Moisture Meters

"You get what you pay for" is especially true for Harbor Freight IMO.

Got a nice little digital readout one on eBay for $18 + shipping, works good. Pretty much all of these are made in China, reason for higher price.........because they can.

I was also scared by the discrepancy in pricing. I got the M210 from Extech after having trouble burning with some "seasoned" wood. Extech is a Massachusetts based company, I've used their electronic test equipment quite often at work. The M210 is manufactured in China, no idea if the meter was designed by Exech or not but it seems to work well. At least this has some test points built into the cap to verify the calibration.

For what it is worth, this meter is consistent and repeatable. I've found anything that reads much more than 20% won't burn well. The first cord I bought from a local dealer that barely burned, measured ~40%. Another delivery I refused because of the meter reading was ~30%. I ended up buying 1/3 cord from another local dealer for at a premium price, but it was ~20% and it is burning well.

perplexed said:

Just reviewed thread here on moisture meters.

Checked out the 12.95 one( cen-tech ) from harbourfreight as well as a 69.95 one from Extech (model m511-0200).

Seems like both do the same thing.

Why such a discrepancy in prices?

I don't want to spend a bundle but also don't want to have to replace a cheaply made one either. Now a days I know I can't always tell quality by price.

So I'm looking for anyone with experience with either one of these models and hoping I can narrow down my field of choice....or perhaps broaden it. ;-P

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