moisture meter

[jatoxico]

Any recomendations on a reasonable MM? Like to know if my instincts jibe with reality.

 

[DexterDay]

The "General"... Can be found on Amazon and at you local Lowes, HD, etc. Can be had for as cheap as $10, but got mine for $18... Works Good. Easy to use..

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Any recomendations on a reasonable MM? Like to know if my instincts jibe with reality.

Yes. Don't buy one.

 

[jatoxico]

The "General"... Can be found on Amazon and at you local Lowes, HD, etc. Can be had for as cheap as $10, but got mine for $18... Works Good. Easy to use..

Was in Lowes today did not think to look, are they in tool shed?

 

[DexterDay]

Got mine through Amazon... I think they are cheaper now, than when I got mine.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Many of us have the Harbor Freight one, it works fine and is cheap.

 

[jebatty]

I have an expensive Wagner moisture meter which I never use on firewood. I think that's a waste of time and money. Let the firewood season 1-3 years, depending, and then burn it. If you feel a need to measure moisture, I think you haven't seasoned it long enough. Now, I use the moisture meter all the time on lumber for interior finishing and furniture making. The lumber is my own from my own trees which I have felled, sawed, dried, planed and then use for many projects.

 

[wood spliter]

I have the Harbor freight one also. Seems to work well.

 

[jatoxico]

Thanks those sound like a couple good options.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Lowes DOES have them ($30 here on the Isle), but the staff NEVER seems to know where to look. I found mine in the plumbing area.

 

[Thistle]

I have an expensive Wagner moisture meter which I never use on firewood. I think that's a waste of time and money. Let the firewood season 1-3 years, depending, and then burn it. If you feel a need to measure moisture, I think you haven't seasoned it long enough. Now, I use the moisture meter all the time on lumber for interior finishing and furniture making. The lumber is my own from my own trees which I have felled, sawed, dried, planed and then use for many projects.

Same here. I've had a Lignomat Mini E moisture meter since 1996,its not digital.Never used it on firewood,just lumber & woodturning blanks I milled myself.

 

[DanCorcoran]

Lowes DOES have them ($30 here on the Isle), but the staff NEVER seems to know where to look. I found mine in the plumbing area.

Housing inspectors use them to find moisture leaks behind drywall and plaster that have been painted over...maybe that's why they're in plumbing.

 

[HittinSteel]

Any recomendations on a reasonable MM? Like to know if my instincts jibe with reality.

Yes. Don't buy one.

I agree....waste of money.

 

[jatoxico]

Any recomendations on a reasonable MM? Like to know if my instincts jibe with reality.

Yes. Don't buy one.

I agree....waste of money.

The post is about what type of meter not wether or not I should get one.

 

[HittinSteel]

Okay, then I'd buy solely on price. Try not to spend over $10

 

[Battenkiller]

I was very skeptical, but I bought the blue $12 Harbor Freight one and it works great. Left palm measures about 35%. Now that I know the MC of my left hand... what else do you guys use these things on?

 

[MapleLeafCityBurner]

Alternatively for city dwellers, you could use the MM to see what the MC is of the supplier of your wood. Most of us urbanites don't have a lot of choice to go into our backyards and fell a tree to season. Most of the time we're stuck ordering through the local tree services. I don't own a trailer, pick up etc, so scrounging and bringing it home isnt always an option either.

At least with a MM you know 'generally' how seasoned the wood is. If its over 20% MC then you'd want to refuse the delivery imo. Optimal burn % is pretty much as low as you can get it, but anything under 10% seems to be a magic number. So if you get seasoned wood from a supplier at 18%, you know you should let it sit another year before using it. Anyways, my two cents on the use/non-use of MM.

 

[jatoxico]

Harbor freight one is selling for $12.99. Don't have 3 yr supply of wood on hand yet, don't even know how much wood I'll use since I've been burning in an open fireplace for the last few years and never used an EPA stove before. I have such a mix of wood types and dead standing stuff that it should come in handy especially the first year or two. Sure once I have decent supply of wood I won't use it much but for $15-20 it's worth it. Plus then I can participate in all those cover not cover, moisture content of dead standing and other exciting topics :lol: .

 

[Battenkiller]

If its over 20% MC then you'd want to refuse the delivery imo. Optimal burn % is pretty much as low as you can get it, but anything under 10% seems to be a magic number. So if you get seasoned wood from a supplier at 18%, you know you should let it sit another year before using it.

That's pure silliness. I defy anyone here to show me an internal MC reading of less than 10% using an accurate meter in wood stored outside for any length of time. In particular, you could store wood anywhere in Ontario for a thousand years in an open shed and it will never drop below 12%MC.

 

[Thistle]

If its over 20% MC then you'd want to refuse the delivery imo. Optimal burn % is pretty much as low as you can get it, but anything under 10% seems to be a magic number. So if you get seasoned wood from a supplier at 18%, you know you should let it sit another year before using it.

That's pure silliness. I defy anyone here to show me an internal MC reading of less than 10% using an accurate meter in wood stored outside for any length of time. In particular, you could store wood anywhere in Ontario for a thousand years in an open shed and it will never drop below 12%MC.

Precisely. Wood is hydroscopic,it takes on whatever humidity is in its immediate surroundings.No wood is ever 'truly' dry.I've seen beams & rafters in various castles,cathedrals & bridges in Europe that were 800 or more yrs old in some cases.They're never less than 10-12%,could be high as 20% if near a water source or the coast.Here in Iowa,any air dried wood you find,even 150 yr old barn timbers are never less than 10% even inside dry winter heated buildings,most what I see is 12%,occasionally 14% in humid summer months.

 

[Battenkiller]

For example, take these two Canadian cities and see how EMC varies throughout the season:




OK... maybe, just maybe, your wood may reach 11.4% in May (after the heating season is over), but come the beginning of the next burn season, it will be back up to 15-17% MC. Which is fine, since that is the perfect moisture content for burning. 12% is too low for the most efficient burns in all wood stoves.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

If its over 20% MC then you'd want to refuse the delivery imo. Optimal burn % is pretty much as low as you can get it, but anything under 10% seems to be a magic number. So if you get seasoned wood from a supplier at 18%, you know you should let it sit another year before using it.

That's pure silliness. I defy anyone here to show me an internal MC reading of less than 10% using an accurate meter in wood stored outside for any length of time. In particular, you could store wood anywhere in Ontario for a thousand years in an open shed and it will never drop below 12%MC.

Precisely. Wood is hydroscopic,it takes on whatever humidity is in its immediate surroundings.No wood is ever 'truly' dry.I've seen beams & rafters in various castles,cathedrals & bridges in Europe that were 800 or more yrs old in some cases.They're never less than 10-12%,could be high as 20% if near a water source or the coast.Here in Iowa,any air dried wood you find,even 150 yr old barn timbers are never less than 10% even inside dry winter heated buildings,most what I see is 12%,occasionally 14% in humid summer months.

Well said, Thistle. If anyone can get wood from his supplier here on Long Island, and it reads 18% on the MM, he should kiss his @$$, buy him a case of heinekin, and make him breakfast in the mornin'! ;-P

 

[jatoxico]

Went for the Harbor Freight, $17 delivered. Thanks for the help.