Which Moisture Meters?

[Erech Myers]

I need to get a moisture meter, so I thought I'd start on this board to see if there is a consensus on the best moisture meter for the money. I'd like to spend about $25 dollars if possible, but I don't want to spend $25 on something that doesn't work. So here are my questions.

1) What is the best moisture meter under $50?
2) What is the best moisture meter under $100?
3) What is the best moisture meter period?
4) If you had a limited budget and only did woodworking in your garage on the weekends, which one would you get?

Thanks,
Erech

[jim sauterer]

mini logo about 100.00.

[Peter Quadarella]

I think Jim means the Lignomat Mini-Ligno. I have no experience with it or any other moisture meters, but am interested in getting one so thanks for the thread.

[Chris Stolicky]

mini logo about 100.00.

I'm in the same boat as you.

Thanks for the post.

[Peter Quinn]

Delmhorst J-2000 owner here...nice meter...does it all. Species/temp correction built in, takes insert probes. Maybe beyond hobby level but works well/

[John Hain]

Under $50? I'm not sure I'd trust any meter for that price, unless you get a deal on a used one.

I went with one of the Wagner pin-less meters.

You really can't skimp on a moisture meter, I think. My advice is to regularly check Eb*y and Amazon. If you give it enough time, you'll find a nice Wagner, Lingomat, or Delmhorst for close to $100.

[Rob Will]

I use a Merlin (non-invasive). It works very well.
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=17719&catID=160

Rob

[Bob Feeser]

I like the Wagner MMC205. It saves some money over the more expensive Wagner that measures up to 30 percent. I don't need to know wood that is more than 20 percent, which is what the MMC205 measures up to. It is very accurate, and actually reads deeper into the wood, and doesn't leave any pin marks, because it doesn't use any. It comes with a little book with the different wood types listed. You look up the species, set the meter for that specific type of wood, and make a reading. Here (http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-MMC205-Shopline-Pinless-Moisture/dp/B000063XI7/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1204170126&sr=8-2) is the item at Amazon. (Generic link by the way) It is more than 100 dollars though.

[Jim Andrew]

I have the MLCS unit, and it is not very accurate. Need to spend quite a bit more to get something that is. Checked some lumber last summer, it showed about 6.3%, and then after it was planed, noticed some bending of the boards. Found they were actually about 9.6%, when checked with an accurate meter.

[Erech Myers]

I had a feeling that the less expensive ones my not get the job done, but I was holding out hope. :( The moisture meter is not what I would call a fun tool to buy. I'd much rather spend my $100 - $200 on a Lie Nielsen block plane :rolleyes: or a nice new router, but the consensus seems to be that you must spend a minimum of $100 to get a decent one. Is there anyone out there who has a cheap moisture meter that thinks it is accurate?

[michael osadchuk]

....... I have an Electrophysics ct100 that I bought in the late 90s for $275 Cdn. a woodshow 'special price' back then; digital to one decimal point, pinless, 0-30% moisture range, pot dial for species compensation, one hand operation: works great; price today on the company website has only dropped to $245 both Cdn. and U.S.

......but the made in China moisture meters are starting to show up in Ontario for $20 to $30 and in one case in a
real woodworker tool store; another outfit in Canada called Princess Auto is starting to sell another China made meter for $30; next week's flyer has it on sale for $20: pin type; claims 6-25% range with LED lights for each per cent step within that range; 2% accuracy, 1% resolution; species compensation by a chart; the outfit guarantee is "no sale is final until you're satisfied"

.... at some point moisture meters of reasonable quality for the "woodworker enthusiastic" at these kind of bargain prices had to show up and I suspect the only reason for the delay over the price drop alread for things like digital voltmeters, laser levels, metal detectors, is the moisture meters have been a low volume/small niche market and, I'm guessing here, not because there is something very complicated about the electronics......

given what I now know about how I use a moisture meter in my woodworking - I've bought air dried rough stock, am attentive to seasonal changes in moisture content/wood movement but don't do any kiln drying or sell wood - I reason that the essential quality needed in a moisture meter - apart from not falling apart - is "reliability" or repeatability of measurements; "accuracy" not critical; it doesn't really matter if a $25 meter is 1 or 2 points of moisture content off from my $275 model, but it has to be same 1 or 2 points "off" every time I use it.

