Moisture Meters

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
BoilerMan

BoilerMan

Minister of Fire
Apr 16, 2012
1,717
Northern Maine
Ok, so I have a moisture meter, some cheap $30 chinese one from Lowes' woodworking section. I don't trust this thing. It seems like it's always reading low. I have a couple cord of beech c/s/s last fall, reads ~10% MC, ok........ Well I have some tree length Maple I cut two weeks ago, guy said it was on the ground for a couple months (some radial cracks) meter says it's ~19%. Hmmmmm, I was thinking it should be higher than that, not complaining though. Now I have some White Poplar I c/s/s in July reads 30%, this stuff still STINKS like poplar! How do I know if this thing can be trusted? Any way to test it?
Keep those stacks a shrinken'!
TS
 
I'm a year ahead, it's just one of those nerdy things I have to do, numbers, something to quantify...... Don't know how my wife puts up me.

TS
 
I hear ya , I would still cut something you know is fresh and see what it says. I have a meter too and the neighbors say I have problems. Folks on here like you to be three years ahead on your wood supply and I agree, dont trust people when they say its seasoned wood. Good luck to ya
 
you can double check your MM by comparing the results to the oven dried methods results. Remember that you aren't gonna get the same MC reading all over a split, and that you need to average the readings together.

Weighing that split and then drying it out is the most accurate way to figure out how much water was in it.
 
Are those readings being taken from the deepest wetest inside if your wood? Like split your test piece and measure the newly exposed face.. ? Other posts have suggested jamming the probes into the palm of your hand for a confidence test (of your dedication) and expected reading of around 35%. I think. No, I aint kidding...
 
Danno77 said:
you can double check your MM by comparing the results to the oven dried methods results.
Click to expand...
Percent moisture content (dry-basis, same as a moisture meter measures) is given by MC= (green weight minus ovendry weight) divided by ovendry weight, times 100%. There are correction factors for different species i.e. the meter might be dead on MC for one species but a couple of percent off for another species. I don't think it amounts to very much, just 2-3%.
The EPA test wood is at 20% wet-basis, which equals 25% dry-basis, which opens up the can of worms of cleanest burn vs. max overall efficiency... ;hm
The was a good thread in which drfera/Battenkiller covered most of this topic in detail. Can't remember what the title was, though...
 
Yup. That's all good stuff. BK has a bunch of threads out there, and dangit if I could find even one detailing the oven-dry method. Basically, folks, if you want to try it, know that it takes FOREVER to dry it properly and that you have to dry it at a pretty low temperature so that you aren't burning off any of the wood mass.'

Also, I know we have acronyms and abbreviations for just about everything around here, so you've just heard mention of the dry-basis and wet-basis moisture contents which you'll see expressed around here as MC-db/MC-wb or MC(db)/MC(wb) or MCdb/MCwb. In non-forum use that db and wb are usually just subscript, but I don't know if we can type subscript on the new forum.
 
Yep! Good find.
 
Scotty Overkill said:
I ain't a-gitten me no moisture meter, I'mma just gonna use da sizzle test. If'n she sizzles on da fire, she's a-notta ready yiet!
Click to expand...
IIRC from some of the BK threads, that 25% dry-basis wood that the EPA uses to test is supposed to burn at peak overall efficiency, but not the cleanest burn obtainable. 25% wood will sizzle pretty bad in my stove. I don't like it, if for no other reason than it might gunk up my flue more...
 
  • Like
Reactions: ScotO
WOW, Danno, as others have said you are addicted, drug scale and all. I'm just white and nerdy, but you....... you are woodzen, white, and nerdy, and my friend woodzen is truly a term of honor!

The 35% MC for the human hand, Hmmmmm, I don't know if I'm THAT dedicated (no stabbing)........ I have been burning wood for quite a few years so......... maybe. I did just get a 32% reading on hand after typing on the Hearth.

TS
 
I have a cheap MM from Ebay that came from Hong Kong. Took about 2 weeks to arrive. I beleive it to be spot on on everything but really green wood that was just severed that day. It just pegs it as its 100%. I think it only reads to like 50% or so??

