Moisture Checker at Lowes?

[chvymn99]

What isle do you find them in? What brand are they? My several lowes near me look at me with the deer in the headlight look.

Why I'm looking for it. Is I'm curouis as too what moisture level my Red Oak has. With these Sun squarched days, that we are haveing here in Kansas. Its already sounding tinging when hit, not the thud. Plus the color and the surface cracks have changed drastically.

 

[Stax]

At my Lowes, it isn't in an isle. It's in the tool department. General makes it. I paid $9.98 for mine.

 

[Battenkiller]

My several lowes near me look at me with the deer in the headlight look.

I know what you mean there. They didn't even know what a lumber crayon was in my local HD, never mind tell me where it was. They sent me to the lumber department, the hardware department, showed me common carpenter pencils, told me to look outside in the seasonal home and garden, and finally said they probably didn't carry them since no one had ever seen or heard of such an animal. When I finally found them, they were where I should have looked in the first place... in the tool department. When I took the time to show them what one looked like and to tell them where they were kept, they looked at me as if, "Who the f*** cares?"

Service with a smile... just like when I was a kid in retail. :roll:

 

[cptoneleg]

The Big Wal-Marts, Lowes, HD' s , have run nearly all the small business out of business, The family owned, the ones that gave a f_ _ _ , now this is what we get, The Price of Cheap

 

[Woody Stover]

As I say every time these MM posts appear, my General from Lowe's seems to read low. Wood that reads 18% hisses when put on the fire.
Still trying to figure out how Stax got it for $10...mine was $24!

 

[ruserious2008]

Ya I had the same problem. Online said it was in stock but no one could find it. Finally found a manager who paged the whole store to ask if anyone knew where it was. As someone else here said- in the tool dept- I think it was with the laser lvls and such. We even stood right in front of it looking at it and did not see it for a while.
I think I paid about $30 for it and I've checked it against a home inspectors multi hundred dollar gadget and its dead on.
Enjoy

 

[Woody Stover]

I've checked it against a home inspectors multi hundred dollar gadget and its dead on.

Huh, I wonder if it's just mine that's reading low? At 20% on my meter, that wood would be hissin' like a POed cat.

 

[Stax]

BK...same exact story. No one had a clue if they carried one and where it would be if they did. Finally, a guy working returns said check the tool department. After going there, the associate in tools showed me right where they were, right next to the laser thermometers. Yes, $10...guess it's a demographic thing. I dunno know.

 

[cptoneleg]

I've checked it against a home inspectors multi hundred dollar gadget and its dead on.

Huh, I wonder if it's just mine that's reading low? At 20% on my meter, that wood would be hissin' like a POed cat.[/quote







I know you know this but when I spit a split and check with mm In the middle I will get lets say 30% and the closer I get to the ends it drops Like dowm to 8%, this example was taken yesterday on some 6mo single stacked in sun and wind red maple, I was surprised I thought it being a fast drying wood it would be lower. But I have another 3 months till burn season. I am just throwing this out there to see if others have similar readings from middle out.

My MM is just a toy which I have purchased since joining this site, I know what wood I am going to burn this season regardless of what my toy says. 2 cords red maple and cherry mix. drying 11 months come oct. 3 cords Oak drying 16 months come oct. :zip:


Have a Nice Day and stay Cool

 

[chvymn99]

Well, I found it. After walking up and the isle, it was on the very end of the isle. So I split a piece of red oak that had been drying for about 2 months. It looked like it was drying rather nicely from the outside. But boy oh boy did the the inside tell another story. I could feel the dampness, it registered about 30-34% moisture. Thanks.

 

[woodsmaster]

As I say every time these MM posts appear, my General from Lowe's seems to read high. Wood that reads 18% hisses when put on the fire.
Still trying to figure out how Stax got it for $10...mine was $24!

I have a Lignomat that seems very accurate, but it retails for about $120.00 I won it in bioheats woodpile contest.

 

[Woody Stover]

split and check with mm In the middle I will get lets say 30% and the closer I get to the ends it drops Like dowm to 8%, this example was taken yesterday on some 6mo single stacked in sun and wind red maple, I was surprised I thought it being a fast drying wood it would be lower.

I've definitely seen the moisture gradient, lengthwise like you saw, and widthwise from the center out across the growth rings. I've got some Red Maple in a SIL's stack, split small a couple months ago. I've been tapping the wood with a wrench lately, doing a sound test instead of splitting to read with the MM. That Red Maple, even split small, still has a ways to go. It may dry fast, but starts out with a high MC.

 

[BrotherBart]

I went in to get one today and they are now thirty bucks. Online too.

 

[Thistle]

My several lowes near me look at me with the deer in the headlight look.

I know what you mean there. They didn't even know what a lumber crayon was in my local HD, never mind tell me where it was. They sent me to the lumber department, the hardware department, showed me common carpenter pencils, told me to look outside in the seasonal home and garden, and finally said they probably didn't carry them since no one had ever seen or heard of such an animal. When I finally found them, they were where I should have looked in the first place... in the tool department. When I took the time to show them what one looked like and to tell them where they were kept, they looked at me as if, "Who the f*** cares?"

Service with a smile... just like when I was a kid in retail. :roll:

About 1990 or so I went into 1 of the 2 local Sutherland Lumber outlets still here.They were headquartered in Kansas City MO & started back in the 30's as the nation's first consumer retail lumberyard.Both closed here in mid 90's before the first big Menards came in & long before Home Cheapo & Lowe's did.Anyway,I was looking for 3/8" birch dowels,for some furniture or cabinet project.Asked this kid in the aisle "Excuse me Sir,where are your hardwood dowels located?"

He gave me this deer in headlights look & replied "Uhmmm what are those?"

"Nevermind,I'll look for them myself :-/ " Far cry from when I started shopping there 10 yrs earlier while still in High School.Back then they had employees that actually knew the products.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

$30 here on Long Island,too.

 

[nate379]

That is the reason I go to my local lumberyard when I can. They are just down the road to begin with, but most the counter guys know me by name, and the price is normally quite negotiable. Go in there for like $.60 of nuts/bolts, no charge. $28 for a thermostat, $20... Plus they have fresh popcorn and coffee and I don't think anyone would say anything if you pulled up a chair, lit a cigarette and started to b/s.

And when I buy lumber I pull into the yard and they'll be damn if I try and help out. No way. You paid for this wood, WE are loading it up for you.

Last year at Lowe's I bought $1500 of lumber for the floor of my shed. All pressure treated. 16ft 2x8s, 3/4" PT plywood, etc. All heavy stuff. I had to load my trailer all by myself, the lumber manager told me when I asked for help, It's a DIY store... that means you load it yourself!

 

[Rob From Wisconsin]

Went looking for my Wood Moisture Meter at Menards last night,
and found it in the Tools dept. It was labeled as more of a "contractors"
all-purpose tool for check moisture content for a variety of materials, including wood.
Looked more like an analog electrical multi-meter.
Retailed for about $23.
Perhaps next month I'll pickup one of these........

 

[Jagtec1]

I got a "General" brand at Lowes for less than $10 about a month ago. I used it for the first time yesterday. I have some Mulberry that was cut last September, was at 24% on a fresh split....not surprising. I have some Oak that was cut (dead) around the same time....19-20%, and some Poplar that I split about 1 1/2 months ago that was at 15-16%. At least I have a baseline for future reference.