I bought a cheapo moisture meter

[SPED]

Well it's cheap, got it on ebay, but hey i'm not looking for anything fancy. I want it more for watching the moisture go down as the year goes on, I figure i'll get better results by splitting a piece then probing each time.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-Moistur...oryZ1504QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[babalu87]

To get the best reading you do need to split each piece. Use an awl to make holes for the pins to go into so you dont break the meter/pins.

 

[SPED]

To get the best reading you do need to split each piece. Use an awl to make holes for the pins to go into so you dont break the meter/pins.

Good idea, I was a lil worried about the durability of the pins, thanks for the tip!

 

[Corey]

Hardly worth the worry IMHO. I have not noticed a significant difference with the pins being 'slightly embedded' in the wood surface or pushed all the way in. If you use an awl for the holes, it most likely won't be the exact same shape at the probe tips, so you might not have much more contact than just placing the tips gently into the surface. What you mostly care about is knowing the wood is 50% this month, 40% the next, 30% after that - and doing the measurement with the same procedure each time - rather than saying "The wood is at 35.532% at this exact moment"

The splitting is a good idea, you will see much variation along the length of the wood, not so much along the width.

 

[kalevi]

I had a buddy bring up a $12 one from Harbor Freight. It works great. Surprising thing is my wood ranges from almost 0 moisture content to 25% depending on which piece I sample. It is mixed hardwood that was pretty dry when I received it in the summer and it spent a few more months drying.

 

[reaperman]

Sorry to rain on your $12 dollar parade, but air dried wood cannot reach 0%. A kiln is needed to reach moisture contents lower than the 15% range in most cases.

 

[ozarkjeep]

funny, yet relevant story.

My freind, an avid woodworker.

bought and had installde a wood stove last year.
I mentioned the importance of good dry wood, no sweat he said, I have a meter.

he has a $250 meter he uses to measure wood that he is turning, carving, and milling in the wood shop.

we go out to his wood pile.
some freshly cut, and split oak registers at 18%.

I am skeptical, its VERY wet and heavy, and fresh looking.

so I grab the meter, and hold it on a living tree nearby.

it read the living tree at 16% moisture content.

I lost faith in the device at that point, I will have to own one, and get to know it to trust one.

 

[RedRanger]

Damn--I paid $105 for mine last year. 2 prongs, a dozen extra tips, but of course, just like with electonics. We Canucks almost always get ripped.!! Of course that`s Home Depot for you, decent price for the Yanks,rip those Canucks, and "where the hell is R.E Lee when we really need him". We will never get that kind of leadership in this Country.!! God Bless America.!!

 

[woodconvert]

he has a $250 meter he uses to measure wood that he is turning, carving, and milling in the wood shop.

we go out to his wood pile.
some freshly cut, and split oak registers at 18%.

I am skeptical, its VERY wet and heavy, and fresh looking.

so I grab the meter, and hold it on a living tree nearby.

it read the living tree at 16% moisture content.

I lost faith in the device at that point, I will have to own one, and get to know it to trust one.

Actually, depending on when the oak was dropped that's plausible from my understanding. Living trees contain little moisture during the winter where if the oak was cut pre-winter when it was still drawing water....possible I suppose.

 

[kalevi]

The bottom reading is 7% and the light doesn't come on with my driest stuff. Calibration is to hold it against a conductor and make sure you read the max value. My wood sure burns nice.

 

[buckeye]

i bought the same one on ebay, I dont know how well it works, but if the meter says 30% or so and I throw it in the stove, I get some moisture out of the ends. I just did that yesterday.

 

[glassmanjpf]

I was having a hard time pushing the pins into the wood, so I wiggle the meter a little as I push. Seems to work ok. I like the idea of the awl. It's almost like I need another toolbox just for the wood burning gadgets.

I have 2 year old oak that's split and stacked that reads 18%. Some I split this summer has measured 38%.

 

[babalu87]

Live trees contain TONS of moisture in Winter, its how they survive.

 

[ozarkjeep]

out of sheer curiosity, what keeps them from freezing and bursting?

Live trees contain TONS of moisture in Winter, its how they survive.

 

[woodconvert]

Live trees contain TONS of moisture in Winter, its how they survive.

Huh, the logger that cut the trees for my house said that he only cuts Dec. through Feb as A) the ground is frozen and B) there is a lot less moisture in the tree so he can haul more. I took it as gospel being he's a logger. Any pro loggers here know the poop??

 

[fugazi42]

Live trees contain TONS of moisture in Winter, its how they survive.

Huh, the logger that cut the trees for my house said that he only cuts Dec. through Feb as A) the ground is frozen and B) there is a lot less moisture in the tree so he can haul more. I took it as gospel being he's a logger. Any pro loggers here know the poop??

Trees have a couple of ways of surviving the winter. Most produce a natural form of antifreeze to help protect them from freezing temperatures. Most trees will also remove excess moisture in preparation for the winter. I've heard folks say the "sap is low" in the winter. Trees in arctic areas will move moisture out of the cell and into the inter-cell areas to prevent cells from bursting.

Some references:
(broken link removed to http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF11/1127.html)
(broken link removed to http://www.ecology.com/feature-stories/quiet-evolution-of-trees/index.html)

I'm not a pro-logger but I do have an uncle who cuts and processes a lot of logs for lumber. He cuts all of his maple and spruce in the winter months and tries to process it all before the temperatures rise in April/May. Otherwise, if a log is allowed to sit when the weather gets warm maple is at risk of fungal damage (staining) and Spruce is damaged by wood borers.

Josh in CT