Moisture Meter

[boxerdogheidi]

I want to buy a moisture meter but the ones I look at online seem to have different settings for different kinds of wood. I'm not really sure what the different woods are that I am burning. Is there a simpler one you can recommend that gives the moisture content for wood without having to set it to a particular species?

 

[stoveliker]

General Tools mmd4e.

But, in all fairness, different types of wood have different structure, and thus different resistivities - hence the different settings. So doing it with a tool that does not have those options gives you numbers that are slightly off.

Not a problem, and easier to work with. But just be aware it's "an indication" of moisture content. Always, but more so when not corrected for wood type and temperature.

 

[gzecc]

I want to buy a moisture meter but the ones I look at online seem to have different settings for different kinds of wood. I'm not really sure what the different woods are that I am burning. Is there a simpler one you can recommend that gives the moisture content for wood without having to set it to a particular species?

Just buy a cheap one that looks robust. Its not going to be used for science reports. Just a relative estimate of how your woods drying. After a couple of years you won't need it.
Unless of course you're buying it for a business of some kind.

 

[Teachme]

Buy pinless (esp if its a hard wood) and Just need to no if its hard or soft wood. You can all so use a app to know what wood u have it it has bark. If not the area your in ppl should know the kind of fire wood used there. in any case fresh split then test when wood is above freezing

 

[RShim]

Now that I have decided on the stove I am purchasing it is time to get a moisture meter...can you provide a brand name of a pinless meter? My local hardware store can order one for me and it sounds like one has pins (short) and another has a longer probe. Doesn't sound like I want either.

 

[stoveliker]

Congrats on ordering!

I would be weary of pinless moisture meters on firewood. They require a certain amount of pressure from the device on the wood. And any air in between is going to affect the reading. They are meant for e.g. carpenters/cabinet makers to ensure the lumber has the right moisture content (warping etc.). As firewood is never flat your measurement is going to be off almost always imo.

@Ashful may have more knowledge on the EM part of these devices (or tell me I'm wrong

 

[GrumpyDad]

Now that I have decided on the stove I am purchasing it is time to get a moisture meter...can you provide a brand name of a pinless meter? My local hardware store can order one for me and it sounds like one has pins (short) and another has a longer probe. Doesn't sound like I want either.

why pinless? They seem to the most reliable on firewood. And the general mmd4e is fairly cheap and available via amazon quickly. Ive been using this now for a couple of years, and every time I hold it to the calibration tabs on the cap it shows a perfect reading. Is it the most accurate? Nah, but it's fairly cheap.
If I had the money for a really nice one I might consider it. But like others said, once you get into a proper rotation of 2-3 year old wood, you will likely rarely use it and will just trust time.

 

[Ashful]

The most common meter on the forum used to be the General pinned meter, bought at Lowes for about $30, although I suspect they've gone up some in the 10 years since I bought mine.

The pinless meters are new to me, honestly I don't think they were common in the ~$30 consumer market, back when all the veterans of this forum were hot on the moisture meter thing. I can't say much about them, never having looked into them.

These things generally work by inducing a small current thru the wood, and thanks to the high resistance, measuring a relatively high voltage created by said small current. Think millivolts per nanoamp, type ratios.

I honestly would just buy the cheapest thing you can find, for if you're like the rest of us, you won't be using it long. Once you get thru the first year or two of fighting questionable wood supply, you'll get your splitting and storage far enough ahead of usage that you won't be spending time or energy on measuring moisture content.

 

[RShim]

why pinless? They seem to the most reliable on firewood. And the general mmd4e is fairly cheap and available via amazon quickly. Ive been using this now for a couple of years, and every time I hold it to the calibration tabs on the cap it shows a perfect reading. Is it the most accurate? Nah, but it's fairly cheap.
If I had the money for a really nice one I might consider it. But like others said, once you get into a proper rotation of 2-3 year old wood, you will likely rarely use it and will just trust time.

I only stated pinless because while searching for the topic of moisture meters that is what I was picking up on. I want what works and is reasonable. I did not see a thread discussing various moisture meters and pros and cons. Appreciate any and all recommendations!

