MOISTURE METERS (need advice)

[Graham Skinner]

Hi All.

I am thinking about getting a moisture meter, but do not know which one to buy, and I dont realy want to spend over $100 on one.
I was thinking about the one with two pins that Lee Valley sell's for $85, if any of you guys have one please can you let me know if they are any good, and how do you take the reading with this model (where and how deep do you have to stick the pins into the wood ?).

Thanks For reading This....Graham...

[Brian Weick]

Rockler had them for $29.95 in the monthly rockler add- if your interested,
Brian:)

[Nigel Tracy]

I have that LV "cannister" moisture meter you speak of and it works very well. It's also built like a tank and I have no worries of ever breaking it.

[geoff gahm]

Mcfeeley's has the same 'Timbercheck' moisture meter as Lee Valley for only $59.95. I have this meter and the case is very strong. To take a moisture reading, simply insert the pins in the wood, and turn the dial until the red led comes on. Look at the dial pointer, and that's the moisture level. Manufacturer website: http://www.comproteccanada.com/meter.htm

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Graham, if you will look at the Woodweb site and type in moisture meter for a search term you will find enough reading to keep you occupied for a long time. The consensus there is that moisture meters under $200 are not reliable or accurate. Now, this is from people who are supposedly making a liviing from it. From a hobby standpoint the Lee Valley meter may suit you. The site where you get the meter should have information on how to use it. I mill wood to sell and have a pinless type. It has the advantage of being faster and not leaving holes in the wood. I take readings on boards in stacks of drying wood and want readings from inside the pile so a pin type wouldn't be practical.

The best test of how good it is would be to check it against a high dollar instrument or read wood of known moisture content. But that might require buying it first. :(

[Nigel Tracy]

I read wood of known moisture content (9%) and the Lee Valley meter was accurate. I am a hobbyist at this stage in the game and can't comment on serious reliance or regular use.

The pin-style meters are meant to go in end grain, and they say for best results use a fresh cut minimum 6" in from the end, which is obviously not as convenient as (more expensive) pinless meters.

Hope this helps...

[Peter Quinn]

I got a Delmhorst J-2000, nice meter, very accurate, two pin type with a socket to use a pin hammer if deep penetration is necessary. Has built in temp and species correction which is nice, hate looking at those correction charts and doing the math, and I'm not always using "Doug Fir at sea level at 70 degrees ambient temperature" which is what most meters are calibrated to.

It runs about $250 which may be steep for a hobbiest, but its a darn fun toy and a useful tool if your lumber comes from lots of strange sources as some of mine does.

Can't tell you about the accuracy of the low budget meters, maybe they post specs on their site? Delmhorts does, and its +- not much!

[Jim Andrew]

I have the MLCS meter, and it is off a little. Planed some ash that checked about 6%, and the stuff did not stay flat. So I put a post on woodweb about it. The wooddoc said it is not that dry. Wound up sending him a sample, and it measured in the upper 9%s. Dr Gene says you have to spend about 300 to get an accurate meter. Jim

[Nino Maini]

OK, assuming someone does want to spend 200-300 bucks on a meter, which one do you all suggest?

[Graham Skinner]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

So maybe the cheap unders $200 meters are not very acurate, what do you think of this model for sale at the auction site.

DT-129 Industrial Wide Range Digital Wood Timber Moisture Temperature Meter

The seller says that the rec/retail is $199 he is selling them for $89.99,
I hope that some of you have this model and will let me know what you think of it.

Thanks again...Graham...

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I saw a guy using one at a commercial kiln.
His unit was a two piece rig with wires attaching the probe head to the read-out body.
The probe head was a tough thing with long probes that he literally hammered into the wood with his hand.

Seeing that, I took instantly to the notion that surface moisture isn't what you want to measure. So whatever you get, you might want to consider the ability to get fairly deep into the lumber.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

The "Wood Doc" mentioned before recommends using both pin and pinless meters in tandem. I didn't dig deep enough to see how you were to reconcile the two answers, as I imagine very few people other than commercial kiln operators would do that.

So....which should you get? Good question. I dug and dug and read and read and was in about the same shape after I finished as when I started. What I finally did was to order the pinless type that Wood Mizer sells. (I don't know who makes it.) I have a Wood Mizer and my reasoning was that if they recommended it (ie sold it) it should do a reasonably good job as the company is reputable and can't afford to peddle a substandard instrument. I think mine was about $250. How good is it? I honestly can't tell you because I have no other instruments to compare against and no wood samples of known moisture content.

I would probably start looking from a company that sells moisture meters as a major item. I would pick a well known name (Wagner, Delmhorst) and start researching from there. Hope this has been at least a little help. :o

[Curt Harms]

I have a mini Ligno and was getting readings that just didn't make any sense. I replaced the battery, now they make sense:o. Just something to keep in mind.

HTH

Curt

[Jerome Hanby]

Rockler's online reviews slammed that one pretty hard. I hate that, the $29.95 price had me excited!

Rockler had them for $29.95 in the monthly rockler add- if your interested,
Brian:)

[Graham Skinner]

Thanks for the input Guys, and thanks to Curt as I had never heard of the mini ligno before, I did a search at an auction site for "mini ligno" and ended up buying a used one for just over 1/4 of the new price, please see the photo.
I have been playing around with it in the garage and it seems to do a pretty good job.
my cherry is all 6% mc.
But my maple is all over the place, range from 6% to 12%, so will have to try to dry the 12% piece out a bit before I can use it.

Anyway Thanks again to you All.

Regards...Graham Skinner...