood you can use pin or pinless.


Do you find this true for all pinless meters? I have the 220 model and I haven't noticed any significant difference between rough and smooth readings on the same board. Wagner said their pinless meters will work with roughsawn lumber.

I do follow the instructions in the manual: "...press down firmly on the center of the meter with approximately 3 pounds of force to ensure good sensor plate contact with the wood surface. This is especially important on rough-sawn lumber."

They claim to use a different technology than some other pinless meters but of course don't provide details. Maybe the method they use makes a difference.

JKJ

[Marc Jeske]

Ligno sez to bring a little block plane to check rough wood... I assumed that would be a universal thing.. just like holding it firmly against wood.

I have no other direct experience w scanner meters.

Marc

[Scott T Smith]

Most professional lumber producers use Delmhorst products. They are pretty much the standard of the milling and drying industry.

In addition to my Delmhorst meters, I really like my Merlin.

[John K Jordan]

Ligno sez to bring a little block plane to check rough wood...


Ha, that reminds me of the time I was looking at a roughsawn 8/4 canary wood (tarara) plank at an exotic wood dealer. The plank was weathered enough to hide the color and figure. I got out my pocket knife and asked it I could shave off a tiny sliver of grey near one the end to see the wood color. I thought the the owner was going to throw me out. He didn't have to - I abandoned the stack I was about to buy and took my $100 bills elsewhere. That end of that particular board was even checked and useless for at least 4".

I can't imagine that guy letting someone plane a patch for a moisture check for or any other reason. But maybe he was just having a bad day. Or maybe he was having a bad life - he's out of business now.

JKJ

[Nick Decker]

The place where I buy wood sells mostly S2S boards. They sell a few species rough sawn, but not at a huge savings. The few times I've bought rough, there were usually some ugly surprises after planing, so I stick to S2S.

FWIW, all their wood is kiln dried to 6% - 8%, and my General meter has always agreed with that.

[Larry Edgerton]

A mini Ligno cost me a lot of money when I first started out. It did not quit, just read wrong, which I did not figure out till a flooring job shrunk. Checked the meter and it would read different in the same holes every time.

Bought a Delmhorst, has been flawless for 25 years.

[John K Jordan]

This page has the specific gravity values for a huge numbers of woods. I found the text at the bottom of the page interesting, especially why SG is usually given at 12% MC.

https://www.wagnermeters.com/specific-gravity/

Another thing I found interesting: The Lignomat web site provides a temperature correction table for their min-Ligno meters. I didn't know that value the pin meter reading changes with the temperature. If the meter reads 16% the actual moisture content could be 13% or it could be 20%

http://www.lignomatusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/miniLigno-DX-DXC-2015.pdf

JKJ