 

[Ashful]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that you will develop a good feel for dry vs. wet wood, over the next few years. Five years from now, you'll be able to pick up a split and tell us whether it's ready or not, just by it's weight and how it sounds when you knock two of them together. The moisture meter is good for the time between now and then, but it's not something you'll be using for many years.

 

[stoveliker]

Yeah, so that calls into question a justification for buying anything other than the bottom quarter of the price range (too)...

 

[Teachme]

why pinless? They seem to the most reliable on firewood. And the general mmd4e is fairly cheap and available via amazon quickly. Ive been using this now for a couple of years, and every time I hold it to the calibration tabs on the cap it shows a perfect reading. Is it the most accurate? Nah, but it's fairly cheap.
If I had the money for a really nice one I might consider it. But like others said, once you get into a proper rotation of 2-3 year old wood, you will likely rarely use it and will just trust time.

I have both the Amazon product ASIN B00275F5O2That you said (and just fyi I called the mfg up and they said that there meter was not good for any hard woods esp fire wood as the pins are not able to go in deep.) and the

Amazon product ASIN B09BMQJZRJ
Pinless
As they have said what it comes down to is time and how and wear you store your cut split stacked wood.
I don't know your area that well and I don't clam to be a "

Minister of Fire"​

OR any kind of pro alot of these guys have prob been at this a lot longer then me. But that being said my best advice is to make sure its stored some were it gets air and not in the shade. also keep from rain when you know you will be using it soon. I am in Ma and we have a bit more wet air then u it seems but i will tell you there is a world of dif between partly shade and lower Air flow and out in the open.
When it comes down to it I belive either of them will work. it has been a good year sense i did a good bit of using both checking wood.
I will have to re visit and see how they both play out this year.

"I would be weary of pinless moisture meters on firewood. They require a certain amount of pressure from the device on the wood. And any air in between is going to affect the reading"
Most pin less are made to read about 3/4 of a inch out. So a fresh split is still needed.​

 

[bikedennis]

Seems like General Tools are used and liked by many here. I bought a $10 one on Ebay and seems well made. Maybe I'll get a GT and compare.

 

[Teachme]

Needed to split some more wood so I did a comparison for people of pin vs pinless. I hope it helps.(only had to hands so i had to hold pined and cam could not push pinless tight) In the end let it sit in a good drying spot for two years and most likely be good.
Things to note the harder you push on the pins The higher the water contact goes.
These are all squares that were cut last winter and sat in a stack till today. Rounds were around 16 inchs long mostly oak
Pinless needs the split to be more then one inch thick.
Sorry for any spelling or typos on cell

 

[stoveliker]

So the pinless reads lower?
That means the calibration of one of the two is a bit off.

The pins indeed need to be as deep as possible to not have an artificial high resistance. (Tough for oak...)

Another year for this wood would be good indeed.

 

[Teachme]

So the pinless reads lower?
That means the calibration of one of the two is a bit off.

The pins indeed need to be as deep as possible to not have an artificial high resistance. (Tough for oak...)

Another year for this wood would be good indeed.

It reads lower on some higher on others I don't belive ether are that far off and as they are both per mfg a + or - 2 % buffer plus add in that were you put the meter changes the water a bit I think there both prob right. They get you in the right area most of the time and the oak is indeed tough for pins to go to far in. I find and I'm not sure why the harder I push it in with pins the higher it reads in %. I know that as these were not splits just rounds and only for 7 or so months that there going to be far to wet to burn. That stuff will sit out side under a lean to with lots of air and some sun for 2 years now.

 

[stoveliker]

I agree with the precision (I thought it was +/- 3%).

The higher moisture content reading when you push the pins in is because of the following.
The meter does not measure moisture. It measures electrical resistance. Moisture decreases electrical resistance in wood. So the lower the resistance, the higher the moisture content reading. They have a calibration table loaded in the device to transform the resistance to a moisture content reading.

Now, if you push the pins in deeper, they will sample more wood. I.e. more parallel current paths for the electrical current to flow. I.e. a lower total resistance. And hence a higher moisture content reading.

Second, the deeper you go the more wet the wood is; if you only touch the (dried out) outer surface, you'll also get a lower moisture reading.

