Bought a Moisture Meter...It’s a love/hate thing

[brianbeech]

First moisture meter ever - purchased tonight at Lowe's. Came right home - tested some ends of some wood - looked good.

Then I measured like you're supposed to. Took a piece, split it, measured and....wait for it...wait for it....29%.

Ah! That wasn't my oldest piece, but I figured it would be better than 30% by now. I'm not sure of the species, someone said Catalpa Tree.

Either way, I now love my meter for letting me know not to burn that wood, but also hate it for making me realize I only have a fraction of the wood I thought I had for this year. <sniff sniff>.

 

[rottiman]

Don't put 100% of your faith in the gadget. Without knowing more about your wood and how and when you processed it couldn't even hazard a guess on how dry it is. Just sayin it might be worth checking a number of samples from your stacks.

 

[Todd]

Make sure you read the directions. Some say to only insert the pins into the wood a few mm not drive them all the way in.

 

[brianbeech]

Read the directions - was doing it correctly. I also tested some more wood. Much better readings from the Eastern Red Cedar and the Red Oak (my oldest wood). The cedar was very low, around 10 - 12%. The oak hovered around 15 - 20%.

I can't wait to get home and try the Black Locust. As heavy as that stuff is, surely it's around 40%.

I think I'll like the moisture meter as I spend the next year or two learning more about drying/processing wood.

 

[Pagey]

Read the directions - was doing it correctly. I also tested some more wood. Much better readings from the Eastern Red Cedar and the Red Oak (my oldest wood). The cedar was very low, around 10 - 12%. The oak hovered around 15 - 20%.

I can't wait to get home and try the Black Locust. As heavy as that stuff is, surely it's around 40%.

I think I'll like the moisture meter as I spend the next year or two learning more about drying/processing wood.

They are indeed a very handy reference guide. Like any tool, they have their places and their uses. They can certainly help eliminate any guesswork, but after a time you'll find that you come to rely on it less and less. My first season I did a lot of "curiosity testing" to see where my fuel supply was at. Once you get far enough ahead, though, you'll go by the look, feel, and sound of the wood. I still use my MM from time to time to verify what I suspect.

 

[maple1]

Has anyone had any luck with Ebay meters?

Any I've seen locally are either not spec'd very accurate (+/- 5% moisture content? Doesn't sound very good) or cost an arm & a leg.

 

[Pagey]

Has anyone had any luck with Ebay meters?

Any I've seen locally are either not spec'd very accurate (+/- 5% moisture content? Doesn't sound very good) or cost an arm & a leg.

Here's a quick 2 pin MM search on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...n+moisture+meter&url=search-alias=aps&x=0&y=0

I got mine from the 'Zon for about $20. It's accurate enough for comfirming the conidition of one's firewood. I probably wouldn't trust it if I were in the furniture making business, etc.

 

[Woody Stover]

I can't wait to get home and try the Black Locust

If you split it when you posted the thread in May, I think the response you got in that thread from gzecc will prove to be right on.

Its locust. Will definetly be ready for this coming heating season. Mix it with other hards depending on the heating needs.

 

[brianbeech]

I can't wait to get home and try the Black Locust

If you split it when you posted the thread in May, I think the response you got in that thread from gzecc will prove to be right on.

Its locust. Will definetly be ready for this coming heating season. Mix it with other hards depending on the heating needs.

That would be amazing. I hear that is great wood and it is SUPER heavy! That would be a very short time to dry - hope it is!

 

[Woody Stover]

Yeah, it's pretty heavy, even dry. You can rap on it with a hammer or knock a couple of splits together and you should be able to tell by the sound if it's getting pretty dry. Have you got quite a bit of it? I've got about 1/3 cord, which I split kind of small at the beginning of June. Haven't metered it yet but it sounds pretty dry. I've never burned it before so I'm interested to see what it'll do. :coolsmile:

 

[wood-fan-atic]

I can't wait to get home and try the Black Locust

If you split it when you posted the thread in May, I think the response you got in that thread from gzecc will prove to be right on.

Its locust. Will definetly be ready for this coming heating season. Mix it with other hards depending on the heating needs.

Sometimes BL will surprise you. It does dry relatively quickly - but that requires ideal conditions. If it is sitting in a pile, in the shade somewhere, with little or no wind - good luck. I like to maximize the BTUs in my BL, so I tend to split it a bit thicker than my other woods, and more often than not, a full year is required to get it down to 20%.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

First moisture meter ever - purchased tonight at Lowe's. Came right home - tested some ends of some wood - looked good.

Then I measured like you're supposed to. Took a piece, split it, measured and....wait for it...wait for it....29%.

Ah! That wasn't my oldest piece, but I figured it would be better than 30% by now. I'm not sure of the species, someone said Catalpa Tree.

Either way, I now love my meter for letting me know not to burn that wood, but also hate it for making me realize I only have a fraction of the wood I thought I had for this year. <sniff sniff>.

Not really sure why you would test the ends. That certainly would be the place to not test it.

 

[brianbeech]

First moisture meter ever - purchased tonight at Lowe's. Came right home - tested some ends of some wood - looked good.

Then I measured like you're supposed to. Took a piece, split it, measured and....wait for it...wait for it....29%.

Ah! That wasn't my oldest piece, but I figured it would be better than 30% by now. I'm not sure of the species, someone said Catalpa Tree.

Either way, I now love my meter for letting me know not to burn that wood, but also hate it for making me realize I only have a fraction of the wood I thought I had for this year. <sniff sniff>.

Not really sure why you would test the ends. That certainly would be the place to not test it.

I was like a kid with a new toy and had to immediately test something. Also, from reading here, I knew they would register at a decent % and I wanted to compare that to the inside of a fresh split. Allowed me to see the difference of the exterior of the wood and the true internal and let me see that my meter wasn't just saying X% for everything.

I guess it was curiosity and my child-like man mentality.

 

[CTYank]

And ... can't see why you'd get worked up in any way about catalpa. Hope it isn't taking up space you could use for good wood.

Planning to get it gone with shoulder-season?