Moisture Meter Usage And Accuracy???

[fdegree]

You can check out this thread ... Wood Shed ... to see how I'm storing my wood. The oak in that shed was purchased less than a month ago. It was freshly split prior to delivery.

I just received this moisture meter ... Moisture Meter ... and went to the wood shed to test it. I pushed the prongs into the wood as far as I could...probably about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way in...and it was measuring between 15% and 20% on the ends of the splits that are showing. Some of the splits have snow on them, after all of these blizzards we've had, and those that are visibly wet exceeded the range of the meter, which is 42%. I didn't try to get further into the stacks to see what the splits are reading in the middle.

I suppose I should try to get to the middle of the stack and split one the splits in 2 and measure the moisture content inside that split, but that ain't happening anytime soon after all of this snow and shoveling...around 36" of snow and counting...more snow due on Monday.

My questions are:
Does it sound like I'm using the meter correctly? Not that it is too difficult to use...just wondering how far the prongs need to be pushed in to get an accurate reading.
Does it sound like the meter is reasonably accurate?


Thanks!

 

[Bobbin]

I just got a moisture meter for my birthday. After reading the "directions" (a really, really bad translation to English from a language of oriental origination, I suspect) I quickly deduced that's it's probably a WICKED cheap model. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right? I haven't tried it out yet, so I'm "all ears" for the replies you get.

 

[BrotherBart]

The only way to get a true reading is to split a split in half and measure in the middle. The pins just to have to make contact then to get a good reading. That or drill holes for the pins to go deep in the split.

 

[brickman]

+1 to BrotherBart. If you are reading 15 to 20% on the ends, then when you split the split you will see readings in the 30s

 

[leftyscott]

I have a 4 pronged version. I find it slightly dfficult to get a good reading on a fresh split. One thing I observed is that when I think I have a good reading, I give it another hard push and the reading goes up another 3-4%.

 

[precaud]

One thing I observed is that when I think I have a good reading, I give it another hard push and the reading goes up another 3-4%.

The reading after the hard push is the good reading. You've just lowered the contact resistance.

 

[fdegree]

Thanks for all of the replies...it certainly helps.

Sometime over the summer I'll have to split a few splits to see what the moisture content is on the inside.