moisture meters

[jj3500]

I saw a link somewhere on this site that someone posted as a sure fire way to determine if wood is ready. I believe it was a harborfreight item.

Anyone? I know it was inexpensive.

Thanks

 

[BrotherBart]

Moisture meters. I bought mine at Harbor Freight a few years ago but I just took a look and they don't list one anymore. eBay is nasty with them. Come to think of it, anymore eBay is nasty without them.

 

[gzecc]

I bought this moisture meter.
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=208081471&listingid=23336934&dcaid=17902
It works, its cheap.

 

[Wood Pirate]

I bought this moisture meter.
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=208081471&listingid=23336934&dcaid=17902
It works, its cheap.

How accurate are these things? I would imagine some more than others but for what we are using it for it seems ideal.

 

[jj3500]

I just did a quick search myself. I found the one in the above link but was actually cheaper from Amazon. We'll see how it works out.

Thanks for looking.

 

[BrotherBart]

I bought this moisture meter.
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=208081471&listingid=23336934&dcaid=17902
It works, its cheap.

How accurate are these things? I would imagine some more than others but for what we are using it for it seems ideal.

Who knows. I never heard of anybody getting a firewood meter calibrated. They beat the heck out of just knocking two splits together. Or following the advice in Morso stove manuals and putting soap on the end of a split and blowing through it to see if it makes bubbles on the other end :lol: .

I know you are going to try that. Everybody does and lies and says that they didn't. Hide behind the woodpile when you do it so the neighbors don't go around saying they saw you blowing on your wood. :coolsmirk:

BTW: It actually works.

 

[wendell]

Or following the advice in Morso stove manuals and putting soap on the end of a split and blowing through it to see if it makes bubbles on the other end :lol:.

They may have but now they say you need to buy the official Morso moisture meter.

 

[stee6043]

That's odd....here is the link I posted a while back for the super cheap meter I use. Apparently it is currently not available or has been discontinued....

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96472

 

[gzecc]

I wouldn't bet my life on the number mine gives. I think it gives a relative number. If you measure all the firewood you have, you will see differences. If you measure the demensional lumber in your shed you will see a difference from the firewood. If you measure your dry fingers you will get a different number. If you measure your wet fingers you'll get another number. I use it as a reference tool. I know which wood is the driest, and I know the oak needs more time!

 

[beagler]

What is the ideal number, or moisture reading, you look for to tell you your wood is ready to burn?

 

[gzecc]

As close to 20 as I can get.

 

[Gooserider]

What is the ideal number, or moisture reading, you look for to tell you your wood is ready to burn?

Optimum is supposedly in the 15-20% range, but usually the drier the better, down to about 10% or so. At that point you start needing to be careful to avoid over-firing... Essentially wood won't burn until the part that's on fire gets down to 0% - the part that's burning dries the adjacent bits, and so forth, and any heat used to dry the wood is heat that isn't available to heat the house... However the stoves are designed to deal with wood that has some moisture in it, and if it is to dry, you can get issues with the load igniting too fast and attempting to all burn at once giving a high peak that exceeds what the stove can handle, instead of burning more gradually and releasing the heat over a span of time... Pallet and construction wood is noted for this, which is why one should use caution in burning it.

Gooserider

 

[beagler]

What is the ideal number, or moisture reading, you look for to tell you your wood is ready to burn?

Optimum is supposedly in the 15-20% range, but usually the drier the better, down to about 10% or so. At that point you start needing to be careful to avoid over-firing... Essentially wood won't burn until the part that's on fire gets down to 0% - the part that's burning dries the adjacent bits, and so forth, and any heat used to dry the wood is heat that isn't available to heat the house... However the stoves are designed to deal with wood that has some moisture in it, and if it is to dry, you can get issues with the load igniting too fast and attempting to all burn at once giving a high peak that exceeds what the stove can handle, instead of burning more gradually and releasing the heat over a span of time... Pallet and construction wood is noted for this, which is why one should use caution in burning it.

Gooserider

thanks!