But i have oak that i cut this spring/summer thats reading 35-40% and some cut last may thats reading just under 30% which is about right for here. I also have pine that i cut and split this summer thats reading 17% or so on a fresh cut face and my tiny pile of like 3 yr old oak is hovering about 10%. I only paid like $7-12 for mine delivered to the house. Now like i said i had to wait 2 weeks for it, but its really just a toy and something to play with and give me a ball park idea, as im working on getting ahead and im trying to mazimize the dryness i have. Most wood was gathered this last winter through summer, so i will be burning less than optimal wood but i still have a month or so at least thats less than 20% and id say severl months that will be under 30%. Not optimal but its what i have to work with. I have some aces in the hole of some dry pine and some dead standing Oak/hickory that i can get in a month or 2 and slit it and let sit under cover for jan/feb. But like said you burn what you have. The moisture meter just lets me prioritize my little piles and push some ahead of others, but you can really tell what you need to by look feel and just fresh splitting a face and touching it with your hand or to your lips. 35%feels moist when fresh split on a split. Over that MC and it feels like you pulled it from a pond and possibly with spray water when splitting. the 25% and under feels dry when split to me.
 
Taylor Sutherland said:
WOW, Danno, as others have said you are addicted, drug scale and all. I'm just white and nerdy, but you....... you are woodzen, white, and nerdy, and my friend woodzen is truly a term of honor!

The 35% MC for the human hand, Hmmmmm, I don't know if I'm THAT dedicated (no stabbing)........ I have been burning wood for quite a few years so......... maybe. I did just get a 32% reading on hand after typing on the Hearth.

TS
Click to expand...

It seems like your hand is seasoning well but I'd give it some more time before throwing it in the fire.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Taylor Sutherland and Gark
The 35% is just laying the 2 prongs on your palm. My General reads between 33%-40% (depending on my perspiration) :)

Its a good way to see of its (kinda) calibrated. I thinl it was in the instruction booklet? ? IIRC?

If your hand is at 20%, then its slightly off. MM's are nice, but so many variables are out there. Getting a couple/three yrs ahead is about the best way to measure (or not) the dryness of your wood.
 
I'm like Scotty. Never had a MM nor have I ever seen a need for one. It is really quite easy to know when your wood is ready to burn. But some like the gadgets and we understand that too....
 
  • Like
Reactions: tfdchief
it's all about just knowing stuff. sometimes i just have to know. i find comfort in numbers, what can i say! plus, like you said, Dennis, i like gadgets.
 
And we don't mind a bit Danno.
 
And after all i know its just a gaget thats why i spent as little as possible off ebay for mine.
 
Gark said:
Are those readings being taken from the deepest wetest inside if your wood? Like split your test piece and measure the newly exposed face.. ? Other posts have suggested jamming the probes into the palm of your hand for a confidence test (of your dedication) and expected reading of around 35%. I think. No, I aint kidding...
Click to expand...
And then tell a lie and see if the reading goes up;)

I suppose one could put a cube of known MC wood and store it in a ziploc bag for a control.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gark
Even if I want to just get 3 years ahead and not sweat the MM...

That thing has, I THINK, made a couple of other guys start to "see the light" about their boilers. Two friends. One with a big central, and the other just got a little vigas.

I have shown them that just because logs have been cut down for 2 years doesn't mean JACK! I have shown them splits in my garage and they say.. HUH! Where can I buy one of those?

Trying to convert a few. :)

JP
 
  • Like
Reactions: Backwoods Savage
I couldn't agree more JP!
My FIL and BIL just buck it up split it in the summer, and burn it...... Oh, and in smoke dragon air-tights. His Memco actually puddles creosote on the floor.

TS
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
help buying "seasoned" wood using moisture meter
Replies
58
Views
6K
The Wood Shed
DonTee
D
D
New moisture meter
Replies
4
Views
541
The Gear
Duds13
D
AsylumResident
Moisture Meter(s)
Replies
51
Views
3K
The Gear
oilcan1001
O
bigealta
27% moisture content of Fresh Red Oak?
Replies
24
Views
3K
The Wood Shed
Isaac Carlson
Isaac Carlson
M
Forest Fire Wood
Replies
8
Views
2K
The Wood Shed
Murray01
M
Top Bottom
Back