If I'm only making wood creations in my home workshop to install in my home (or to give to my friends who live in the same geographical area sharing the same seasonal changes in relative humidity) I can assume that whatever reading I get with my cheapo meter off the oak coffeetable that has been sitting in my living is giving a figure for thoroughly moisture content acclimatized wood in that setting/that season.
It doesn't matter if my cheapo meter says 9% while my "accurate"/pricy meter says 7%; I just need to acclimatize wood I bring into shop to roughly the same percentage range as that in the coffeetable, regardless of which meter I use, to be confident I now have moisture content acclimatized wood.

so..... now that I've broken the consensus (smiley), I'll run for cover

michael
north of toronto, canada
where my heirloon quality meter says red oak swings thru a moisture content range of 7 to 10% on seasonal relative humidity extremes of 25 to 70%

[Curt Harms]

I don't have any experience with it(I have a mini-ligno) but have heard some positive comments about the Timber check meter
http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/MM-1501/Timber-Check-Moisture-Meter

[Jim Broestler]

Lignomat Mini-Ligno E/D with pins. Will cost you about $100. There's an article in the latest Woodworker's Journal Ezine about this subject, and the author recommends pin meters generally because they apparently are a bit more accurate, and the 'holes' left by the pins are so inconsequential that they're not really a factor.

Believe it or not, I find the meter to be most useful when buying lumber at the home centers, which seems to have a moisture content on the higher side of acceptable. The mini ligno is simple, effective, and priced right, in my opinion.

[Erech Myers]

The mini-Ligno stills seems to be the top choice, but it will be interesting to see if Michael is correct and the over seas competition starts to bring the prices down and the selection up over the next few years...

Also, I just posed the question to the Wood Whisperer, so it will be interesting to see what his response is...

[Christof Grohs]

I had a feeling that the less expensive ones my not get the job done, but I was holding out hope. :( The moisture meter is not what I would call a fun tool to buy. I'd much rather spend my $100 - $200 on a Lie Nielsen block plane :rolleyes: or a nice new router, but the consensus seems to be that you must spend a minimum of $100 to get a decent one. Is there anyone out there who has a cheap moisture meter that thinks it is accurate?

A nice meter gives you piece of mind that the project you are using that very expensive plane today on will not fall apart tomorrow;)

[Richard M. Wolfe]

If you will read threads on Woodweb there is a lot of information about moisture meters. This is from people (sawyers and kiln operators) who have to know the moisture content accurately. The general consensus is that going with anything less than about a $250 instrument is a crapshoot.

I looked and looked and read and read about the different brands as well as pin vs pinless and about all I accomplished was stuffing my head full of information with no clear-cut option. I finally ordered the one Woodmizer sold....I don't recall the manufacturer. I figured one promoted by the leading bandsaw mill manufacturer ought to be workable. As I recall it was about $250. Are there cheaper units that will do a reliable job within the tolerances you want? The answer is - "I don't know....probably.....I wouldn't know how to go about finding one."

[Sean Rainaldi]

So is the consensus of this thread, that the top three moisture meters on the market are the Wagner, Lingomat, and Delmhorst lines - is this correct? And is the Lingomat brand is considered the Cadillac of the brands by most experienced woodworkers? Are all above the pin type?

If so, for the above three brands, any reccomendations of model numbers of any of the above?

Are the four pin models more accurate than the two pin models, or does it make a difference?

[Ken Higginbotham]

Looking for a good meter and ran accross this thread. I see the Lignomat Scanner SD Moisture Meter on ebay and then there are seems to be a model 'S' instead of 'SD'. Is the a typo or is there really an 'S' model?

Edit: Never mind, I found the difference.

[Max Neu]

I know Gene Wengert (The Wood Doctor) has stated that any moisture meter under $250 is not very trustworthy,as mentioned above.He uses a Wagner pinless meter,which say's a lot,because he definitely knows his stuff about moisture meters.