looking to finally make a purchase am would like some input as to what folks find useful and bang for the buck. Thanks in advance!
Moisture meter recommendation please!
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I just got one off amazon, I see it's on back order but it seems to work well. For what we are using them for, I don't think you need to spend a lot
http://www.amazon.com/Meter®-MD-812...qid=1419980256&sr=8-3&keywords=moisture+meter
http://www.amazon.com/Meter®-MD-812...qid=1419980256&sr=8-3&keywords=moisture+meter
Ram 1500 with an axe...
Minister of Fire
Paulywalnut
Minister of Fire
The grey and yellow one at Lowes. General I think. Reasonably priced and very reliable. You can also knock pieces together for that pleasant ping sound
WoodpileOCD
Minister of Fire
I've been using a General for about 3 years and seems to work fine. No problems.
claydogg84
Minister of Fire
I have this one as well. Came with extra set of the pins as well as a case. I like it so far.
mopar440_6
Member
I got the General brand one from Lowe's and it seems pretty accurate. Haven't had any issues with it yet.
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
$20 to $30 I think is fine. I used the heck out of mine the first year.
Now I know when the splits start shifting in my stacks I am to about the fiber saturation point, ~30%. Until then I don't bother with the meter because I know everything is >30%.
The hard part for me is leaving the tool in the garage when I am out by stacks on the hot sunny days.
With a couple seasons of experience, ehh, I could probably do without out it and guess pretty good, but all I have to test up here is birch and spruce. If I were to move to the lower 48 I would have to start all over again learning new species.
Now I know when the splits start shifting in my stacks I am to about the fiber saturation point, ~30%. Until then I don't bother with the meter because I know everything is >30%.
The hard part for me is leaving the tool in the garage when I am out by stacks on the hot sunny days.
With a couple seasons of experience, ehh, I could probably do without out it and guess pretty good, but all I have to test up here is birch and spruce. If I were to move to the lower 48 I would have to start all over again learning new species.
What's the fiber saturation point? And how badly do your stacks shift? I just finished building a stack of shagbark hickory which after I was done I realized was somewhat on a slope. A shift in the wrong direction may start a topple in a year or so. What would you say is the percentage of shrinkage (length and width) of splits from green to seasoned?
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
The foresters up here generally say 18% "radially and tangentially" when talking about spruce and birch. Above the fiber saturation point you got water coming out of the through and through tubes, the wood doesn't change shape. Takes about two weeks up here (when we are getting 16 hours of sunlight daily).
After the water is out of the tubes, you are at fiber saturation point; as more water comes out the individual cells are drying and splitting open and changing shape of the split. That's where the stack gets to moving, generally at about 30% MC for most species.
Mine shift pretty bad once they get to moving, and I got a bunch of twisty splits this winter, so my pile will probably be moving a lot next summer...
Rebelduckman
Minister of Fire
I concur. Had the harbor freight one before that and it was OK but didn't want to have to deal with the button cell batteries
Rebelduckman
Minister of Fire
Very informative thanks! It would be interesting to see a time lapse video of how a stack moves around throughout the process. Some may equate it to watching paint dry, but morbid curiousity has me thinking...
So splits won't loose any in the length at all then? Or only marginally which would hardly register.
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
That's what they say. My 16" long splits are pretty much 16" long after seasoning. I cut them with a chainsaw and don't measure to the nearest 1/64" when cutting them, but they seem to stay "about" the same length.
I do see it in vertical height on my stack. I think "radially and tangentially" would be like taking a thin strip off the edge of a slice of pie. The left over on the plate still looks like a slice of pie, but if you measure carefully it will have a little bit fewer degrees of the original circumference of the pie on the new outside edge, the distance from round surface to tip of slice will be a little less.
One thing I tried last year was to stack higher than 4 feet by 18%, expecting when the wood got to 20%MC it should have shrunk 18% and thus my stack would shrink to 4 feet tall. Worked pretty good actually. Saved a little wear and tear on the MM using my tape measure instead.
ixlr8
Member
I saw a $20 moisture meter at Lowes today, but online reviews of that model were very poor and it was the only one they had with pins. It also looked like the pins were out the back and not out the top. The pins were barely about 1/4" long.They did have one without pins but I didn't think that would work well. Any other meter suggestions besides the one at Lowes?
Rebelduckman
Minister of Fire
ixlr8
Member
It was a General meter, but you are correct, it was not the one that folks here recommend. The Lowes.com web site shows they have the recommended model at my local store, but I was told they no longer carry that model. The local Lowes is a smaller store, I will check at a larger Lowes and see if they have it.
I have the Harbor Fright meter. Actually, I think I have HF meter # 2, last one having died after a few years. And yes, batteries are a pain to find. Harbor Fright (in my area, anyway) only sells them as part of a set, the rest of which I have no use for. And anything over 30% is "overload" but that tells me what I need to know. Nice thing about sunny SoCalif is that most split wood seasons in one year or less. Ash will often be at 10 to 15% after one year, and other unknown woods even lower.
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