So, it's always best to push them in as far as you can. Without bending them (when you pull them out). And some (oak) times that's just not possible. So be it. You'll eventually figure out how the splits will burn when a reading is X and how they will burn when the reading is Y. And then you'll know how long it takes to get there, how the splits feel and sound, and you won't need the moisture meter anymore.

For now, a reading below 20% is best. In fact, it's nice to collect some <20% wood and some e.g. 23-24% wood. Have a bed of coals (assuming this is a N/S loading stove), rake them forward, load the left half of the firebox with the drier wood and the right half with the wetter wood. You'll see a big difference.
(Don't do this too often as the wetter side will produce creosote - but for a one-time educational experience, it's okay.)

 

[Teachme]

I agree with the precision (I thought it was +/- 3%).

The higher moisture content reading when you push the pins in is because of the following.
The meter does not measure moisture. It measures electrical resistance. Moisture decreases electrical resistance in wood. So the lower the resistance, the higher the moisture content reading. They have a calibration table loaded in the device to transform the resistance to a moisture content reading.

Now, if you push the pins in deeper, they will sample more wood. I.e. more parallel current paths for the electrical current to flow. I.e. a lower total resistance. And hence a higher moisture content reading.

Second, the deeper you go the more wet the wood is; if you only touch the (dried out) outer surface, you'll also get a lower moisture reading.

So, it's always best to push them in as far as you can. Without bending them (when you pull them out). And some (oak) times that's just not possible. So be it. You'll eventually figure out how the splits will burn when a reading is X and how they will burn when the reading is Y. And then you'll know how long it takes to get there, how the splits feel and sound, and you won't need the moisture meter anymore.

For now, a reading below 20% is best. In fact, it's nice to collect some <20% wood and some e.g. 23-24% wood. Have a bed of coals (assuming this is a N/S loading stove), rake them forward, load the left half of the firebox with the drier wood and the right half with the wetter wood. You'll see a big difference.
(Don't do this too often as the wetter side will produce creosote - but for a one-time educational experience, it's okay.)

Some are 3 some are 2 like you said potato Patata all works out in the end. These were all just split on my splitter moments before. But useing what you said i could see the pins pushing the waterside displacing it kinda like a wet sponge and a finger but not as much obviously. With the oak we have here and in Ny its vary hard to get pins in. Thats one of the reason why in this area with so much oak and Locust the pinless is easy. Tho like you and others have said at this point i don't really need them. I first bought them when I bought cords and couldn’t believe how poorly the “seasoned” wood is.
Unfortunately the lotto don’t get is what they consider seasoned around here is when they leave the logs or even the splits in a giant pile and let them sit for six months. The problem of course is that no one gets to the wood underneath this is especially true because most of these are piled right up against a 10 to 15 foot high concrete wall.
At the moment “seasoned” cord dropped off around here is $400 to $500 and imo most of it is a year or two b4 you should burn it.

 

[Teachme]

Also as you said it’s crazy how hot really dry wood will burn.

 

[j7art2]

I've always just used the basic harbor freight ones. I've bought (and lost) 3 now. They work fine and are around $14.

 

[RShim]

why pinless? They seem to the most reliable on firewood. And the general mmd4e is fairly cheap and available via amazon quickly. Ive been using this now for a couple of years, and every time I hold it to the calibration tabs on the cap it shows a perfect reading. Is it the most accurate? Nah, but it's fairly cheap.
If I had the money for a really nice one I might consider it. But like others said, once you get into a proper rotation of 2-3 year old wood, you will likely rarely use it and will just trust time.

Thanks ...I only went by what I read earlier in this thread. Getting the General MMD4E as suggested in this thread and others. Thanks again.

 

[Ashful]

Thanks ...I only went by what I read earlier in this thread. Getting the General MMD4E as suggested in this thread and others. Thanks again.

You did well. I and many others on this forum have an older version of that meter. The pins used to be longer and skinnier (more prone to bend), looks like they've refined that a bit. It gets the job done.

I haven't used mine in at least 6-8 years, but it got quite a bit of use in my first 2-3 years of burning in modern wood stoves.